LEINSTER SFC SEMI-FINAL
Kildare 2-18 Laois 0-9
THANK God for Dublin. Kieran McGeeney is not one for getting carried away with results, he prefers his team to come under the radar.
The role of underdog is certainly one that he seems to prefer for this Kildare team but the performance in beating Laois on Saturday evening was so impressive that even McGeeney would have found it hard to contain the hype leading up to the Leinster final.
With that in mind, there is little doubt that McGeeney had a wry smile on his face as he watched Dublin trounce a pitiful Westmeath team the following day. All the expectation is back in Dublin’s court now, Kildare can slip back to being the underdog – just the way that McGeeney wants it.
Dublin’s semi-final success should not take away from the most complete Kildare performance under McGeeney’s stewardship.
The Lilywhites were simply awesome and the streams of blue jerseys leaving O’Connor Park in Tullamore last Saturday with 20 minutes left to play told its own story. This was payback for 2005 and then some.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s game many have questioned the quality of the Laois team but how many of those people were questioning Laois after a bright start from the O’Moore men that saw them lead by 0-4 to 0-1 after nine minutes?
Who would have thought that the Laois forwards containing the much vaunted full forward line of MJ Tierney, Ross Munnelly and Donal Kingston would score a solitary point from play in the whole game?
Kildare had heroes all over the pitch and with a final tally of 2-18, the forward line obviously clicked once more. Alan Smith scored his third goal in three championship games, Johnny Doyle had his best championship game this year, James Kavanagh and Ronan Sweeney continued their excellent summers while Padraig O’Neill and Eamon Callaghan will have been delighted to hit a brace of points each but it was in defence that Kildare excelled.
Mikey Conway returned to the starting line up and brought a new dimension to Kildare’s play. He scored Kildare’s first point of the game, was heavily involved in the build-up for Smith’s goal and anybody who still doubts his defensive abilities was surely re-evaluating their thoughts after his outstanding second half block on Munnelly as the Laois man shot for goal.
There were plenty of standout moments in Conway’s game such as the exquisite outside of the foot pass to Eamon Callaghan for the Naas man’s point in first half injury time. Brian Flanagan has to be one of the finds of the summer while Mick Foley, Hugh McGrillen and Emmet Bolton were outstanding in the full back line.
Kildare were quicker and sharper all over the field to the breaking ball. Instead of fielding the high ball, Dermot Earley, Daryl Flynn and Ronan Sweeney regularly chose to palm the ball down and invariably it was a Kildare man such as Conway, Flanagan or Morgan O’Flaherty who were first to the ball.
Smith’s well taken ninth minute goal settled Kildare after a tricky opening spell and although Laois hit the next two points, Kildare then went on the rampage with James Kavanagh getting the goal as McGeeney’s men hit 1-11 without reply over a 28 minute spell when they were simply irresistible. Kildare were too quick, too strong and too good for Laois with the lovely move for Kavanagh’s 38th minute goal perfectly encapsulating the strength, speed, skill and team spirit that exists within this team.
Eamon Callaghan fought well to break Brian Flanagan’s long ball down to Alan Smith, he quickly found Johnny Doyle unmarked inside the square but instead of shooting, the experienced Doyle hand passed to Kavanagh, leaving the Ballymore man with an empty net to score into.
The final stages were played out in front of Kildare fans as their Laois counterparts left early and the final scoreline could have been even more emphatic had James Kavanagh found the net rather than the outside of the post with a late chance but that scarcely mattered. Kildare were through to their first Leinster final since 2003.
Kildare supporters can now look forward to another trip to Croke Park. Last summer saw two defeats there but now there is not the trepidation that was prevalent before the Wicklow game or the apprehension before the quarter-final against Cork.
This is a team that Kildare people can be proud of once again and supporters will travel to Croke Park quietly confident of their chances of beating Pat Gilroy’s team.
KILDARE: Tom Corley; Hugh McGrillen, Mick Foley, Emmet Bolton; Mikey Conway (.-.), Brian Flanagan, Morgan O’Flaherty; Daryl Flynn, Dermot Earley (.-.); James Kavanagh (.-.), Padraig O’Neill (.-.), Ronan Sweeney (.-.); Alan Smith (.-.), Eamon Callaghan (.-.), John Doyle (.-., .fs). Subs: Rob Kelly for Sweeney, ..; Kevin O’Neill for McGrillen, ..; Karl Ennis for Smith, ..; Gary White for Conway, ..; Anthony Rainbow for O’Flaherty, ...
LAOIS: Michael Nolan; Cathal Ryan, Mark Timmons, Rory Stapleton; Darren Rooney, Ger Reddin (.-.), John O’Loughlin; Padraic Clancy (.-.), Kevin Meaney; Brendan Quigley, Brian McCormack (.-.), Billy Sheehan; MJ Tierney (.-., .fs, . ..), Ross Munnelly, Donal Kingston (.-.fs). Subs: Joe Higgins for Sheehan,
..; Colm Coss for Kingston, ..; Niall Donoher for Rooney, ..; Peter McNulty for McCormack, ..; Aidan Fennelly for Stapleton, ...
REFEREE: David Coldrick, Meath.