“Mulroy Leads Louth to Impressive Victory Over Kildare”

Allianz NFL Division 2 Round 7

From Cedral St Conleths Park, Newbridge

Louth 1-25

Kildare 0-25

Louth signed off on their Allianz National Football League Division 2 campaign with victory at Cedral St Conleth’s Park, but the result ultimately proved insufficient in their bid for promotion, while simultaneously condemning Kildare to relegation.

The Leinster champions travelled to Newbridge knowing their fate was not entirely in their own hands, requiring favourable outcomes elsewhere to keep hopes of a return to Division 1 alive. Despite doing their part with an impressive away performance, results did not fall in Gavin Devlin’s side’s favour.

Ironically, Kildare did receive the help they needed from elsewhere, as Derry overcame Cavan, but they were unable to make it count on home soil. The Lilywhites, who lifted the Tailteann Cup last season, must now prepare for another campaign in Division 3 in 2027.

With so much riding on the contest, the early exchanges were played at a high tempo, though both teams were disrupted by injuries. Four substitutions were made inside the opening 26 minutes, with Louth forced into changes as early as the third minute and again shortly after.

The first half ebbed and flowed, with neither side able to establish clear control. Louth edged ahead 0-9 to 0-8 after 23 minutes, but a decisive surge before the interval proved pivotal. Captain Sam Mulroy was central to that spell, landing two superb two-pointers as Louth finished the half strongly, outscoring the hosts by six points to carry a commanding 0-17 to 0-10 advantage into the break.

Kildare responded positively on the restart, hitting the opening three scores of the second period through Tommy Gill, Alex Beirne and Jack Robinson to narrow the gap. However, Louth remained composed under pressure and continued to pick off crucial scores to halt the momentum.

Dara McDonnell steadied matters for the visitors before a two-point free in the 43rd minute brought Kildare back to within three. Louth quickly regained control though, with Mulroy and Conall McCaul combining for vital points to restore a five-point cushion.

With time running out, Kildare were forced to chase the game, committing numbers forward in search of a breakthrough. Their hopes suffered a major setback in the 55th minute when Kieran McArdle found the net to stretch Louth’s lead to 1-23 to 0-18.

To their credit, the home side continued to battle and reeled off four unanswered points, with Beirne followed by a hat-trick of scores from the impressive Robinson to keep the contest alive.

Further exchanges saw McCaul and Ciarán Keenan register for Louth either side of an Eoin Cully point, while a late two-pointer from McLoughlin offered little more than consolation for Kildare.

For Louth, attention now turns towards the defence of their Leinster title following what has been an encouraging and competitive league campaign.

Louth: Niall McDonnell; Emmett Carolan, Dermot Campbell, Daire Nally; Conall McKeever, Dara McDonnell (0-2), Eoghan Callaghan; Tommy Durnin, Conor Early (0-1); Paul Mathews (0-3, 1tp), Sam Mulroy (0-8, 2tp, 1tpf, 1f), James Maguire, Ciaran Keenan (0-4), Conall McCaul (0-3), Kieran McArdle (1-1).

Subs: Tadhg McDonnell (0-2, 1tp) for Eoghan Callaghan (3’), Leonard Gray for Dermot Campbell (8’), Conor Branigan for James Maguire (43’), Sean Callaghan (0-1) for Tommy Durnin (46’), Sean Reynolds for Kieran McArdle (68’).

Kildare: Cian Burke; Harry O’Neill, Padraic Spillane, Ryan Burke; Tommy Gill (0-2), Brian Byrne, Ben McCormack; Eoin Lawler, Brian McLoughlin (0-7, 2tpf); Darragh Kirwan, Alex Beirne (0-6, 2f), Colm Dalton (0-1); Colm Moran (0-1), Callum Bolton, Ben Loakman (0-2).

Subs: Mark Dempsey for Harry O’Neill (24’), Daragh Ryan for Ben McCormack (26’), Jack Robinson (0-5) for Colm Moran (h/t), Eoin Cully (0-1) for Tommy Gill (51’), Brendan Gibbons for Colm Dalton (56’).

Referee: Patrick Neilon (Roscommon).

 Photo by Matt Browne/Sportsfile