Dowling says Kildare were "punished for some errors"
The Kildare team stand for the national anthem ahead of the game against Wexford. Photo: INPHO/Andrew Paton.
Brian Dowling felt Kildare proved that they can be competitive at Leinster Championship level while ruing the shooting efficiency and some soft refereeing calls that went against his team on Saturday night.
“We got punished for some errors, but I can’t fault the lads,” Dowling told the Kildare Nationalist while acknowledging that “their effort out there all the way through was immense and we just came up short at the end unfortunately”.
Pride was an over-rising emotion for the manager.
“I think anyone looking there today will say we weren’t out of place in this competition. For everybody there it was the first time they’ve played in the Leinster Championship and look, Lee Chin got a brilliant goal at the end, probably put a reflection on the scoreboard that’s a bit disappointing for us but the lads stayed going to the end and that’s all we ask for. We just have to work on a few things now and get a better performance away to Dublin next week.”
The wides, though, the wides. At this level you can’t shoot nine wides in a half, with the wind at your backs, and hope to thrive. Dowling knows it.
“We won the shot count at half-time, nineteen to seventeen in our favour. We probably needed to be three or four up and Jack got a brilliant goal just before half-time, but some of our point-taking probably wasn’t where we are normally at. We’re normally very good. So that was definitely a big area we left behind in that first half.”
As for the refereeing, the Kilkenny man was less than happy with what seemed like a different set of rules for both teams to most Lilywhite eyes.
“Obviously, I can’t say anything on the sideline, but I was very frustrated. I thought some of them were mentally soft. At the other end I thought we could have had a couple of frees and didn’t get them. I don’t know, hurling’s a physical game, we all want to see it. You’ll see tomorrow in the Munster Championship lads will do whatever they want to each other and that’s just something you want. I just thought some of the frees were a little bit on the soft side.
“We’re saying to our backs to get up tight and close to the man and I thought we did that brilliantly a couple of times it’s just very frustrating to see the hand going up for a free in but maybe we need to look back on it and see does our tackling need to improve but from the sideline I’d just be frustrated anyway with some of them frees.”
The pitch too wasn’t particularly conducive to good hurling although Wexford could say the same.
“We could have done with a bit of training on the beach over in Portugal, a bit more practice. It is what it is, the sidelines, lads were taking them ten yards in but look it’s the same for both teams and obviously you’d want more side on this side of the pitch.”
Dowling sees room for improvement in the second half performance which “probably wasn’t as good as that first half but there’s a lot of positives there as well. These lads have come on a long road the last couple of years, and we’ll stay driving on now for the next couple of weeks.
“At this level you have to keep that scoreboard ticking over and probably didn’t score enough in that second half. At this level 1-14 or whatever, you have to get higher than that if you want to win these Leinster matches and it’s something we have to work on and build on for the Dublin game.”
With Jack Travers back in training, though not ready for Saturday’s game, Dowling hopes to have Alan Goss back for that Dublin game, with James Burke and Cathal Dowling both aiming to be in contention for the Galway game in mid-May.
You’ll forgive us for a home-town decision on this occasion. While Ling was awesome in his execution for Wexford save for one 30-metre free that sailed wide, the heroics came from the underdogs, none more so than from the three Boran brothers and Cathal McCabe, any of whom could have legitimately been selected. Ultimately, we go with the elder Boran who threw his body on the line time after time in another outstanding display in the white jersey.
Points rather than point really. Kildare needed a fast start to the second half and Sheridan gave it to them with a quick-fire point, but Wexford knuckled down and Chin punished Paddy McKenna for an errant puck-out before referee Michael Kennedy managed to spot a tug on a Wexford forward from half a mile away to hand Chin another easy free to his collection. From the next puck-out Kildare were penalised again and had the free brought forward as they went 0-12 to 1-7 behind. Those three points, from an error, two ‘fouls’ and a spot of indiscipline set Wexford up for a strong second half.
We could be charitable and say Michael Kennedy had a bad day at the office. But for a ref from Munster, where physicality and manliness is cherished so much in the sport, to blow for some of the perceived Kildare indiscretions while seemingly giving Wexford carte-blanche. Jack Sheridan’s yellow card for going for a 50/50 ball with the goalkeeper having arguably been fouled himself on the run through to goal, was a case in point. Kildare conceded over 20 frees, Wexford only 14. Four yellow cards to one. To those watching it was hard to stomach.
No blaming the referee for Kildare’s own failings in front of the posts. They had 32 shots and only scored from 15 of those (47%) with a 7 from 18 (39%) return in the first half doing most of the damage. Wexford shot 23 scores from 40 attempts (58%) although 11 of those were from frees/’65s compared to 4 from Kildare.
On Sunday next Kildare go to Parnell Park to face Dublin, who will be smarting from a surprise draw with Offaly. Wexford face Kilkenny, well-beaten by Galway in round one, in Nowlan Park on Saturday evening while Galway and Offaly meet on Sunday.
