Feature Game 03/05/2026

By Derek Byrne

Kildare Town AFC 1 Clane United FC 2

Clane United made the visit to Kildare Town on Sunday morning in a game that saw two teams that have title ambitions go head to head on a perfect morning for football. Clane came into the game in  good form on the back of two wins but it was the home side that started the stronger and were dominant for the first fifteen minutes. Clane struggled to settle and were pushed by a well drilled physical home side. Chances were at a premium and having weathered the early storm the visitors came into the game with Ryan Murran and Gavin Denton working hard up front to create chances while Jack Kelly and veteran Thomas Hyland had to be on their game to keep Kildare’s attack at bay. 

0-0 at half time was a fair reflection on the game but Clane manager Paul Kelly rang the changes at the break introducing both Rosss Murphy and the returning Cathal Geoghegan to great effect. Geoghegan's experience brought solidity to the Clane defence while Murphy offered the Clane attack something different going forward.  Both sides' defensive structure were to the fore but as the game wore on Denton and Murran up top started to make things happen. The deadlock was broken on seventy five when Murphy finished smartly to give the visitors the lead.  Sensing a big win Kelly enhanced the Clane forward line with the introduction of  Andrew Hyland and Eoin Doyle. Hyland  showed the Clane supporters what they had been missing with a quality display for the fifteen minutes he was on the park and Doyle showed his quality on eight one picking out the ever alert Denton to double the Clane advantage. Town to their credit continued to flow forward as their tried to get back into the game. On eighty ninth minutes Kelly was adjudged to have fouled in the box and Kieran Sheedy made no mistake to make it a nervy final seven minutes for the visitors. The game finished 2-1 and was just about the right result for both teams who will be fighting for honours come the final stages of the season. Best for Clane ; Gavin Denton, Ryan Murran and MOTM Mark Kelly. While Josh Burns, Dean Hill and Adam Downes worked tirelessly for Kildare