Burke points way as Naas seal fourth title on the trot

Naas 0-20 Maynooth 0-12

Naas captain Brian Byrne lifted the Carew Cup on the steps of St Conleths Park today as his club became the first to win four successive Kildare Senior Hurling titles since the early 1980s.

Man of the match James Burke turned in a faultless display as he inspired his team with half of their scoring tally.

Maynooth were playing in their first final since 1943 and were massive underdogs against a team who beat them by 27 points during the group stages. However, their clever defensive set up frustrated Naas and they were particularly competitive during the first half.

Cathal McCabe epitomised their efforts through the opening 30 minutes and in a withdrawn sweeper role, he was at the heart of everything Maynooth did in an attempt to repel the best that Naas could throw at them.

He even got forward to score a point in the last minute of normal time at the end of the half to tie the game for the fourth time at 0-06 apiece.

However, this properly sparked Naas to life, Charlie Sheridan scoring in first half injury time, along with two Burke frees, to leave Naas three clear (0-09 to 0-06) ahead at half-time.

The second half was more of a slog for Maynooth and with McCabe and Cian Forde operating very deep, their attack struggled to make headway.

They scored just one point in the opening 24 minutes of the second half as last year's All-Ireland Intermediate champions gradually began to wear them down.

Burke’s frees from every conceivable angle and distance was central to that and he scored three as Naas scored five in a row to lead 0-15 to 0-07 with six minutes to play.

The next six points of the game were shared between the free takers, four for Maynooth’s David Qualter and two for Burke, and there was six points