Kildare claim All-Ireland glory after strong finish

A controlled first half and a clinical finish were the key ingredients for Kildare as they claimed their third-ever All-Ireland title at the U21/U20 grade with a 1-17 to 0-12 victory over Sligo in Cavan.

Brian Flanagan's side held off a wholehearted Sligo effort that just ran out of steam, in no small part because of a litany of injuries and absentees.

The Yeats County’s remarkable journey through this campaign saw them take out several heavyweight opponents along the way, but those wins came at a cost, with key men Dillon Walsh and Canice Mulligan among the walking wounded that didn’t make it to Kingspan Breffni in full health.

Those concerns were compounded as they were forced to use all five substitutes by the ninth minute of the second half, and by then they were already in a world of trouble.

Yet even at full health, Sligo would have struggled to deal with what was a very balanced and athletic Kildare side that was packed full of capable, strong performers in every sector of the pitch.

The Lilywhites’ control of the kick-out battle in the first half was a huge factor as they established a solid platform, while ten scorers from play spoke volumes about their ability to hurt Sligo from different parts of the pitch.

With the wind at their backs, they had a four-point lead on the board with just ten minutes played, and they didn’t look back from there.

Niall Dolan, Callum Bolton and a Cormac Barker free, all from distance, made it 0-03 to no score and when big full-forward Hanafin followed up with a close-range point, one of several key plays from the Naas player, Sligo were in huge trouble.

Their possessions all seemed to start from deep positions as Kildare hoovered up break after break under the long kick-out, and while