Defeat to Louth sends Kildare hurtling into Division 3
Daragh Ryan leaves the field after defeat to Louth relegated Kildare Photo: ©INPHO/Grace Halton
Reality bites. Despite a better performance than they displayed against Meath and Cork, Kildare looked second best to Louth this afternoon and succumbed to a fifth defeat in succession to slip back through the trapdoor into Division 3 of the National Football League.
It maintained Louth’s hex over the Lilywhites with the Wee County having now won all six encounters between the sides over the last three years.
An even start saw the first dozen points shared but once Ciaran Keenan blazed a goal chance over for a point in the 14th minute, Kildare were never able to get back on level terms and once Sam Mulroy got into the scoring act in the final ten minutes of the half with two two-pointers their seven-point half-time gap (0-17 to 0-10) gave them the margin to ride out any second half effort the home side could muster.
With a slight breeze now behind them into the Kilcullen End, Kildare, led by the efforts of Alex Beirne, Tommy Gill and substitutes Jack Robinson and Mark Dempsey in particular, did get the lead back to three points within seven minutes after the interval, with Brian McLoughlin landing their first two-pointer from a free, but when Mulroy raised his third and the Wee County’s fifth orange flag on 48 minutes they were back six ahead and comfortable.
Robinson, a half-time replacement for Colm Moran, showed all his class in an outstanding cameo, scoring five points from play off either foot, but he was fighting a losing battle, with Louth’s dominance franked by a Kieran McArdle goal on 54 minutes.
With Colm Dalton hobbling with a hamstring injury and Padraic Spillane struggling with a shoulder concern, Louth took full advantage when Conor Early picked up a long ball out of defence with Dalton unable to apply any pressure, and his ball inside was collected by McArdle who dummied to handpass before sidestepping Spillane and driving low to Cian Burke’s net.
That made it 1-23 to 0-18 and although Kildare scored four points in a row, three of those from the classy Robinson, Louth still had enough in the tank with impressive inside forwards Conall McCaul and Ciaran Keenan responding with two points.
Kildare had been reluctant to shoot for two-pointers all afternoon but in desperation sub Daragh Ryan and Beirne both attempted ones off balance as they sought to reel in a five-point deficit but both went astray before a rasper from Beirne fizzed towards just wide of the top right-hand corner.
A late two-pointer free from McLoughlin brought the gap down to three but with Kildare needed four points for the win that would keep them up, they ran out of time.
Brian Flanagan and his management team had rolled the dice with Ben McCormack starting at wing back and Darragh Kirwan and Brian McLoughlin in midfield, where neither had previously started an inter-county match, while Tommy Gill came into the half-back line in a late change that brough much needed pace and energy to the team early on.
The midfield changes were not a success with the home side only winning 38% of their own kickouts in the opening half. Louth won 73% of theirs to build the platform for their fifth win of a campaign that saw them just fall short of promotion.
Both sides have struggled with injuries and this afternoon’s game didn’t lighten that burden. Louth, only able to name a 24-man match-day panel with at least nine players ruled out, lost two defenders, Eoghan Callaghan and Dermot Campbell inside the opening ten minutes while Kildare lost Harry O’Neill and McCormack in the second quarter and Dalton in the second half, with Spillane having to stay on despite his own struggles with all five substitutes used up.
With Kevin Feely among those sidelined already, Flanagan will be anxiously monitoring the treatment room over the next four weeks before a home clash with Offaly or Laois in the Leinster Quarter Final.
With Division 3 and perhaps the Tailteann Cup on the horizon in 2027, Flanagan and his management team have a huge job ahead in shoring up glaring weaknesses in defence and midfield in particular (the concession of 1-56 in two games tells its own story, even under new rules) before embarking on a championship campaign that will include at least two games in the Sam Maguire Cup whatever happens in Leinster.
Niall McDonnell; Emmett Carolan, Dermot Campbell, Daire Nally; Conall McKeever, Dara McDonnell 0-2, Eoghan Callaghan; Tommy Durnin, Conor Early 0-1; Paul Mathews 0-3 (1tp), Sam Mulroy 0-8 (2tp,1tpf,1pf), James Maguire; Ciaran Keenan 0-4, Conall McCaul 0-3, Kieran McArdle 1-1. Subs: Tadhg McDonnell 0-2 (tp) for E Callaghan 3, Leonard Grey for Campbell 9, Conor Branigan for Maguire 43, Sean Callaghan 0-1 for Durnin 46, Sean Reynolds for McArdle 69.
Cian Burke; Harry O’Neill, Pádraic Spillane, Ryan Burke; Tommy Gill 0-2, Brian Byrne, Ben McCormack; Brian McLoughlin 0-7 (2tpfs,1f), Callum Bolton; Eoin Lawlor, Callum Bolton, Colm Dalton 0-1; Colm Moran 0-1, Alex Beirne 0-6 (2fs), Ben Loakman 0-2. Subs: Mark Dempsey for O’Neill 23, Daragh Ryan for McCormack 26, Jack Robinson 0-5 for Moran HT, Eoin Cully 0-1 for Gill 50, Brendan Gibbons for Dalton 56.
Paddy Neilan (Roscommon).
