Brian McLoughlin steps off bench to send lacklustre Kildare into Tailteann final

Kildare will face Limerick in the Tailteann Cup final. 

The win over Fermanagh was Kildare's first at Croke Park since 2022. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Tailteann Cup semi-final: Kildare 1-13 (1-2-9) Fermanagh 0-9 (0-0-9)

A fine display of shooting from Brian McLoughlin illuminated a Tailteann Cup semi-final that otherwise gave the viewing public flashbacks of the old sport of Gaelic football, the one that we all thought had been left behind.

For a Kildare side that hadn’t won in Croke Park since the 2022 Leinster Championship, recording just three wins in 23 games here since 2014, the underwhelming manner of the victory will be less memorable than the sense of relief at safely negotiating a hurdle that began to look increasingly hazardous as the contest progressed.

There was no stage in the game when Fermanagh looked like the better side, but as the misses racked up, a group that have been pigeonholed as talented but unreliable was leaving a plucky underdog in the game.

In the first half, it was missed goal chances that were the story. Kevin Feely slipped a pass to Colm Dalton, whose shot was blocked on the line by Ronan McCaffrey, then Feely himself crashed a thunderbolt of a shot off the woodwork, a few minutes before Daniel Flynn clipped a shot over the bar from 20 metres out when it looked like he might be in a position to advance on goal.

With the heavens opening and handling increasingly difficult, it’s not like Fermanagh were scoring freely either. Conor Love (two), Darragh McGurn and Ryan Lyons all took advantage of the drier ground to leave the game deadlocked at 0-4 each and warming up nicely with 15 minutes played, but as heavy rain drenched the players, the scores dried up. 

Alex Beirne and Joe McDade got the best of the scores to leave it 0-7 to 0-6 in Kildare’s favour at half-time, and a poor game got even more sloppy after half-time, with just another point apiece registered in the next 15 minutes.

For Fermanagh, a lack of possession was the issue, while Kildare had plenty of opportunities, but weren’t long about adding ten second half wides to the four they shot in the opening 35 minutes.

Enter McLoughlin to give an injection of attacking quality to a game where it was sorely lacking otherwise. The eventual man of the match got off the mark with a powerful strike at the end of a slow build up that saw Fermanagh lose their concentration and leave him wide open, then on the next attack he opted to rifle the ball over the bar rather than go for goal after being put through by a slick give and go with David Hyland.

McLoughlin’s decision to just put something on the board made sense when he followed up with a majestic two-pointer, and now Fermanagh needed a lifeline. Jonathan Cassidy picking up a breaking ball and driving through to set up Josh Largo Ellis was that lifeline, but instead of keeping the ball down along the slick surface, he fired his shot a foot over the crossbar, and that was as good as it got for the Erne men.

Kildare continued to control the ball from then on, with McLoughlin adding one more point before James McGrath finished the game with a flourish, firing in his third goal in as many games to send the Lily Whites through to a final clash with Limerick.

Scorers for Kildare: B McLoughlin 0-5 (1tp), J McGrath 1-0, K Feely 0-2 (tp), C Dalton 0-2, D Flynn 0-2, A Beirne 0-1, D Kirwan 0-1.

Scorers for Fermanagh: C Love 0-2, R Lyons 0-1, D McGurn 0-1, J McDade 0-1, D McCusker 0-1, F O’Brien 0-1f, S Cassidy 0-1, Josh Largo Ellis 0-1.

KILDARE: C Burke; D Hyland, M Dempsey, H O’Neill; K Flynn, B Byrne, J McGrath; K Feely, B Gibbons; T Gill, R Sinkey, C Dalton; D Kirwan, A Beirne, D Flynn.

Subs: J McKevitt for Flynn (44), B McLoughlin for Sinkey (44), N Kelly for Kirwan (63), A Masterson for Gibbons (66), R Burke for McGrath (69).

FERMANAGH: S McNally; L Cullen, J Cassidy, O Smyth; L Flanagan, D McCusker, S McGullion; J McDade, D McGurn; R McCaffrey, R Lyons, F O’Brien; C Love, G Jones, Josh Largo Ellis.

Subs: S Cassidy for Jones (half-time), C McGee for McCaffrey (50), A Kelm for McCusker (56), Jack Largo Ellis for O’Brien (66), C Cullen for McGullion (67) 

Referee: Kieran Eannetta (Tyrone)