Kildare and Dublin met in a thrilling Leinster Under 21 final in Navan this afternoon, which was eventually won by Dublin after extra time, on a scoreline of 2-14 to 0-17. It is a third Leinster Under 21 title in a row for the Dubs. It could have been a different outcome, however, had Kildare's Mark Sherry not spurned a glorious goal chance in the dying seconds of normal time.
Mark Sherry could have been the Kildare hero but the captain missed a close range goal chance at the death #GAA
— Harry Hatton (@HarryHatton94) April 2, 2016
It was within a sliver of being a game-defining score, and exactly how close it was can be judged by the anguished commentary heard on Kildare FM:
So near and yet so far. The Dubs' dominance of Leinster goes on unabated, but Kildare ran them mightily close.
Think Dessie Farrell has never presided over loss to Kildare in 10 years managing Dub development, minor & U21 teams https://t.co/RI2cvEevg6
— ConorMcKeon (@ConorMcKn) April 2, 2016
The critical score of the game came from Dublin's Cillian O'Shea, who scored a goal in the first period of extra time to kill off the Kildare resistance. This was made all the more remarkable given that O'Shea had been subbed off through injury in the first half, only to return to seal another Dublin triumph.
