The scene at the end of the game was a touching one.
One side of the pitch, Down bounced as one as they huddled together in celebration.
On the other side, Kieran McGeeney stood with his squad and back room staff gathered around him and tried to find the words to mend their broken spirits.
It’s not an easy thing to do but when those players sit down this week and think back to what Kieran McGeeney said they will realise that they may have lost a match but they have gained so much more this summer.
“I just told them I was proud of them and that is what sport is about. I sometimes think that’s why the relationship between the press and players is so prickly. People find it hard to realise that when you walk out there you put yourself up to be graded as a man. If you grade those men, their personalities, their livelihoods from 1-10 then that is how other people will judge them. They are willing to do that and that is what you do as a sportsman. It’s tough but when you throw everything into it and don’t look on defeat as an option when it comes because you haven’t prepared for it. To put your heart and soul into something like that and then have it ripped away from you is tough. I know how it feels, I’ve been there. You try to tell them that hurt can help push them on and bring them on to bigger heights. It’s part and parcel of sport, it’s part and parcel of life but it’s how you deal with it. They can’t go home and feel sorry for themselves, they are good players, they are good lads and they have to remember that. That isn’t a measure of who they are just because it tipped the wrong way today in the last couple of minutes, I just told them to remember that and be proud of themselves,” said McGeeney.
The Armagh man doesn’t show much emotion on the sideline and while he did his best to keep his emotions in check in the media room after the game, the hurt he was going through was obvious. It didn’t help that so many key refereeing decisions and key moments in the game went against his team.
“We had to spend the last two weeks being told that Aidan O’Rourke crossed the line 22 or 23 times and whether he did it when the ball was in play or not. There is a fella watching that and yet they can’t tell whether the ball goes over the bar or can’t tell when it’s a square ball but that’s administration at its best. It’s a shame because you are taking away from people like Benny Coulter who showed great courage going for those types of ball, you take away from the work rate of Danny Hughes, the work rate of Kalum King. You can’t take it away from them, they were fantastic, they are very mobile, very quick. I thought we matched them most of the time, there were times where they had a purple patch but then we had a purple patch, we hit the post a couple of times. It’s tough, it’s hard…..it’s gut wrenching for the boys. I feel like there is a hole that just won’t be filled, I just can’t imagine what it’s like for the fellas inside there,” said McGeeney.
“They threw their heart and soul into it, you’d think at seven points down that fellas would throw the towel in but the lads kept coming back and back and back. It’s unlucky but that’s sport, isn’t that why we all play it?”
McGeeney admitted that losing Dermot Earley before the game was a huge blow but that was exacerbated when Daryl Flynn picked up an injury early in the game.
“Losing Dermot was massive but so was losing Daryl. We lost Daryl after three minutes with a neck injury. We kept him on, our physio thought he might have a vertebrae out of place and he tried to jolt it back in but he couldn’t and every time Daryl stepped he was feeling the pain at the back of his neck. You could tell he was in agony and we couldn’t leave him, it wasn’t fair on him, we probably left him on a little too long but we know what Daryl is capable of, he is a real warrior and it was a pity for us to lose our two first choice midfielders,” said McGeeney.
Earley’s injury gave Hugh Lynch the chance to shine, a chance he took with both hands.
“We talked about it during the week that it was a good possibility (that Lynch would start) but we wanted to give Dermot every chance. We had him out this morning and it was still sore, he went through the warm up and the bone was giving him a lot of hassle. There were one or two other injury worries and there were other people lined up, you give them a heads up but they know it’s part of sport as well. Sometimes you can be in after two minutes, other times you don’t come in at all,” said McGeeney.
The defeat completed the three years that McGeeney originally signed on for when he took charge of Kildare and his future is sure to be the centre of much speculation in the coming weeks.
“I’ll have to sit down and think about that. Me and administrators don’t always see eye to eye, I love to play and I love being involved in football and I love being around fellas who want to perform and give their all. I played in, in my eyes but not in everybody else’s eyes, one of the greatest teams ever to play Gaelic football. We mightn’t have shown it with our cups, they were a great bunch of lads but I would have to say that this bunch here is right up there with them for their dedication and commitment. I’d do anything for any of them but I’ll have to sit back and measure up things,” said McGeeney.
Chairman Padraig Ashe had made the county board’s position clear on that matter with a posting in the forum section of the new website in the week leading up to the semi-final. He repeated the statement that he made at convention last December.
“It is my intention to have a good working relationship with all county managers in both codes. It is also my intention to engage with Kieran McGeeney with a view to extending his stay in his adopted county Kildare. No stone will be left unturned in convincing Kieran to extend his stay. It is very visible to all what Kieran has brought to Kildare football in the last two years. We will not loose that progress made with the current team.