AFTER watching Sunday’s demolition of Offaly, I was tempted to re-cycle last week’s column. Not much has changed in a week, I’m just more convinced than ever before that the O’Byrne Cup should be removed from the inter-county schedule.
Would these kind of results happen in a competition where every team was actually trying? I can’t imagine that Offaly would come to Newbridge for a league game and put out such a bad team and unless something’s gone wrong with the breeding down there, there’s no way they’d keel over like that in a championship game.
At least Kildare are using the O’Byrne Cup in the right way. They have introduced a few fresh faces but they’ve got the combination right. Those fringe players who are getting game time are playing alongside regulars and that’s important for them to have a genuine chance to impress. While I was disappointed not to see a more experimental outfit against DIT, it’s clear to see that no one gets a game for the sake of it under Kieran McGeeney’s watch. Whatever you want to criticise about his setup, you have to hand it to him for creating such a competitive environment. All over the pitch, there were lads bursting a gut for the cause, especially those fringe players like Tommy O’Neill, Tommy Moolick, Karl Ennis and Paddy Dunne. The rest of them just never stop going.
You could sense those players who were a little edgy, trying to make an impression every time they got on the ball but that was also true of the likes of Alan Smith, whose persistence really paid off in the second half. While the results come with asterisks at this time of the year, the return of a confident Smith is one reason to value these games. Mikey Conway is finding his feet again too and Eoghan O’Flaherty is revelling in his new role at wing-back.
Watching Kildare, even this early in the year, you can tell that every player is playing for a position. No one is chosen on the basis of reputation and of the 33 players listed in Sunday’s match programme,Mick Foley, Emmet Bolton and Aindriú Mac Hochlainn weren’t listed. That list also didn’t include last year’s sub goalkeeper, Shane McCormack, who’s playing in the Dr McKenna Cup with UUJ. And not forgetting Dermot Earley and Hugh Lynch either. I’d hate to be in charge of the roll-call when they’re travelling to away matches, there’s that many lads involved you’d be half afraid you’d forget someone on the way home.
All of which is positive news for the squad. There is a growing sense that the squad has more strength in depth than ever before, certainly more than they’ve ever been given credit for. That, as much as anything else, is why Kildare are able to put 17 points past Offaly at this time of the year. However bad the Offaly attack was on Sunday, it takes some serious hunger and determination for any defence to go a full half without conceding a single score. That to me speaks volumes about this Kildare setup.
One of the most impressive aspects of Kildare’s play so far this year, and one of the few elements you can be confident of judging given the the time of year and the state of the opposition, has been their tackling. I lost count of the number of times an Offaly player was cleanly dispossessed when in possession. Kildare conceded very few frees inside their own half and even fewer were conceded within scoring range. Even if the referee was feeling some sympathy for the visitors, the home side offered few opporuntities for him to award handy frees. That has been a weakness in the past although sometimes it’s felt like the officials have had it in for us.
Just like last week against DIT, all three members of the full-back line were sharp. Offaly made it easy to defend by lumping one aimless ball after another down on top of their full-forward line but the Kildare defenders were so in tune with what was going on that they had every angle covered long before the ball dropped from the sky. Their discipline was commendable even if Offaly’s attack was pathetic.
It was no contest in the middle of the field, where Kildare either won the majority of the breaks or quickly turned the ball over. Daryl Flynn is rock solid and Ronan Sweeney is a huge asset with his scoring ability. Off the ball, Kildare’s movement was streets ahead of their opponents. Mikey Conway delivered some wonderful foot passes throughout the game while the half-backs and corner-backs piled forward to help develop moves any chances they got. Some of the shooting was rash and rushed but Kildare’s ability to work the ball into good scoring positions meant that they were clocking up scores for fun.
If I can say the same things after next Sunday’s game against Dublin, I’ll know that they really are moving in the right direction.