By Brendan Coffey
KEHOE CUP QUARTER-FINAL
GMIT 1-17 KILDARE 1-16 AET
KILDARE manager Willie Sunderland was a picture of frustration after watching his side lose out by a point after extra-time in their opening game of the season.
Having been on top for most of the 70 minutes, the Lilies let their lead slip in the second half after Paul Divilly was sent off in the 47th minute and when Paudie Reidy picked up a second yellow card in extra-time, the home side didn’t have a lead to protect them.
“We’re good enough and fit enough to beat those guys,” was Sunderland’s blunt assessment of Saturday’s defeat to GMIT in the Kehoe Cup. “We’ve got to get back to the field. We keep saying it: ‘if you don’t do it in the training field, you won’t do it out there.’ And to be honest with you, we haven’t been doing enough quality stuff in our training even though we’ve talked about it long enough. We haven’t done enough quality stuff in training to bring it to a match.”
After a good start during which Chris Bonus found the net, Kildare had just a point to spare at half-time when GMIT came storming back at them before the interval. The students scored 1-2 in seven minutes to take the lead only for the Lilies to finish strongly with three successive points.
“I can’t fault for effort and the lads are bitterly disappointed,” said Sunderland. Kildare held a 1-7 to 1-6 advantage at the break and were four points clear at one stage in the second half.
“That (defeat) wasn’t on the agenda,” said Sunderland. “We have to pick ourselves up and move on. It’s a dose of reality now. I would expect to win that Kehoe Cup. I would expect to go and win our division of the league. I would expect to be competitive and get them to the Christy Ring Final.”
Kildare now have a four week break until their next competitive outing, which is the first round of the league against Meath but there is much to work on in the meantime and they will feel that they left this one behind them.
Despite being reduced to 14 men during the second half, Kildare had the chance to win the game in normal time when Leo Quinn spurned a great scoring opportunity and the sides returned to the field for an extra 20 minutes after they finished level at 1-12 apiece.
Willie Sunderland’s side made a blistering start when Chris Bonus netted a fine goal after just ten minutes but GMIT netted nine minutes before half-time to leave just one between the sides at the break (1-6 to 1-5). Kildare were cruising for most of the second half and held a four point advantage entering the final quarter but they conceded 0-5 in the last 12 minutes, scoring just one point in reply as the students drew level. A straight red card for Paul Divilly, after he lashed out with the hurl in the 47th minute, didn’t help Kildare’s cause.
Although Kildare resumed with 15 men for the start of extra-time, it wasn’t long before they were back to 14 when Paudie Reidy picked up his second yellow card six minutes later. In a strange anomaly within GAA rules, yellow cards are carried forward into extra-time even though a player red-carded during normal time can be replaced.
Reidy’s second yellow, for a foul on Conor O’Donnell, gave GMIT the chance to open up a two-point gap (1-15 to 1-13) at the second interval.
That free from Jimmy Gelston was the last score of the first period and GMIT increased their advantage further with a free from Jason Hanrahan, three minutes into the second period.
David Harney pulled one back for Kildare before Hanrahan knocked over another free to maintain a three point gap. Time was running out for the home side but they caught fire again with points from Mark Moloney and a Johnny Enright free to reduce the margin to the minimum. Enright had a chance to level the game from another free in the dying moments but his long-range effort drifted wide of the target.
One final attack from Kildare went to waste and the final whistle sounded on the button, leaving Kildare agonisingly short in their first competitive game of 2012. In truth they should have had the game wrapped up in normal time.
KILDARE: Paul Dermody (Éire Óg); Pa Curtin (Celbridge), Paudie Reidy (Buffers Alley), John Doran (Leixlip); Eanna O’Neill (Coill Dubh), Richie Hoban (Ardclough), Kieran Divilly (Confey); Kevin Chan (Confey), Mick Purcell (Naas); Johnny Enright .-.fs (Thurles Sarsfields), Paul Divilly .-. (Confey), Mark Moloney . (Celbridge); Tony Murphy (Celbridge), David Harney .-. (Clane), Chris Bonus .-. (Clane). Subs: Danny Butler (Celbridge) for Chan, ..; Niall Ó Muineacháin (Celbridge) for K Divilly, ..; Leo Quinn (Celbridge) for Harney, ..; Andrew Doyle (Naas) for Hoban, ..; Gavin Tynan (Clane) for Bonus, ..; Kieran Divilly for Purcell, ..; Dave Smyth (Moorefield) for Murphy, ..; Martin Fitzgerald (Ardclough) for Tynan, ...
GMIT: Joe Keane; Ger O’Halloran, Sean Coughlan, Conor Forde; Darragh Maher .-., Matt Donoghue, Brian Mulrooney; Kevin Waters, Jimmy Gelston . (.fs); Keelan Greene .-., Wayne McNamara .-., Niall Mannion .-.; Keeny Feeney .-., Conor O’Donnell .-., James Liddy. Subs: Ger Mahon for Donoghue, h/ t; Jason Hanrahan .-. (.fs) for Greene, ..; Conor Cannon for Feeney, ..; Shane Kinsella for Mannion, ..; Francis O’Grady for Cannon, ..; Cannon for Kinsella, ..; Conor O’Donnell for Waters, ...
REF: Gavin Quilty (Kilkenny)