The Caragh players celebrate after their AIB Intermediate Club Football Final victory over Naomh Mearnóg.
AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Football Final
CARAGH 0-13 NAOMH MEARNÓG 0-8
By Ger McNally at Parnell Park
Caragh kept up the excellent record of Kildare teams in the Leinster Intermediate Football Championship as they became the seventh winners from the county by beating Naomh Mearnóg at Parnell Park.
The eventual winners were the better side in the first half, even when playing against the wind, but their shooting let them down. Jake Corrigan scored the first point of the game after five minutes but that was their only score in the opening 24 minutes.
Naomh Mearnóg hadn’t scored in the opening 12 minutes either but were given the chance from a penalty after Karl Lynch Bissett was adjudged to have been fouled by Ryan Burke.
Lynch Bissett stepped up himself and struck his penalty low to the left but Caragh goalkeeper Michael Behan made a stunning save.
Naomh Mearnóg recycled the ball from the resulting 45 and scored a point from Tommy Cosgrove before Shane Kavanagh put them ahead for the first and only time in the 16th minute.
Caragh finished out the half with three points in a row, including a brilliant effort off the outside of his right boot by Ryan Burke, to lead 0-4 to 0-2 at the break.
After scoring the three of the first four points of the second half, Caragh led by four but Naomh Mearnóg came battling back into the game with three points in a row to leave the score at 0-7 to 0-6.
The last ten minutes belonged to the Kildare side, and to full forward Jake Corrigan in particular.
He got the better of a running battle with the Naomh Mearnóg backline and scored three points in the closing stages to bring his tally to five from play for the game.
Their day was completed when club stalwart Dan Campbell came off the bench late on and kicked the last point on an unforgettable day for Caragh.
They will now represent Kildare and Leinster in the All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo’s Crossmolina Deel Rovers on the first weekend of 2025.
CARAGH: Michael Behan; Cathal McKennedy, Matthew McNally, Billy Byrne; Conor Sullivan 0-1, Ryan Burke 0-1, Paul Dockery; Kevin Connor, Eogan O’Haire 0-1 (f); Josh Gannon 0-1, Darragh Swords 0-2, Dan Murray; Ronan Doorey 0-1, Jake Corrigan 0-5, Kevin Campbell. SUBS: Liam Blake for Connor (temp 28-HT), Austin Nevin for K Campbell 47, Fergal McKennedy for Gannon 51, Cian Burke for Sullivan 60+1, Dan Campbell 0-1 for Doorey 60+3.
NAOMH MEARNÓG: Mark O’Connor; Rory O’Loughlin,Fintan O’Connor, Darren Byrne; Eoin Kelly, Conor Archer, Tommy Cosgrove 0-1; Seán Hawkshaw, Cian Madden; Jamie Walsh, Karl Lynch Bassett 0-4(2fs,1’45), Shane Kavanagh 0-2 (1f); Harry Collier, Michael Gibbs, Bernard Deay 0-1. SUBS: Aodhán Fee for Collier 41, Bobby Smith for Archer 46, Frank Doyle for O’Loughlin 54, Kevin O’Brien for Hawkshaw 59,Oisín Taylor for Walsh 60+4.
REFEREE: Kevin Williamson (Offaly).
