Kildare County 2 - 3 Sporting Fingal
Credit:
A goal in the 82nd minute from Alan Kirby completed an impressive comeback for Sporting Fingal as they came away from Station Road, Newbridge with a narrow victory in an entertaining clash on Friday night. It had looked like Kildare County were on the way to a surprise victory when centre-half Liam Tiernan put Joey Somerville's side 2-0 up after 51 minutes, but second half strikes from Gary O'Neill, Conan Byrne and Kirby gave the Morton Stadium outfit the three points in the end.
Even though County had started with Philly Hughes playing as a lone striker up front, they still began quite positively and Hughes made sure that Sporting 'keeper Darren Quigley was on his toes after just three minutes when he attempted a trademark chip from all of 35 yards.
As ever, Orrin Farrell and Cathal Brady were full of life on the wings and rampant full-backs Brian Gannon and Eric Foley had to be fully aware of their defensive responsibilities. Eventually though, following this good early play from The Thoroughbreds, Sporting Fingal started to come into the game more and the attacking triumvirate of Gary O'Neill, Alan Kirby and Eamon Zayed were beginning to link up well.
Try as they may though, Sporting were finding it hard to create too many chances and they certainly looked a bit leg weary following their FAI Cup excursions from earlier on in the week. Zayed did have one or two opportunities for Sporting, but on both occasions he found that Darren Kelly in the Kildare goal was quick to snuff out any danger.
All-in-all, things were going well for County at this early stage of the game, but things would get even better for them when Hughes received the ball on the left-wing with 30 minutes gone and breezed past Phillip Byrne before unleashing a powerful right-footed shot, which was too strong for Quigley, who could only watch as the ball went past him and into the net.
This gave Kildare something to build on, but there was still plenty of time for Sporting to come back into the game and for the remainder of the half they would be presented with a number of chances to get back on level terms.
However, Kelly was inspired between the County posts and he pulled off two superb close-range saves from O'Neill and Zayed in the 34th and 36th minutes respectively. It seemed almost inevitable that Sporting would score eventually but Kelly once again came to the rescue to prevent a Kirby effort with just a minute left in the half and Kildare managed to hold out just in time for them to go in with a 1-0 lead at the break.
Graham Kelly's half-time whistle came at just the right time for Kildare as it disrupted the tempo that Liam Buckley's side had built up towards the end of the half. Indeed, Kildare came out in the second half with a new freshness about them, and they increased their lead six minutes into the second period when Tiernan turned well in the box before hitting an unstoppable shot that had Quigley beaten all ends up. This goal put Kildare into dream land, but the margin would soon be reduced when O'Neill broke free down the left with 53 minutes gone before slotting coolly past Kelly as they began their audacious effort to claim the three points which had looked like a formality beforehand.
Given the score line as the game entered the final half-hour, it was understandable that County would apply some caution and it certainly seemed like a sensible option as Sporting were really coming at them. Zayed went near with a close-in header on 65 minutes, but Kildare nearly restored their two-goal lead a couple of minutes later when a strong Tiernan had to be stopped on the line by Quigley.
From here until the end of the game though, Sporting Fingal showed why they are doing so well this season as they came up with two goals in pivotal periods of the game. The first came after 71 minutes when Conan Byrne curled brilliantly over the wall and past the stretching arms of Kelly. Then, just as Kildare thought they might be able to hold out, they were undone when Kirby buried low to the net after the ball had broken in the area.
Despite some late pressure, Kildare couldn't find a third goal and they will more than likely need to get a win against Longford Town on Tuesday if they are to avoid finishing bottom of the First Division this season.
Kildare County: Darren Kelly; Colm Daly, Dean Lawrence (Baba Isaaka '66), Liam Tiernan, Christy Doran; Cathal Brady, David Jackson, Darren O'Brien (Gavin Kinsella '78), Craig Purcell (Trevor Bowers '84), Orrin Farrell; Philip Hughes.
Subs not used: Eoin Powderly, Paul O'Brien.
Sporting Fingal: Darren Quigley; Brian Gannon, Shane McFaul, Shaun Maher, Eric Foley; Conan Byrne, Philip Byrne, Robert Bayly (Colm James '93), Alan Kirby; Gary O'Neill, Eamon Zayed.
Subs not used: Fiachra McArdle, Gareth Whelan, Kevin Dawson, Chris Konopka.
Referee: Graham Kelly (Cork).
Extratime.ie Player-Of-The-Match: Conan Byrne (Sporting Fingal). - Had close competition from Darren Kelly, but Byrne was extremely lively all evening for Sporting and he came up with a vital goal to draw the sides level.
Even though County had started with Philly Hughes playing as a lone striker up front, they still began quite positively and Hughes made sure that Sporting 'keeper Darren Quigley was on his toes after just three minutes when he attempted a trademark chip from all of 35 yards.
As ever, Orrin Farrell and Cathal Brady were full of life on the wings and rampant full-backs Brian Gannon and Eric Foley had to be fully aware of their defensive responsibilities. Eventually though, following this good early play from The Thoroughbreds, Sporting Fingal started to come into the game more and the attacking triumvirate of Gary O'Neill, Alan Kirby and Eamon Zayed were beginning to link up well.
Try as they may though, Sporting were finding it hard to create too many chances and they certainly looked a bit leg weary following their FAI Cup excursions from earlier on in the week. Zayed did have one or two opportunities for Sporting, but on both occasions he found that Darren Kelly in the Kildare goal was quick to snuff out any danger.
All-in-all, things were going well for County at this early stage of the game, but things would get even better for them when Hughes received the ball on the left-wing with 30 minutes gone and breezed past Phillip Byrne before unleashing a powerful right-footed shot, which was too strong for Quigley, who could only watch as the ball went past him and into the net.
This gave Kildare something to build on, but there was still plenty of time for Sporting to come back into the game and for the remainder of the half they would be presented with a number of chances to get back on level terms.
However, Kelly was inspired between the County posts and he pulled off two superb close-range saves from O'Neill and Zayed in the 34th and 36th minutes respectively. It seemed almost inevitable that Sporting would score eventually but Kelly once again came to the rescue to prevent a Kirby effort with just a minute left in the half and Kildare managed to hold out just in time for them to go in with a 1-0 lead at the break.
Graham Kelly's half-time whistle came at just the right time for Kildare as it disrupted the tempo that Liam Buckley's side had built up towards the end of the half. Indeed, Kildare came out in the second half with a new freshness about them, and they increased their lead six minutes into the second period when Tiernan turned well in the box before hitting an unstoppable shot that had Quigley beaten all ends up. This goal put Kildare into dream land, but the margin would soon be reduced when O'Neill broke free down the left with 53 minutes gone before slotting coolly past Kelly as they began their audacious effort to claim the three points which had looked like a formality beforehand.
Given the score line as the game entered the final half-hour, it was understandable that County would apply some caution and it certainly seemed like a sensible option as Sporting were really coming at them. Zayed went near with a close-in header on 65 minutes, but Kildare nearly restored their two-goal lead a couple of minutes later when a strong Tiernan had to be stopped on the line by Quigley.
From here until the end of the game though, Sporting Fingal showed why they are doing so well this season as they came up with two goals in pivotal periods of the game. The first came after 71 minutes when Conan Byrne curled brilliantly over the wall and past the stretching arms of Kelly. Then, just as Kildare thought they might be able to hold out, they were undone when Kirby buried low to the net after the ball had broken in the area.
Despite some late pressure, Kildare couldn't find a third goal and they will more than likely need to get a win against Longford Town on Tuesday if they are to avoid finishing bottom of the First Division this season.
Kildare County: Darren Kelly; Colm Daly, Dean Lawrence (Baba Isaaka '66), Liam Tiernan, Christy Doran; Cathal Brady, David Jackson, Darren O'Brien (Gavin Kinsella '78), Craig Purcell (Trevor Bowers '84), Orrin Farrell; Philip Hughes.
Subs not used: Eoin Powderly, Paul O'Brien.
Sporting Fingal: Darren Quigley; Brian Gannon, Shane McFaul, Shaun Maher, Eric Foley; Conan Byrne, Philip Byrne, Robert Bayly (Colm James '93), Alan Kirby; Gary O'Neill, Eamon Zayed.
Subs not used: Fiachra McArdle, Gareth Whelan, Kevin Dawson, Chris Konopka.
Referee: Graham Kelly (Cork).
Extratime.ie Player-Of-The-Match: Conan Byrne (Sporting Fingal). - Had close competition from Darren Kelly, but Byrne was extremely lively all evening for Sporting and he came up with a vital goal to draw the sides level.
About Daire Walsh
Daire Walsh began reporting for Extratime in 2009, when he covered Kildare County's games in the League Of Ireland First Division. He currently reports on games involving the league's Dublin sides and also Bray Wanderers. … View Full Profile