Kildalkey exit Leinster at first hurdle again

Just a few days after he was nominated for his first hurling All-Star award Richie Hogan paid a visit to Pairc Tailteann on Sunday and proceded to almost single-handedly scupper Kildalkey's ambitions of making progress in the Leinster Club IHC. Hogan fired over 11 points and generally lit up a wet and dreary afternoon at headquarters unleashing his prodigious range of skills to propel his side into the next round. He did all that despite not having his usual helmet which he left behind in Kilkenny. Instead he was given alternative headgear by someone in Kiltale where the Danesfort players had stopped off for a puck-about before making their way to Navan. Not that he was in any way discommoded by the change of headgear, the wintry weather or the meaty challenges that came his way during a physically demanding encounter. He unlocked his box of tricks and made the Meath champions suffer. For neutrals in the crowd of around 400 the manner in which he displayed his broad range of skills was worth the admission alone. It's not often in recent times that Kildalkey have found themselves going into the closing stages of a game at Pairc Tailteann trailing their opponents and looking like a team who had run out of ideas. They gave it everything and for 45 minutes or so, really troubled their opponents, but with the indomitable Hogan in top form the visitors had a extra dimension that Kildalkey simply couldn't match. It's rare that Kildalkey could only manage two points from play with Derek Doran pointing in the first-half and Padraig Geoghegan tagging on another late on. All of Noel Kirby's five points came from placed balls. The one, not inconsiderable consolation for Kildalkey is that they weren't caught cold like they were against Dicksboro last year when they conceded six goals. This time around they blocked all the channels to goal never providing their opponents with even one clear-cut goal-scoring opportunity. That has to be regarded as a considerable achievement by the Meath champions. It says a lot for their defensive fortitude especially considering that Danesfort had Hogan and another All-Ireland SHC winner this year, Paul Murphy, among their starting personnel. All-Star Paddy Hogan was unable to start. Daire Laharte and Mairtin Doran both had spells marking Hogan and only for their stubborn pursuit of the player the All-Star could have inflicted even more damage. Kildalkey will look on this game as yet another adventure in a remarkable year that yielded a three-in-a-row of Jubilee Cups and a A HL Div 1 title for the first time. They only briefly led in this game and that was in the opening stages when Kirby fired over from a free 10 metres inside his own '65' to open the scoring. Just 30 seconds later Hogan equalised. Kirby again split the posts from a free and, again, Danesfort quickly responded, this time another of their skilful contingent, half-forward Oisin Daly, slotted over from play. At the break Danesfort led 0-8 to 0-4 and looked the stronger outfit. One of the highlights of the afternoon for Kildalkey came two minutes into the second-half when they launched an attack. Tony Fox won the ball about 20 metres out and used a combination of neat footwork and physical strength to get past a number of opponents. The ball broke loose and Gary Kelly managed to bundle it across the line to leave the scoreboard reading 1-4 to 0-8. The Kildalkey supporters roared their approval and a shock looked briefly on the cards. Immediately afterwards Kirby again pointed from a free to level the scores. It's not that difficult to imagine what happened next. Yet again Hogan pointed from a free to put Danesfort back in front and this time the Kilkenny side were not to be caught. Instead they hammered over a series of points from Hogan, Daly and Ben O'Connor to put themselves in the clear. A number of the Kildalkey players will look back on this game with a sense of disappointment that they didn't run their opponents closer yet also knowing that they gave strong personal performances. One of the chief reasons why the Meath champions didn't concede a goal was the desire and determination displayed by their splendid half-back line of Maurice Keogh, Enda Keogh and Mairtin Doran. It wasn't unusual to see Enda Keogh surging forward after picking up possession and lofting the ball downfield. Maurice Keogh and Mairtin Doran allowed their direct opponents little latitude. Conor Dunne was also excellent at right-corner-back. One of the best pieces of skill produced all afternoon came from Kildalkey full-back Stephen Forde early in proceedings. He was side-stepped by Danesfort forward Robbie Walsh who had a clear run at goals. Forde showed admirable powers of recovery to neatly flick the ball away from Walsh before clearing. It was type of defensive play that would have greatly impressed Brian Cody. Despite all their goodwork at the back Kildalkey ended up bowing out at the first hurdle, still they can look back on a great year. Danesfort - F Manogue; P Walsh, C Treacy, M Cunningham; T Woodcock, P Murphy (0-2), L Forrestal; G O'Keeffe, B O'Connor (0-1); D Forrestal, S Duncan (0-1), O Daly (0-2); D Booth, R Hogan (0-11 five frees), R Walsh (0-1). Subs- P Forrestal for Duncan 46 mins, C Treacy for D Forrestal 53m. Kildalkey - C Flynn; C Dunne, S Forde, D Laharte; M Keogh, E Keogh, M Doran; S Corrigan, T Fox; P Keogh, N Kirby (0-5 four frees, one '65'), P Geoghegan (0-1); G Kelly (1-0), S Heavey, D Doran (0-1). Subs - P Conneely for Corrigan 39mins, F McMahon for Kelly 41m. Referee - Pat Murphy (Carlow).