Jimmy and The Larks deliver in cracking weekend of Kildare football

It took all of 94 years before the great Squires Gannon was honoured with a statue unveiling in Kildare Square, just two weeks ago but it is very doubtful if Jimmy Hyland will have to wait for the same amount of years before the good folk of Ballyteague honour him with something similar.

There was only one name on the lips of Ballyteague folk, before, during and after Sunday's intermediate football final when after looking home and hosed at half-time, were hauled back in, lost the lead but came again, to defeat Castledermot in a memorable final at St Conleth's Park on Sunday afternoon — and that was Jimmy Hyland.

There was big pressure on Hyland on Sunday, he had been playing at the height of his game throughout this championship and it was felt if he could perform once again it could be the difference from turning a great season into a memorable one.
And perform he did.

Brilliant from start to finish, he ended with nine points but more importantly his side brought home the Cup and now move into the senior grade come 2023.

When one thinks of the population that Ballyteague have to choose from it brings the achievement into perspective.
Add in the fact that The Larks are a Division 3 side, Castledermot are in Division 1 and the achievement grows and grows.

In fairness to the losers, they looked dead and buried at half-time but they have looked dead-and-buried on more than one occasion this season but they have that belief that sees them grind and grind and on Sunday they looked for a while they would do it again having been out-scored in the opening half, trailed by no less than eight points at the break but actually took the lead on 46 minutes with a great score from their star man Gavin Keating.

Ballyteague held their nerve, drew level, took the lead and while they did win by four points in the end, their second goal put somewhat of a shine on the final score line.

All in all a mighty game of football between two excellently prepared, managed and coached teams.
On Saturday we had another cracking encounter between local rivals, Straffan and Kill.

Another close and exciting game was expected here and the big crowd were certainly not disappointed as both sides gave it their absolute all.

Often games such as this are turned on a bit of magic and this one was no different.
It was early in he second half, Kill were edging it by one point when a miss-directed kick-out went to former county star Rob Kelly.

Kelly saw his chance, noted the keeper was still off his line and before he could return the Straffan man, from some 45m fired over his head, the ball hopping before nesting in the back of the net.
It was something Rob said he often practiced when messing at training.

“In training and messing around a bit you do those things thinking that one day it might happen on the pitch and when it came into my hands I saw the goal was wide open and it was either going to go into the goals or wide and thankfully it went in.”
It gave Straffan the edge in what was another thrilling game at St Conleth's Park on Saturday, a game that could have gone either way but that little bit of magic, that little bit of opportunistic play that gave the boys in blue and white the edge.

How close the game was between the sides can be judged by the fact that the man-of-the-match award was given to Straffan goalkeeper, Matthew Duggan who brought off at least three point blank saves.

Overall a great weekend of action at St Conleth's Park and if this Sunday's senior football championship decider lives it up its billing of being a potential other cliff-hanger no doubt the fans will go home happy.

Champions, Naas, take on the new kids on the block, Clane, two sides more than capable of putting on a cracking game and with the curtain-raiser also promising to be something similar when Naas and Raheens go head-to-head their will be no shortage of entertainment for early arrivals.

Naas and Raheens have been rivals all the way up from when they contested the Féile final back in 2014, they have met on numerous occasions and only a few weeks ago they clashed in the MFL Division 1 final when it took extra time to separate them, Raheens coming out on top.

If Sunday's clash is half as good as the league final then we are all in for another thrilling afternoon.