2023 TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Intermediate Football Championship Final – Kildare 2-11 Clare 2-10

Kildare defeated Clare by 2-11 to 2-10 in the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Intermediate Football Championship Final on Sunday August 13th at Croke Park.

Kildare 2-11 Clare 2-10

By Eoin Brennan

Kildare maintained their dominance over Clare but only after surviving a late backlash to secure their first TG4 All-Ireland intermediate title in seven years in Croke Park.

Having already overcome the Banner twice in 2023 as well as the 2016 final, Diane O’Hora’s side looked to be heading for a comfortable hat-trick until the concession of two late goals.

Eight points clear entering the final ten minutes after successfully protecting the cushion of first half goals for Trina Duggan and Ellen Dowling, the Banner backlash was ignited in the 52nd minute when Chloe Moloney’s free was parried by Mary Hulgraine, only for Fidelma Marrinan to flick the rebound to the net while three minutes later Moloney got a deft flick to a Ciara McCarthy delivery to find the net and tee up a grandstand finish.

Clare had also started the brighter with a brace of Fidelma Marrinan frees by the sixth minute. However, there was a major indication of Kildare’s intent when only two minutes later Claire Sullivan struck the crossbar while Neasa Dooley’s rebound was superbly saved at point blank range by goalkeeper Amy Lenihan.

Clare failed to heed that warning sign and were duly punished in the tenth minute when Kildare again sliced open their defence as Dooley turned provider for Trina Duggan to sidestep the last defender and fire to the bottom left corner of the net.

Sandwiched by a trio of Roisin Byrne points, the Lilywhites soared 1-3 to 0-2 clear nearing the end of the opening quarter, an advantage that they maintained before being presented with a gift in the 20th minute.

Ellen Dowling intercepted a Clare kick-out to fire to an empty net and followed quickly by Byrne’s fifth point of the afternoon, Kildare powered to a 2-6 to 0-5 interval advantage.

Having failed to register a single point from play in the opening period, the Banner found it equally difficult to make inroads on the resumption as scorer-in-chief Byrne kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Leinster side to match whatever their opponents could throw at them.

Aisling Reidy had a chance to alter the narrative at the three-quarter mark, only to see her shot just drift outside the top left corner of Mary Hulgraine’s post.

However, the Banner’s best was to come and while they did have chances to force extra-time, Kildare admirably held firm to secure only their second TG4 All-Ireland intermediate crown.

Scorers –
Kildare: R Byrne 0-7 (5f), E Dowling 1-1, T Duggan 1-0, N Dooley 0-2, L Gilbert 0-1.
Clare: F Marrinan 1-5 (5f), C Moloney 1-3 (3f), C Blake 0-2.

KILDARE: M Hulgraine; L Burke, L Lenehan, A Clifford; L Murtagh, R Sargent, L Gilbert; G Clifford, A Rattigan; C Sullivan, E Dowling, T Duggan; N Dooley, R Byrne, L Curran
Subs: G Kenneally for Duggan (41), M Doherty for Rattigan (46), F Troute for Burke (46, inj), O Sullivan for Curran (51)

CLARE: A Lenihan; G Harvey, S Ní Chonaill, A Keane; L Griffin, C Harvey, O Devitt; A Reidy, C Blake; L Ryan, F Marrinan, C Cahill; A Sexton, C Moloney, L Griffey
Subs: M Downes for Griffin (12), C McCarthy for Griffey (39), R Looney for Griffey (44), S Considine for Sexton (48), J Doohan for Devitt (57)

Ref – Gus Chapman (Sligo).

Ticket Information

Who's taking these home from @CrokePark on August 13? 🏆

Junior – 11.45am @DownLGFA v @LKLadiesGaelic

Intermediate – 1.45pm @Clarelgfa v @KildareLGFA1

Senior – 4pm @dublinladiesg v @kerryladiesfoot

🎟️Get your tickets now ➡️ https://t.co/I4BXImRV4j#ProperFan @SportTG4 pic.twitter.com/QKx0DMdsXH

— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) July 30, 2023

Match Preview

CLARE and Kildare are both unchanged for their third competitive meeting of 2023 – and another close encounter is anticipated.
The sides have met twice already this year in the Lidl National League and there’s been little to separate them on each occasion.
Kildare won a group fixture by 0-9 to 0-7 and when the sides met in the Division 3 Final at Parnell Park, it was another incredibly tight affair.

When the dust settled after extra-time, Kildare had prevailed by just a single point on a 2-11 to 2-10 scoreline, with brilliant Lilywhites forward Róisín Byrne contributing 0-10 of her side’s tally.

On the Clare side, Fidelma Marrinan was also in sensational form and unlucky to finish on the losing side after scoring 1-6.
Both teams will contest a TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Final today for the first time since 2016.
And, as fate would have it, it was Clare and Kildare who also appeared in that Final seven years ago.
On the day, Kildare came out on top to atone for their 2015 Final loss to Waterford.

Sunday marks a third All-Ireland Intermediate Final appearance for Kildare, while Clare are preparing for their fourth.
The Banner County lost to Tipperary in 2008 and Kildare in 2016 but they have won this title before, against Fermanagh in 2009.
Not surprisingly, Byrne and Marrinan have been influential en route to the Final for their respective teams.

Marrinan is Clare’s top scorer with 4-33 to date in the All-Ireland series and is the Intermediate Championship’s leading sharpshooter.
She’s also just two points behind Down’s Natasha Ferris in the race for the ZuCar Golden Boot award, which will be received by the leading scorer in the 2023 TG4 All-Ireland series across the Senior, Intermediate and Junior grades.

Byrne, meanwhile, has scored 0-18 for Kildare to date in the All-Ireland series, with team-mate Neasa Dooley weighing in with 4-4.

Team News

CLARE: A Lenihan; Á Keane, S Ní Chonaill, G Harvey; L Griffin, C Harvey (capt.), O Devitt; A Reidy, C Moloney; L Ryan, F Marrinan, A Sexton; L Griffey, C Blake, C Cahill.

KILDARE: M Hulgraine; L Burke, L Lenehan, A Clifford; L Gilbert, R Sargent, L Murtagh; G Clifford (capt), A Rattigan; T Duggan, N Dooley, C Sullivan; E Dowling, R Byrne, L Curran.