Kildare County 1 - 2 Wexford Youths

• Daire Walsh
• Sat, Oct 24 2009


An injury-time header from Wexford Youths midfielder Patsy Malone condemned Kildare County to the bottom of the table for this season after a tentative clash at Station Road on Friday evening. All this came about even though Kildare played a full hour with an extra man, but they failed to make this count, and with seven points separating them and Mervue United in the league table with two games left, there is simply no way for The Thoroughbreds to avoid playing a two-legged relegation/promotion play-off.< br />
Wexford went into this match knowing that they still had a chance of overtaking Monaghan United at the end of the season and finishing in a respectable fifth place in the First Division table, and they certainly started in confident fashion with the likes of Shane Dempsey and Gary Sheehan showing well in midfield. < br />
They came into this game in good form having beaten Finn Harps 1-0 last week, and they looked to be more than capable of cutting through County's five-man midfield. Indeed, it came as no surprise when Youths found the net after just seven minutes when David Breen tapped in after Kelly had parried Kevin Rowe's effort on goal. This was tough on Kelly as he had also brilliantly stopped from Jimmy Keohane in the build-up to the goal, but he wasn't helped by sloppy defending from his back four, which left Joey Somerville's side trailing at a very early stage. < br />
Wexford almost went further ahead just three minutes later, but Kelly once again was on hand to save expertly from Dempsey. Rather than let Wexford run riot though, Kildare started to come into the game and they were level on 14 minutes when David Jackson's low drive from 18 yards hit the post and went past Packie Holden into the back of the Wexford Youths net to bring County kicking and screaming back into the contest. < br />
This calmed Kildare down considerably, as they were no longer chasing the game in the same manner they have when going behind in previous matches. Even though Wexford continued to have good possession, Kildare were coping well and they were clearly agitating Wexford who picked up yellow cards through Breen and Paul Rossiter in the 21st and 23rd minutes respectively. < br />
Both of these players would no longer be on the pitch by the 32nd minute, with Rossiter being substituted (Chris Kenny replaced him), and Breen soon following him after receiving a second yellow for a foul on Philly Hughes. This was met by a chorus of boos from the travelling Wexford support, but it seemed like match referee Keith Callanan had no other choice but to send him off. < br />
After things had calmed down a bit following this incident, the remainder of the first period would be slightly subdued and both teams seemed content to go in on level terms as the half-time whistle blew. With the extra man at their disposal, it was hoped that County might push on and look to kill off Wexford, but this never materialised, and we were treated to a largely event-free 15 minutes just after the break. < br />
Then, just on the hour mark, the match was brought back to life when Kelly once again came to the rescue to save at his feet from a Malone shot following a Keohane pass. Dempsey and Keohane also had good efforts on goal as Wexford were intent on attacking the Kildare, despite having just the ten men on the pitch. < br />
Chances were still proving to be few and far between though, and they had to wait until just six minutes from time before creating another clear-cut opportunity, this time through a close-range Keohane header which was turned away by Kelly. < br />
It looked like time was running out for County as the minutes went by, but they came oh-so close on 87 minutes when Christy Doran found himself in enough space to attempt a shot from 30 yards out, which had good acceleration, but the former Kilkenny City man had no luck as his shot came thundering off the crossbar and away to safety. < br />
This would prove to be Kildare's last chance at getting a goal, and they were caught napping in the first minute of injury time when Malone met Keohane's header perfectly to nod past Kelly and into the County net. < br />
This result means that Kildare's last two games are somewhat meaningless to their status this year, but they still have the chance to have a say in the title race as they face high-flying Waterford United and Shelbourne over the next couple of weeks. < br />
Kildare County: Darren Kelly; Keith Walsh, David Byrne, Colin Coleman, Eoin Powderly; Darren O'Brien, David Jackson, Colm Daly, Christy Doran, Cathal Brady; Philip Hughes. < br />Subs not used: Pierce O'Connor, Jonathan Cashen, Trevor Bowers, Sean Geoghegan. < br />
Wexford Youths: Packie Holden; Anto Russell, Paul Rossiter (Chris Kenny '31), Peter White, David Breen; Patsy Malone, Shane Dempsey, Warren Broaders, Gary Sheehan; Kevin Rowe (Michael Mullen '90), Jimmy Keohane. < br />Subs not used: Lee Aust, Tiernan Rossiter, Gary Wallace. < br />
Referee: Keith Callanan (Cork). < br />
Extratime.ie player-of-the-match: Jimmy Keohane (Wexford Youths). - Caused Kildare no end of problems with his pace and trickery in the final-third, and was on hand to provide a superb cross for Malone's winning goal. < br />