Details
| Date | Time | Competition | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 May 2022 | 2:15 pm | Leinster SFC | 2022 |
Match Report
Leinster SFC: Kildare seal final spot over Westmeath
Kildare booked their place in the Leinster Final with a deserved win over a battling Westmeath side in Croke Park this afternoon.
Three points was the difference in the end but once Kildare took the lead they didn’t look like they’d relinquish it.
All the goals were scored in the first half. Within 12 seconds of the start Ronan O’Toole found the net for Westmeath. Jimmy Hyland replied for Kildare while just before the break Jamie Gonoud goalled.
Kildare bossed the second half and were ahead by seven points in the 60th minute. Credit to Westmeath they fought until the end but were beaten by the better team. Darragh Kirwan impressed for the Lilywhites while Ben McCormack and Jimmy Hyland all contributed. Ray Connellan and Sam McCartan worked hard for Westmeath.
Just 12 seconds had gone on the clock when Ronan O’Toole found the back of the net to give Westmeath a dream start. Kildare were within one of the Lake County in the sixth minute and two minutes later they took the lead; a poor kick-out fell to Daniel Flynn and his pass was fisted to the net by Hyland.
McCormack, Paul Cribbin and Darragh Kirwan kicked over points as Kildare extended their lead to six in the 19th minute. Westmeath made mistakes which Kildare duly punished. John Heslin and Nigel Harte fired over points for Westmeath but in the 31st minute the Lilywhites restored their six point advantage.
Both sides had been guilty of poor misses but Westmeath were back in the game in the 33rd minute with a goal from Jamie Gonoud but right before half-time Kevin Flynn pointed over to give Kildare a four point lead - 1-13 to 2-06.
Kildare extended the lead to five points inside the opening minute of the second half when Daniel Flynn pointed. Fine points from Connellan and McCartan cut the deficit to three after 38 minutes but Kildare were always able to keep a gap between themselves and Westmeath.
Kirwan put seven between the sides with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, but that was Kildare’s final score of the game. McCartan (two), O’Toole and John Heslin all kicked over late scores. It’s now the Táilteann Cup for the Lake County while Kildare play the winners of Dublin and Meath in the Leinster Final.
Timeline
| Ben McCormack | 1' | |
| 1' | Ronan O'Toole | |
| Ben McCormack | 4' | |
| 4' | Ronan O'Toole | |
| Daniel Flynn | 6' | |
| Jimmy Hyland | 7' | |
| 9' | John Heslin | |
| Darragh Kirwan | 10' | |
| Paul Cribbin | 12' | |
| Jimmy Hyland | 14' | |
| Ben McCormack | 16' | |
| 16' | Sam McCartan | |
| Tony Archbold | 17' | |
| Alex Beirne | 20' | |
| Paul Cribbin | 20' | |
| 25' | John Heslin | |
| 27' | Nigel Harte | |
| Darragh Kirwan | 29' | |
| Jimmy Hyland | 31' | |
| 31' | John Heslin | |
| 33' | Jamie Gonoud | |
| Kevin Flynn | 34' | |
| 34' | Jonathan Lynam Luke Loughlin |
|
| Ben McCormack | 35' | |
| Daniel Flynn | 36' | |
| 37' | Ray Connellan | |
| 37' | Sam McCartan | |
| Darragh Kirwan | 39' | |
| Jimmy Hyland | 40' | |
| Darragh Kirwan | 44' | |
| 44' | Luke Loughlin | |
| Darragh Kirwan | 45' | |
| Jimmy Hyland | 46' | |
| 47' | Ray Connellan | |
| Paul Cribbin Paddy McDermott |
48' | |
| 48' | Alex Gardiner Sam Duncan |
|
| Ben McCormack | 52' | |
| 52' | Ronan O'Toole | |
| Mike Joyce David Hyland |
53' | |
| 55' | Substitute James Dolan |
|
| Kevin O'Callaghan Fergal Conway |
57' | |
| Jimmy Hyland Neil Flynn |
60' | |
| 61' | Ger Egan Kieran Martin |
|
| 64' | Sam McCartan | |
| 65' | Ronan O'Toole | |
| Daniel Flynn | 66' | |
| Neil Flynn | 68' | |
| Tony Archbold | 72' |
Past Meetings
 
(Semi Final)
0-18 2-14Leinster SFC
Croke Park
Westmeath v Meath |
Ground
| Croke Park |
|---|
| Croke Park, Jones's Road, Dublin, D01 WY49, Ireland |
Deniese O'Flaherty
Deniese is a freelance sports journalist/broadcaster. She has worked for several local and national media outlets. GAA and soccer are her great loves and she also follows rugby league and snooker. She's a big supporter of her local clubs St. Mary's GAA Granard and Longford Town. She also follows Celtic, Liverpool and Leeds Rhinos. She presented and produced a popular sports podcast last year where she interviewed Ray Houghton, Chris Kamara and John Hartson. Deniese is currently Head of Communications for Boccia Ireland
Sam McCartan with another point.. 3 point game with time nearly up
Heslin with a point to cut the gap to four points
Neill Flynn kicks over a free
Ronan O'Toole with a fine point
Another point for Sam McCartan
Mick Joyce is off
David Hyland is on for Kildare
Paul Cribbin off
Paul McDermott on for Kildare
David Lynch off
James Dolan on for Westmeath
Alex Gardiner off
Sam Duncan on for Westmeath
Ronan O'Toole with a point
Ben McCormack with a mark
Ray Connellan with a point. Hawkeye was called on
Jimmy Hyland with a point
Darragh Kirwan with his fifth point
Another point for Darragh Kirwan
Fine point from Luke Loughlin
Ger Egan looked to have been fouled but the referee feels he was the one fouling.
Jimmy Hyland with a free
Darragh Kirwan with a free
Fantastic point from Ray Connellan
Great point for Sam McCartan
Daniel Flynn points to put five between the sides
Ben McCormack with a point to leave four between them
Jonathan Lynam is off
Luke Loughlin on
Kevin Flynn with a point for Kildare
A goal from Gonoud brings Westmeath back into the game
Good response from Westmeath as Heslin points
Jimmy Hyland with a point for the Lilywhites
Lovely point from Darragh Kirwan. Mistakes costing Westmeath
Nigel Harte with the point after a pass from Ray Connellan
John Heslin with a pointed free
Paul Cribbin gets booked for a foul on Alex Gardiner
Alex Beirne with a point for Kildare
Tony Archibold with a point after a poor kick-out
Ben McCormack with a point
Sam McCartan with a fine point for the Lake County
Hyland with a pointed free
Paul Cribbin gets his name on the scoresheet
Darragh Kirwan with a point for Kildare
John Heslin with a point
Poor kick-out - Daniel Flynn to Jimmy Hyland punches ball to the net.
Kildare cut the gap to one point
Ben McCormack replies with a point for Kildare
Ben McCormack replies with a point for Kildare
Ronan O'Toole with a point
That goal came within the opening 12 seconds.
Ronan O'Toole with a goal for Westmeath. What a start for Westmeath
One change for the Westmeath side - Ger Egan in for Lorcan Dolan.
Westmeath haven't been in a Leinster Final since 2015, while Kildare were beaten by Dublin last year in the final. In his first year as manager of his native Kildare, Glenn Ryan would love his side to get to the provincial final
Kildare booked their place in today's semi-final with a fine win over Louth while Westmeath got the better of their neighbours Longford in their quarter-final clash
These two sides met at this stage of the championship last year with Kildare winning by two points.
Welcome to this afternoon's coverage of the Leinster semi-final between Kildare and Westmeath. I'm Deniese O'Flaherty and will be taking you through all the action.