Electric Ireland Minor Hurling Championship

Carlow 1-9   

Kildare 3-23

By Seamus Dillon

KILDARE opened their Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Hurling Championship campaign with a comfortable twenty  point win over Carlow in Netwatch Cullen Park on Monday night.

Oran Hynes Kelly scored 0-2 as Kildare defeated Carlow in the Electric Ireland Leinster MHC on Monday night Photo: Sean Brilly

Tom Power’s sixth minute goal stretched Kildare into a 1-4 to 0-0 lead inside seven minutes. Power finishing cleverly after good work from Oisin Loughran and Charlie Carroll. Jake Nolan, with the first of his six frees, opened the Carlow account after seven minutes.

Despite a Colm Kavanagh goal on 15 minutes  and two more Nolan frees,  that reduced the gap to three, it was Kildare who  finished the half the strongest and three late Alex Bell points left it 1-14 to 1-7 for the Lilywhites at the interval.

The second half continued in a similar vein with Kildare totally dominant They hit 1-6 without reply to move into a 2-20 to a 1-7 lead after 42.Tim Ryan converting  the goal chance after  running 30 metres through the Carlow defence. Charlie Carroll, Alex Bell and Tom Power all hitting points in a convincing performance.

Six minutes later Ryan hit his second goal  hitting home a simple rebound after Olan Hynes Kelly’s initial shot came back off the crossbar.

Kildare finished up 3-23 to 1-9 winners and now move on to  Saturday next and an outing against Wicklow in Round 2. On the evidence of Monday’s showing they can look forward with confidence.

Kildare:  Fionn Kelly; Paddy Connolly, Sean Walsh, James Bedford; Ben Mulligan 0-1, Cian Brody, Dylan Doherty; Tim Ryan 2-2, Oran Byrne 0-1 (1 free); Oisin Loughrane 0-2; Charlie Carroll 0-7 (3 frees), Oran Hynes Kelly 0-2; Michael Owens, Alex Bell 0-5 (1 free),Tom Power 1-3 SUBS:  Noah Farrell for Oisin Loughran 47, Ronan O Malley for Tim Ryan 50, Joe Dunne for Dylan Doherty 54, Colm Gordan for Paddy Connolly 54. Shane Henry for Olan Hynes Kelly 54.

Carlow: Joe Bermingham; Martin Carroll, Gavin Murphy, Eoin Doyle; Dylan McGrath, Mark Dundon, Cillian Murphy; Jake Nolan 0-6 (6 frees), Conor De Lacey; Joey Dalton 0-1, Andy Jordan, Colm Kavanagh 1-0; Kyle Nolan 0-1, Jack Foley 0-1, Robbie Ward. SUBS:  Eoin Doyle for Robbie Ward 41, Patrick Kelly for Colm Kavanagh 47, Coan Meaney for Kyle Nolan 52, Shane McCarthy for Killian Murphy 55, TJ D’Arcy for Joey Dalton 55.

REFEREE: Ciaran Flynn (Meath)