Leinster U20 Round-up: Dublin and Kildare make impressive starts to the campaign

The rest of the action across the province was quite competitive.

Tue, 26 Mar, 2024 - 21:48

Kevin Egan

Dublin and Kildare, who along with 2021 All-Ireland minor champions Meath have been pegged as the teams to watch in the EirGrid Leinster U-20 championship this year, both got their campaigns underway with impressive victories on Tuesday night.

Dublin faced one of the trickier ties of the night on paper, travelling to Kinnegad to take on Westmeath, but they wasted no time in asserting themselves.

Clyde Burke fired over one of the best points to make it 0-3 to 0-0 after just five minutes, with Luke O’Boyle and Paul Reynolds Hand following up with scores to increase the lead further.

18 minutes had passed by the time Westmeath got off the mark with a free, but three minutes later the Dubs were cruising after a wonderful run from deep from Jamie Smith set up Karl Flynn for the game’s only goal.

1-9 to 0-2 ahead at half-time, Dublin shot two more within a minute of the restart and then eased through a lifeless second half, eventually prevailing by 1-15 to 0-6.

Kildare looked like they might win in the same fashion when they scored four points on the spin inside the opening ten minutes of their home tie with Longford, but points from St. Mel’s students Matthew Carey and Michael Flynn, as well as a brace from Caolan Lynch, tied up the game at 0-6 each approaching half-time.

The Lilywhites did get their noses in front by half-time but at the three-quarter mark there was still just two between the teams. A majestic score from Colm Dalton, his third of the night from play, extended the lead, and Ross Harris’ goal with 46 minutes to play was enough to set Kildare on their way to a 1-15 to 0-11 win.

The rest of the action across the province was quite competitive. Louth, who share a group with Kildare and Longford, were quite highly fancied but they only really played well for the third quarter of their clash with Offaly at Darver – though that was enough to secure a 1-11 to 2-6 victory.

Offaly started brightly, aided by a very strong wind. Seán Afolabi got the slightest of touches on a high, hanging delivery from Christian McKeon to make it 1-2 to 0-0 in favour of the visitors, but they shot themselves in the foot when Diarmaid O’Neill tried to play a 40 metre foot pass to his goalkeeper Conor Melia, but was intercepted by Louth’s Kieran McArdle.

In what can only be described as the gaelic football equivalent of an NFL “pick six”, McArdle galloped through 60 metres of open country before hitting an empty net, and at 1-2 each at half-time, Louth looked set to win well.

Five points in a row for Louth in the third quarter corroborated this view, but a Cillian Bourke scrambled goal was followed by two outstanding points from O’Neill, and Louth needed late points from McArdle and Pearse Grimes Murphy to see them home.

In the other group, Laois and Carlow were very competitive but Laois goat goals when they needed them – two from Jamie O’Brien and one from midfielder Killian Byrne – to secure a 3-8 to 0-10 home win at the LOETB Centre of Excellence.

There was another local derby in Blessington, where three excellent points from play from Páidí Kavanagh helped Wicklow to lead by 0-8 to 0-7 against Wexford early in the second half.

The visitors struck back through a Jack Morris goal, but they failed to score for the remainder of the game, playing into the wind.

Despite this, Wicklow supporters endured 15 nervous, scoreless minutes before two points from wing back James Boland, either side of an Alex Kavanagh free, made it 0-12 to 1-7 to the Garden County at the long whistle.