Sullivan and Dooley strike to seal silverware for Lilies

FIRST-HALF goals from Claire Sullivan and Neasa Dooley were crucial as Kildare defeated Tyrone to claim their first Lidl National Football League Division 2 crown since 2004.

After Róisín Byrne had opened the scoring with a second-minute point, Emma Conroy responded with a brace at the opposite end to edge Tyrone in front.

However, Kildare, appearing at GAA HQ for the first time since winning last year’s TG4 All-Ireland IFC title, were already showing considerable attacking intent and bagged their first goal on six minutes when Byrne fed the raiding Sullivan for a low finish to the net.

Byrne and Maria Canavan — a member of that famous Tyrone extended family — went on to trade points at either end of the pitch, but with sunshine making way for driving rain, the tie’s quality took a dip.

Nevertheless, a two-point salvo by Canavan got Tyrone back on level terms in the 18th-minute and they then squeezed into the ascendancy again when Sasha Byrne found the target from close range.

Yet Byrne added a brace of her own just as the conditions started to brighten up again and thanks to Dooley’s superb three-pointer on 27 minutes, Kildare brought a 2-4 to 0-6 cushion into the interval.

Tyrone, who drew with Kildare during the Division 2 group stages, were still in contention on the restart, however, and another clinically-executed Canavan free got them back up and running. Captain Aoibhínn McHugh also burst through from midfield for a point that hit the bar on its way over, before Kildare finally opened their second-half account on 41 minutes with Trína Duggan fing over.

The ever-dependable Canavan and Lilywhites substitute Lara Curran cancelled each other out with points as the third-quarter drew to a close, only for the Tyrone sharpshooter to once again chip in with a placed ball effort.

Niamh Farrelly later joined Curran in registering a point after entering the fray and this was followed by a Joy: Kildare’s Ellen Dowling majestic Ellen Dowling score from out towards the left-wing. While Canavan brought her personal tally up to 0-8 in the closing moments, a Dooley effort ensured that Diane O’Hora’s Lilies had three points to spare in the end. KILDARE: M Hulgraine; F Troute, A Clifford, M Doherty; L Murtagh (L Curran 43), R Sargent, L Gilbert; G Clifford, H McLoughlin (E O’Toole 40); T Duggan (S Munnelly 54), E Dowling (H Tyrrell 53), C Sullivan; N Dooley, R Byrne, A Rattigan (N Farrelly 25). Scorers: N Dooley 1-1, R Byrne 0-4 (2f), C Sullivan 1-0, T Duggan, E Dowling, L Curran, N Farrelly 0-1 each TYRONE: C Donnelly; J Lyons, J Barrett (C Daly 45), E Quinn; C Campbell, E Mulgrew, M Corrigan (KR Muldoon 60); A McHugh, M Mallon; EJ Gervin, E Conroy (A Grimes 50), A Horisk (A Daly 53); M Canavan, Z Loughran, S Byrne (E McCanny 45). Scorers: M Canavan 0-8 (7f), E Conroy 0-2, A McHugh, S Byrne 0-1 each.