Ring victory is black and white for Lilywhites

Christy Ring Cup – Round 1 

Kildare 2-19 

Sligo 2-8 

Gavin Cawley at Markievicz Park 

Kildare, this year’s favourites to win the Christy Ring Cup, showed exactly why that’s the mantle that has been bestowed upon them when proving much too strong for a nonetheless spirited Sligo side in Saturday’s championship opener at Markievicz Park.

Sligo started brightly by netting the opening goal of the match after only two minutes when Gerard O’Kelly Lynch finished after Finnian Cawley forced a big turnover for his side.

The response from Kildare was emphatic however, as they scored 2-3 without reply – both their goals coming from Cathal Dowling. James Burke from Naas was also on the scoreboard. Eddie O’Donoghue got Sligo’s first point from play on seven minutes to reduce the gap but a brace from Daire Guerin kept the scoreboard ticking over for the visitors.

O’Kelly Lynch added a free for his side before Jack Sheridan added two placed balls to leave Kildare 2-7 to 1-2 ahead after 18 minutes of play.

Sligo got themselves back to within five when O’Kelly Lynch scored a goal from a free after Conor Griffin was fouled but by half-time Kildare had put themselves in very strong position by adding six further points. O’Kelly Lynch added a free for Sligo but they were still 10 points behind, 2-13 to 2-3.

The hosts were a lot more competitive in the second-half and would ultimately only lose those low-scoring 35-minutes by a single point, 0-6 to 0-5. But still it was Kildare who eased to victory.

Sligo started the second-half well with further points from O’Kelly Lynch and a well-taken one by Thomas Cawley, but those were negated by a trio for the Kildare men through Burke and Sheridan.

Gerard O’Kelly Lynch would add three points in the final quarter hour but the Yeats men will have to dust themselves down in time for next weekend’s trip to London, with the Exiles having won their Round 1 trip to Tyrone by all of eleven points.

Scorers – Kildare: Jack Sheridan 0-7 (4f, 1 ’65), Cathal Dowling 2-0, James Burke 0-5, Daire Guerin, Muiris Curtin and Simon Leacy 0-2 each, Conan Boran 0-1.

Sligo: Gerard O’Kelly Lynch 2-6 (0-5f), Michael Munnelly and Eddie O’Donoghue 0-1 each.

Sligo: Luke Comerford; Niall Kilcullen, Gavin Connolly, Darragh Cawley; Liam O’Kelly Lynch, Niall Feehily, Joe McHugh; Rory McHugh, Thomas Cawley; Eddie O’Donoghue, Gerard O’Kelly Lynch, Finnian Cawley; Conor Griffin, Michael Munnelly, Fionn Connolly. Subs: Conor Hannify (for L O’Kelly Lynch 25), Darragh Flynn (for J McHugh 68).

Kildare: Paddy McKenna; Cian Shanahan, Cormac Byrne, Mark Grace; Simon Leacy, Conan Boran, Rian Boran; Cathal McCabe, Paul Dolan; Daire Guerin, James Burke, Cathal Dowling; Muiris Curtin, Jack Sheridan, David Qualter. Subs: Declan Flaherty (for Dowling 31), Conn Kehoe (for Qualter 47), Jack Higgins (for McCabe 48), Darragh Melville (for Curtin 59), Harry Carroll (for Dolan 68).

REF: Tarlach Conway (Derry)