Flanagan's attentions quickly turn to next game amid Galway gloom
Kildare manager Brian Flanagan. Photo: INPHO/Andrew Paton
Brian Flanagan made no attempts to sugarcoat his disappointment as he dissected the Kildare performance under the main stand in Pearse Stadium shortly after the final whistle.
“Obviously you're disappointed,” said the Kildare manager.
“You look at the scoreboard here after 70 minutes and there's 13 points in it and it's not pretty. So you're very disappointed with that aspect.
“The fourth quarter definitely got away from us, probably ran out of legs. The turnover count, things like that hurt us. Galway are just a real running, athletic, experienced team and they were ruthless enough on that counter attack.
“There's elements we will take from it on the positive end as well. But overall, we’ve a bit of work to do in the next few weeks,” he said.
Kildare played with a strong wind in the first half and kicked four nice two-pointers in their 12 point haul but two Galway goals in the opening 17 minutes meant the hosts were always in charge.
“The goals are a killer. One of them coming off a turnover when the ball is in your control and you need to ensure that every possession goes dead against a team like Galway because even if it goes wide you can reset and the kick out buys a bit of time and all the rest. You're not open, whereas turnovers in attack leave you very exposed at the back and a team like Galway, so explosive, so dynamic, they're going to hurt you.
“They're excellent at it and they've really worked on that over the last few years but that's in your own control as well. You're in possession, you don't need to be giving them ones, you certainly have to limit them as much as you can.
“The creative turnovers or the ones in close to the black spot, you can live with but outside of that, if you're doing it seven, eight, nine times a half and you're chasing 100 metres back down the field, you're going to fatigue and I think in the last 15, 20 minutes we were tired,” said Flanagan.
The Kildare manager made a big call coming into the game to replace Cian Burke in goal with a senior debutant in Eoin Sheehan and he was pleased with the big goalkeeper's display.
“He pulled off one or two great saves and one or two under the crossbar that he took as well. First day in, I thought he did very well and he showed a confidence in himself and a composure. We're trying to develop a squad and a panel and Eoin's been training very well for the last couple of weeks and we wanted to give him his chance here today.
“There's been nothing between himself and Cian for the last couple of months. You want to give opportunities, you want to keep the panel competitive, you want everybody getting some element of game time as much as you can. When we got that chance to do that and we felt there was an opportunity here today to get Eoin in, his style of play might suit the conditions and everything else. Like I said, overall I think he's done well for his first day out,” said Flanagan.
It was Kildare’s first competitive game against a Division 1 side since they were beaten by Monaghan in 2023 and Flanagan said the step up was obvious to see.
“It's a concentration and it's a consistency thing. There's no doubt about it and definitely the conditioning piece comes into it but it's all aligned. We're early on in our development and it's where we want to get to but you need to be on it for 70 minutes. You can't take a 10, 15 minute breather at any stage. You need to be consistent in your efforts and there needs to be quality in possession at all times. Those cheap turnovers, those missed chances, you might get away with it at a lower level and still fall over the line by a couple of points in a game against lesser opposition. You won't against a Galway, a Donegal, a Kerry, a Mayo, these kind of teams. That's where we want to get to so we have a bit to learn."
Kildare must now prepare for a knockout game on the weekend of 13/14 June when their season will be on the line.
"We have another big game. Today is disappointing but coming down to Salthill to play one of the best teams in the country was always going to be a big ask. The next game time is another one and we need to get ready for it. We need to really focus on that now, put a couple of things right that are in our own control and get the best performance we can in that game,” said Flanagan.
It took the corner forward less than 30 seconds to score his first point and he tormented Kildare from that moment on. He finished the game with 1-9 and looked a threat every time he got on the ball. Although Kildare battled manfully against a superior team, it would be hard to make a case for anybody in white to take the award.
That Galway are far better than Kildare is not a surprise but the fact that the gap between the top sides and the Lilywhites seems to be growing, not closing, is the worrying point. Galway pulled clear as Kildare tired in the final 20 minutes and how Kildare could have done with fresh legs in midfield. Kevin Feely is nearing 34 and has plenty of miles on the clock as Kildare’s outstanding player over the last decade and Brendan Gibbons is as honest as the day is long but a new introduction would certainly have helped Kildare in the final quarter. The fact of the matter is, however, that there were no such options on the bench as the squad is horrendously unbalanced. The 11 subs were made up of seven forwards, three defenders, one goalkeeper and no natural midfielder. One of the big aims for management through the upcoming Club Championships is to find the bodies to severely boost the midfield options.
Galway move into Round 2A under the new Championship structures, while Kildare head to Round 2B. Both teams will find out their opponents in next Monday’s draw following the weekend’s games but one thing is for certain, the next time Kildare take to the field their season is on the line in knockout football.
