Kildare look build on promising win over Offaly

Kildare’s opening to their Division 2 campaign can scarcely have gone much better thanks to an unexpected draw in Omagh and a comprehensive nine-point win over Offaly in Newbridge.

Two games in and we welcome Derry to Newbridge on Saturday night for a game will give us more of a clue as to whether we should be looking upwards at the top end of the table or casting a nervous eye below to the trapdoor into Division 3.

The GAA was over a century old by the time Derry made their first trip south to St Conleth’s Park. Kildare had made a couple of fruitless trips to Bellaghy and Greenlough in the ‘80s but it was for Micko’s third game in November 1990 that the Oak Leaf men finally came to Newbridge.

Derry were mid-way between Ulster championship successes in 1987 and 1993, the latter leading to their one and only All Ireland title, and they fielded eight of the team that would go on to win Sam including the likes of Enda Gormley, Tony Scullion and a certain Joseph Brolly.

O’Dwyer was looking for his first win at the county grounds having lost there to Leitrim, but he’d seen them win in Longford to get his Kildare reign up and running.

He handed a debut to a young Round Towers man at wing-forward and the Nationalist reported that “Glen (it was only later that he acquired the extra ‘n’) Ryan had a very satisfactory debut at no. 12.” 

Kildare beat Derry that day with Martin Lynch giving an outstanding display in tough conditions at midfield. Perhaps reporter Paul Donaghy was a little harsh on both sides, describing all four goals in a 2-8 to 2-6 win as “fortuitous”.

A Declan Kerrigan blocked clearance found its way to the net and Jarlath Gilroy netted from the penalty spot while Brolly and Damien Heaney availed of the ubiquitous good fortune to goal for Derry.

Since that occasion it’s been honours even in Newbridge with four wins apiece and one draw, but memories of the most recent clash in February 2023 will send shivers down Kildare spines. As Ulster champions, Derry came to Newbridge with a swagger and dismantled Glenn (two ‘n’s now) Ryan’s side by 2-15 to 0-7.

Looking ahead to Saturday, Ciaran Meenagh’s side got the monkey off their back with that win against Tyrone two weeks ago to end a 19-month and 13-game losing streak. That will give them huge confidence that they can come to Newbridge and repeat the dose from three years ago and with the quality of Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers and Shane McGuigan in their ranks it is something of a head-scratcher that they went so long without a victory.

We know all about Kildare’s injury problems with the 35-man league squad announced by Brian Flanagan containing twelve players who have been unavailable so far.

Whether the two-week break gives some of that wounded dozen a chance to feature against Derry remains to be seen, though the release of Dara Crowley, Dan Lynam and Luke Killian from the panel suggests there may be two or three back in contention to plug those gaps. To counter that, none of the injured players featured in a heavy Development defeat to Meath last week.

Given the experience in the Derry panel (in contrast to the relatively young Tyrone side we played), this may be the stiffest test yet of Flanagan’s side and particularly around the middle they’ll have their work cut out to gain their fair share of possession.

If they do, they have shown the sort of attacking form that will give them a chance of adding a further two points to the three gained to date. Do that and we can all cast our eyes upwards.