Kildare blunt Sligo attack to reach U20 All-Ireland final

Kildare are back in the Eirgrid All-Ireland U-20 football championship final for the first time since 2018, after their defensive strength proved to be their trump card in a tense encounter with Sligo.

With the exception of corner-forward Aaron Browne, Kildare's attack largely failed to fire, despite the Lilywhites enjoying plenty of possession in the middle third of the field and setting up plenty of chances for their marksmen.

However, at the other end of the field, Kildare held the Sligo attack in an iron grip throughout, restricting the Connacht county to just 0-07 in total, and only two points from inside 40 metres.

That defensive strength was particularly to the fore in the first quarter when Kildare got the better of the kickout battle but also held the Sligo attack scoreless, forcing low percentage shots from difficult positions.

Dean O’Donoghue marshalled his back six incredibly well, as Sligo simply couldn’t work their way into good scoring positions.

The quality of chances created at the opposite end of the field was vastly superior, and while the shooting into the town end goal in the first half could best be described as mixed – Kildare added nine wides and five shots dropped short to their eight scores – Brendan Gibbons and Luke Killian kept loading the gun for their attacking colleagues, with Aaron Browne leading the way as he shot three excellent scores in the first half.

The first four points of the game all went the way of the Leinster side, including accurate scores from wide positions from Browne and Adam Fanning.

It took a wonderful long-range strike from Oisín Flynn to get Sligo off the mark in the 17th minute, but when Lee Duignan followed up with a free from the 45-metre line, it felt as if the