Kildare and Limerick progress in Tailteann Cup semi-finals

KILDARE AND Limerick, the only two unbeaten teams left in the Tailteann Cup, will place their perfect records on the line when they meet in the final on 12 July.

With almost matching final quarter performances in their respective semi-finals this afternoon, both teams finished strongly at Croke Park to keep alive their hopes of a golden ticket to the 2026 All-Ireland SFC.

Limerick’s four-point defeat of Wicklow was by far the more entertaining, with the Division 4 league champions looking down and out with less than 20 minutes to go.

They trailed by seven points at that stage to an Oisin McConville-led Wicklow that had dominated the third quarter.

Three Dean Healy points for Wicklow in that third quarter, along with a goal from Malachy Stone, had propelled the Garden County into a 1-16 to 1-9 lead.

Oisin McGraynor punched the air in delight after his 50th-minute point left seven between them.

But Limerick’s response was emphatic and decisive, a blistering 16-minute burst of scoring that yielded 1-9 in total.

Rob Childs got the blitzkrieg underway with a Limerick fortuitous goal — or a victory for never giving up, depending on your attitude — as he dispossessed Wicklow goalkeeper Mark Jackson after a routine catch and kicked to an empty net.

Limerick goalkeeper Josh Ryan then took centre stage with two brilliant long-range free-kick conversions, amounting to 0-4 for his team, while Danny Neville added a point to bring his tally to 1-2 for the day.

It was an unlikely scoring burst from a Limerick side that took off prolific forward James Naughton due to an apparent knock early in the second half.

Wicklow’s agony was compounded by a wasted penalty kick in the 57th minute, goalkeeper Ryan turning McGraynor’s kick onto the post and away to safety.

It was Limerick’s fifth win in a row in the competition, though they will still go into the final as underdogs against a Kildare side that started the summer as tier two favourites.

They too lived on their wits for three quarters of their semi-final against Fermanagh, and the scores were tied at 0-8 apiece with just 15 minutes to go.

At that stage, it looked as if Kildare might extend their terrible Croke Park record having lost their previous five games there.

But substitute Brian Flanagan made a huge impact, reeling off four points in a row to give his team a vital cushion in a low-scoring game affected by long spells of torrential rain.

McLoughlin’s third score was a two-pointer, and he drilled over another single late on to bring his tally to 0-5, enough to claim the Man of the Match award.

There was a late cameo too from James McGrath, who got forward to score a goal for the third game in a row.

The seven-point win flattered Kildare as they’d only led by 0-7 to 0-6 at half-time and added just a single point in the first 20 minutes of the second half.

But with 14 wides overall, and four decent goal chances created aside from the one that McGrath converted, they were full value for the win.

• Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here