Championship Final (11/10/24)

Full Time Score:

Kildangan 5.12 - 1.08 Castledermot

On Friday evening Kildangan played the much anticipated county final against Castledermot. A Castledermot side that was not to be dismissed as they topped their group on the other side of the championship. Kildangan knew they would have to be on top form to get a result on the night.

Paraic McGivern blew his whistle and the game was underway. Proceedings opened with a superb looping kick by Cian Reilly. The cheers of the crowd were immense and at this stage the Kildangan team knew they had a sixteenth man behind them. This encouraging support would stand to Kildangan at several stages throughout the game. Castledermot quickly responded with a score from a free but Kildangan’s full forward Cian Reilly responded with his and Kildangan’s second score of the game. Castledermot caught Kildangan on the counter attack shortly after and got through for a well worked goal opportunity. Having managed to side step around Kildangan goalkeeper Sean Fitzgearld, it looked to be a certain goal…..but Alex McCann had a different plan and pounced on the foot of the Castledermot forward denying a certain goal. A point from the following 45’ saw the scoreline back level at 2 points a piece. Castledermot were set to take the lead for the first time in the game but Kildangan’s no.4, Alex McCann once again decided it was not to be for Castledermot. Kildangan worked the ball up the pitch from there and Cian Reilly put down his, and Kildangan’s, third score of the game from a free. What followed from the Castledermot kickout would not be the last we heard of Mark O’Donovan in Friday nights game as he ran through creating a goal from nothing. Putting Kildangan four points ahead after 11 minutes played. Castledermot replied to the goal as any great team do and kicked the following two scores unanswered. This brought Kildangan right back down to earth and we knew we were by no means away with it. Cian Reilly stepped up once again kicking his fourth score of the game and second from a dead ball. Some excellent work in the midfield by Dermot Hickey saw him have his best period of football all year. Mark O’Donovan got second goalscoring opportunity and looked certain to put Kildangan five points ahead, but he was denied by Castledermot’s experienced goalkeeper with a solid save. In the next seven minutes neither side could buy a score as both defences came out on top. Some excellent defending by Stephen Murtagh and Killian Scully saw Castledermot struggle to gain a score whilst five consecutive wides saw Kildangan in the same predicament. With Joey Walsh doing everything he could to set up a Kildangan score, it looked imminent. Kildangan’s captain Daniel Gilbert saw this as an opportune moment to help dig his team out of a rut with a superb outside of the boot score for his first point of the game. With half time drawing close the next score was crucial. Mark O’Donovan took it upon himself to widen the gap before half time with an excellent point assisted by Eoghan O’Fearghaill. 

Half Time Score:

Kildangan 1.06 - 0.05 Castledermot

The second half threw in and Castledermot opened proceedings bringing it back to just a three point game. Cian Reilly once again done the business with his fifth point (third free) of the game. The Kildangan management at this stage saw it fit to bring on a fresh pair of legs, and there was no better man than Luke McKenna to liven up the action. Castledermot brought it back to a three point game once again and the Kildangan crowd were beginning to get nervous. With the game on the brink, the man on fire, no. 10, Mark O’Donovan intercepted the Castledermot kickout and rattled the net for his second goal of the game. And why stop there? Oisin Irvin followed up with a goal of his own. The game had just flipped on its head and Kildangan now led by nine points! Some excellent battling on the kickouts by Joey Walsh and Joe Broughall saw Kildangan’s lead stretch out to eleven points as they set up two attacks resulting in two points from frees by (you guessed it) Cian Reilly. Sean Behan was then introduced to the game. Joey Walsh at this stage of the game really flourished. He grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and was determined that Castledermot were not going to come back into it. His purple patch produced his greatest contribution to the game as he made a far reaching interception to put through Mark O’Donovan for his third goal of the game. In the words of soccer commentator Martin Tyler ‘three of the best, he’s made them pay, and that completes a wonderful hat trick’. Kildangan stalwart Bryan Adams was then introduced to his third county final in the green and yellow. Castledermot responded at this time with 1.01 to show Kildangan they were still on their heels. But some excellent defensive efforts by Josh Burns and Joe Broughall saw Kildangan hold off Castledermot at a safe distance. A magnificent Sean Fitzgearld save stopped Castledermot from coming back into it and later proved to be a vital moment of the game as the ball travelled to the opposite end of the pitch for Daniel Gilbert to fire in a superb goal making it a thirteen point game. Cian Reilly kicked his eight and final point of the game to top off an excellent kicking performance for him. Kildangan introduced Liam Kehoe and Kevin McNally to ensure their advantage was watertight at this stage. Bryan Adams, with the whole Kildangan crowd cheering his name, got through for two goal chances, which for possibly his last final in a Kildangan jersey would have been written in the stars, but the nerves must have got the better of him and was unfortunate to miss both. Joey Walsh in his defensive efforts suffered a blow to the leg, but with all five subs used up there was no better man than Joey to soldier on through the pain. Words of encouragement came from the sideline as Joey Snr. told his son “you’ll have plenty of time to limp tomorrow”. Kevin McNally showed his incredible strength taking a ‘route one’ approach through the Castledermot midfielder as he set up Liam Kehoe for a well placed point. Kildangan had the Castledermot kickout on lockdown at this stage. Joey Walsh and Joe Broughall were unstoppable in the air, whilst every play saw the Luke McKenna and Sean Behan bursting forward. As the final whistle beckoned and the Hawkfield stewards could be seen wrestling back 40 + Kildangan kids eager to rush the field, alongside John Miller, the fairytale ending happened for Kildangan’s former captain Bryan Adams as he slotted over the final point of the game to (possibly) top off his career in the Kildangan jersey. The roars of the crowd and cheers for Bryan could be heard far and wide. The following kickout saw Paraic McGivern blow his whistle for the final time of the night. Kildangan’s first championship in three years was on its way home. 

If there was a roof in Hawkfield, the leaps of Liam O’Donovan would’ve seen him hit his head off the roof. Gabriel Murtagh and Fergal Gilbert rejoiced as it sunk in what they had just led their team to. Joe Broughall fell victim to Liam’s ‘hugs and kisses’ as the nearest man to him. John Miller managed to break free from the stewards and the pitch was filled with the throngs of Kildangan supporters in attendance.

It was great to see how much it meant to all the different families and people of Kildangan on the night. Seeing the likes of the Murtagh’s, O’Donovan’s, Gilbert’s, Walsh’s (despite the absence of our no. 1 supporter Nicola), Adams’, and to be there alongside my father Declan and brother Robert (don’t kill me for getting personal here), and many more, but it was just great to see these core memories being unlocked and was really a special moment for everyone involved. The Kildangan support was immense and I could go on forever talking about all the different families and friends out on the pitch celebrating. All we can say is thank you for the support and it played as big of a part in the success as the players on the pitch. 

The trophy presentation was also really special. Kildare secretary Christine Murray emphasised how great the support was and that quite often you don’t see support like that at this level. It really is a testament to where this club is going and sees itself in the future. Kildare PRO Lorraine Woulfe noted to me today that they never seen a community come together the way Kildangan did on Friday night. Kildangan captain, Daniel Gilbert, despite his nerves, gave a great speech and off the lads went to celebrate. Another great moment came when the whole team came together for a photo with all the kids of Kildangan. Thank you everyone for the support.

Looking forward to the future, Friday night’s game proved a vital moment in the progression of the club having dropped down to the reserve level to help strengthen the growth of our very young senior team. It’s Kildangan’s first senior team to win a championship title featuring mainly players who have come through the underage ranks from u6 right up to senior level and that thanks can only go to the founding members of our underage set up back 19/20 years ago who had the vision for greater things for this club. The lads put in their best performance of the year and proved that we are a force to be reckoned with in the coming years and definitely in the local area we are the club with the most growth and prosperity in our future. Congratulations lads!

Man of the match: Joey Walsh!

Having seen Joey play the whole way up with Kildangan, Friday night’s performance was hands down his best ever performance in a Kildangan jersey. He worked like a dog the full hour long and let nothing past him. Even while hobbling around in the last five minutes he was still intercepting balls left, right and centre. His performance inspired the players around him and despite not producing a score of his own he can be credited for setting up several Kildangan attacks and cutting out several Castledermot attacks. His fielding of the ball was second to none and passing and assisting the same. Playing as a defensive attacker can often be a thankless role but his performance on Friday night cannot go unnoticed. An honourable mention must also go to Mark O’Donovan who scored 3.01 on the night and without a performance like Joey’s he would have been MOTM. Mark even says so himself that Joey’s performance was MOTM worthy.

Moment of the match: Kildangan’s second & third goals coming in short succession by Mark O’Donovan and Oisin Irvin to stretch the lead from three points to nine points at a crucial stage in the game as Castledermot were putting the pressure on. These two goals put Kildangan at a comfortable lead which we held and built on for the remainder of the game.

Kildangan would like to thank our sponsors Worrell’s Gala and Grangecoor Farm for their support for us throughout the year.

Kildangan team:

Sean Fitzgearld, Stephen Murtagh, Eoghan O’Fearghaill, Alex McCann, Josh Burns, Joe Broughall, Killian Scully, (C) Daniel Gilbert (1.01), Dermot Hickey, Mark O’Donovan (3.01), Joseph Walsh, Alan Donoher, Cian Murtagh, Cian Reilly (0.08), Oisin Irvin (1.00). Substitutes; Bryan Adams (0.01), Luke McKenna, Kevin McNally, Sean Behan, John Kelly, Liam Kehoe (0.01), Kian Murray, Robert Bocotan, Adam Balmer, Ieuan Sweeney, Oisin Hyland.

The celebrations went on throughout the weekend and if there was a man of the match to be given for those Dermot Hickey is an outright winner having been spotted in the Cross Keys on day 3 after the rest of the team bowed out after 2 days. Honourable mentions must go to Daniel Gilbert who could have been mistaken for an Olympic diver in the Harp in Kildare Town on Saturday and Alex McCann who, despite not knowing the words of ‘To Win Just Once’ by the Saw Doctors, could be heard belting out the one line he knew all day Friday and Saturday. Killian Scully could also be seen burning the ear off Bryan Adams and John Reilly about his worries of being forced to play corner back in 2025, he took Saturday off celebrating to train for next year so that doesn’t happen.

All photos available on Facebook.