Electric Ireland Leinster MFC final: Kildare win it on penalties

​​Electric Ireland Leinster MFC final

Kildare 2-13 Meath 1-16

After extra time

Kildare win 5-3 on penalties

By Paul Keane at Laois Hire O'Moore Park, Portlaoise

Over two hours after this Electric Ireland Leinster MFC final started, they were still duking it out in Portlaoise.

It came down to penalties in the end and Kildare held their nerve, slotting all five of theirs to take the title for the first time since 2019.

It's their 10th provincial win in all and Lilywhites supporters who held their breath throughout a tense shoot-out were left to marvel at the impact of a couple of key players.

Greg Kelly was the player of the match with a crucial 1-2 but this landmark win - which has secured Kildare an All-Ireland quarter-final clash with Munster runners-up Kerry on the first weekend of June - wouldn't have been possible without Logan Tennyson either.

Brought on early in the second half of normal time, the St Kevin's teenager firstly broke Meath hearts by forcing extra time with a late 1-1.

Then after 20 extra minutes he popped up with another equaliser, this time a pointed free, to force the game to spot kicks.

Tennyson was one of the five Kildare penalty takers to convert their kicks too, with goalkeeper Joe Crotty pulling off a crucial save from Meath captain Harry McGuirk.

That was unfortunate for McGuirk after a powerful performance but Meath are still alive in the All-Ireland series at least and will face Munster champions Cork.

Kildare had five points to spare when the sides previously met in early April in Skryne, the home club of Meath manager Trevor Giles.

That was Meath's second loss after defeat to Louth so they had to beat Laois in their last group game just to advance.

But they did so in style, slamming in five goals and they added six more against Wicklow, five against Offaly and two in the semi-final win over Dublin.

The only blot on Kildare's copybook was a group game loss to Louth, a result they avenged with a 1-11 to 0-10 semi-final win.

They got the brighter start this time too, sniping early points from Eoghan Lyons and Jack Reilly.

Wind-assisted Kildare were the better side for the first 25 minutes too but a fourth minute Liam O'Donoghue goal kept Meath in it.

And when the Royals finished out the half with points from Milo Stafford and Conn Brennan, they tied it up at 1-5 to 0-8.

That was more than acceptable from their perspective considering the wind and a couple of decent point chances, and a goal opportunity, that Kildare wasted.

The third quarter was tense and the sides split four points between them, Jack Reilly with a couple of Kildare points from frees, 1-7 to 0-10.

That's when Meath came alive with their best passage of play, reeling off four more points without response.

McGuirk pulled the strings as Stafford, Leo Kavanagh, Brennan and Cormac Walsh finished off sweet moves, leaving Meath 1-11 to 0-10 up deep into stoppage time.

But Kildare simply refused to relent and when Fiachra Martin's shot at goal was blocked, Tennyson swept up the crumbs and fired to the net.

Almost inevitably, Kildare then conjured the equaliser four minutes into stoppage time, Tennyson the hero again as he tied it up at 1-12 to 1-12 with a rifled point from close range.

They scored a point each in the first half of extra time - which suited Meath as they'd played into the wind.

The Royals thought they'd won it when they cancelled out Kelly's well-worked 74th minute goal with four points, including a two-pointer from Stafford.

But Tennyson intervened again, curling over the leveller from a free that was won by Kelly to set up the penalty shoot out.

Tennyson, Lyons, Reilly, Callum Cowzer and Luke Shanahan all converted from the spot for Kildare while goalkeeper Crotty made an excellent save to deny McGuirk who was taking Meath's second penalty.

Kildare scorers: Greg Kelly 1-2, Logan Tennyson 1-2 (0-1f), Jack Reilly 0-5 (0-4f), Eoghan Lyons 0-2 (0-1f), Fionn Lawlor 0-1, Páidí Ryan 0-1.

Meath scorers: Milo Stafford 0-6 (0-3f, 1 tp), Liam O'Donoghue 1-0, Conn Brennan 0-3, Harry McGuirk 0-3, Cormac Fitzsimons 0-1, 1f, Leo Kavanagh 0-1, Cormac Walsh 0-1, Tomás Dillon 0-1.

Kildare: Joe Crotty; Luke Shanahan, Ryan Crawford, Eoin Markey; Fionn Lawlor, Jack Doran, Liam Mescal; Charlie Doran, Páidí Ryan; Jamie Flood, Greg Kelly, Eoghan Lyons; Jack Reilly, Aidan Tobin, Cian Kehoe.

Subs: Logan Tennyson for Flood 35, Aodhán Bergin for Tobin 46, Fiachra Martin for Kehoe 54, Rory Cooke for Ryan 59. Gearóid Clare for Lawlor 70, Callum Cowzer for Doran 74.

Meath: Cormac Fitzsimons; Ben Browne, Tomás Clarke, Niall Rogan; Liam O'Donoghue, John Killoran, Niall Smyth; Cormac McKenna, Conn Brennan; Harry McGuirk, Tomás Proudfoot, Alex Keane; Cormac Walsh, Milo Stafford, Dara Loughran.

Subs: Leo Kavanagh for Proudfoot 43, Thomas McKeever for Loughran 52, Harry Keating for Browne 62, Tomás Dillon for Walsh 62. Loughran for Killoran 83, Dillon Glynn for Rogan 83.

Ref: Enda Kelly (Westmeath).