MOOREFIELD 2-13 KILCOCK 2-7
THE destination of this year's Kildare SFC was virtually decided at half-time in yesterday's rain-lashed final at Newbridge when Moorefield went in leading by 2-10 to 0-1.
Admittedly the Newbridge town side, who have long lived in the shadow of Sarsfields, had been backed by a strong breeze in the opening 30 minutes but Kilcock's fans in the 8,000 crowd could scarcely have envisaged their team could turn the contest around.
RESPECTABLE
They did manage to put a respectable look on the scoreboard by full-time with a committed second half performance but a 15-point gap was always going to be too much to bridge.
The introduction of former Donegal midfielder Brian Murray certainly helped their revival but despite their courageous efforts they never seriously threatened to undermine Moorefield's bid to win their first title since 1962.
Kilcock's first goal, 11 minutes into the second half, came after Moorefield 'keeper Paraic Canavan misjudged a speculative 40 metre shot from former Meath and Kildare player Cathal Sheridan.
That left the score 2-11 to 1-2 in Moorefield's favour and with 10 minutes left Kilcock were still 2-12 to 1-2 behind. After a couple of points, Sheridan neatly tucked away a penalty low to Canavan's left after the 'keeper had fouled left half-forward Eoin Flanagan but in remaining time Kilcock managed to reduce the deficit by just one point.
Moorefield fans will have derived considerable enjoyment from the attractive and intelligent football the Newbridge side produced throughout the 60 minutes. In the likes of defenders John Quinn and Barry O'Keeffe, midfielder Ger Kiely and forwards Philip Rowland and Sheridan, Kilcock had players who occasionally caught the eye, but the crucial difference between the sides was that Moorefield had far more players who left a telling impact on the proceedings.
Fittingly, former Kildare ace Seamus `Sos' Dowling, who retired from the inter-county scene after Kildare's 1998 All-Ireland final defeat by Galway, received the Man of the Match award.
But the 36-year-old was run close by full-back Martin Ryan, a son of former Offaly star Mick Ryan, midfielder Ronan Sweeney and right half-forward Patrick Murray, who scored 0-7, four of them from frees.
DELIGHTED
A delighted Dowling, who played at centre-forward rather than his customary defensive role, conceded that the win represented the high point of his football career.
``Getting to the All-Ireland final with Kildare was great, but we lost that game so this has to be the most memorable moment,'' he enthused.
And Dowling paid tribute to Moorefield's manager Michael `Mickser' Condon: ``Mick gave me a new role this year by moving me up to the forward line. In previous years I have played in the forward line in parts of matches. But never right through the 60 minutes.
``Today we got off to a great start and it was going to be very difficult for Kilcock to pull back our 15 point lead in the second half. Our forwards took their scoring chances very well in the first half and our backs really did the business when Kilcock had a lot of possession in the second half.''
A disappointed Kilcock supremo Willie Hughes, who played with Dublin in 1983 Leinster Championship, said: ``We've no complaints about the result - Newbridge were the better team on the day.''
SCORERS - Moorefield: P Murray 0-7 (4f), C O Neill, B McGrogan 1-0 each, K Duane, S Whyte, S Dowling, Michael Ryan, P Behan, M Murray 0-1 each. Kilcock: C Sheridan 2-3 (1-0 pen 0-3f), P Rowland 0-2 (1 '45), J Quinn, G McNally 0-1 each.
MOOREFIELD - P Canavan; D Barry, Martin Ryan, S Murray; N Buckley, K O'Neill, K Duane; S Whyte, R Sweeney; P Murray, S Dowling, Michael Ryan; B Grogan, C O'Neill, P Behan. Subs: M Murray for McGrogan, R Delaney for Michael Ryan, P Potts for Whyte, J Murphy for O'Neill.
KILCOCK - N Geoghegan; J Quinn, C Davey, T Byrne; B O'Keeffe, S O'Rourke, M Quinn; G Kiely, D McTiernan; A Gavin, P Rowland, E Flanagan; A Kelly, C Sheridan, G McNally. Subs: B Murray for McTiernan, M Gallagher for Gavin, A Gannon for Kelly, T Nolan for O'Rourke.
REF - M Monaghan (Raheens).