Kildare out of their depth as they are brushed aside by Galway
Céin Darcy gets past Alex Beirne on the way to scoring Galway's second first half goal Photo: ©INPHO/Andrew Paton
The gap between the Sam Maguire Cup level and the Tailteann Cup level, where Kildare have played for the last two seasons, was ruthlessly exposed on Saturday evening as Galway enjoyed an all-too-comfortable win over Kildare in Salthill.
In many ways, we didn’t learn anything new. Galway were fitter and stronger than Kildare, better prepared and simply vastly superior to Kildare in every facet of the game.
That’s no surprise. Galway are an established top six side in the country and even after their Connacht Final defeat, they retain genuine aspirations of lifting the All-Ireland title.
It was Kildare’s first game in the top grade since 2023 and they almost felt like intruders at this level. It looks set to be a short stay. The draw for Round 2B would have to be incredibly kind to give Kildare any chance of just a third win in 2026 and in truth, against Galway they looked like a Division 3/Tailteann Cup team way out of their depth.
Brian Flanagan’s team were somewhat competitive for 50 minutes or so but there was always the nagging feeling in the back of your mind that it was only a matter of time before Galway kicked up a gear and pulled away.
There is no doubt that Kildare were at a low ebb when Flanagan took over from Glenn Ryan ahead of the 2025 season but the question would have to be are Kildare any closer to being competitive against Sam Maguire teams two years into his tenure? On this evidence, you’d have to say a resounding no.
Any progress during 2025 has been ripped up, some of that due to bad luck with injuries and some unfortunate retirements, but a lot also self-inflicted. Looking ahead to the end of this season and to 2027, it feels very much like Kildare are heading back to square one.
At one stage in the last 20 minutes, as tiredness obviously crept in, Kildare kicked five successive wides while Galway hammered home their advantage at the far end. The good teams finish strongly, Kildare fade and wilt out of games against any serious opposition.
Yes, Alex Beirne did snatch a last gasp equaliser in normal time of their previous game against soon-to-be Leinster champions Westmeath but the shooting efficiency gradually got worse that day before falling through the floor in extra-time. It was a similar story here.
Flanagan made a big call heading into the game as he changed goalkeeper and handed Eoin Sheehan a senior debut in place of Cian Burke. He was picking the ball out of his net for the first of three occasions after just five minutes when Matthew Tierney palmed home but the fault for any of the goals could not be laid at his doorstep and overall he enjoyed a solid first appearance.
Kildare played with the wind in the first half and kicked four nice two-pointers, but Tierney’s goal, followed by a second by Cein Darcy in the 17th minute meant that Galway were never out of their comfort zone. Shane Walsh was kept relatively quiet but in the other corner, Rob Finnerty did as he pleased. He scored five of his eventual 1-9 tally during the first half and he tormented Kildare throughout.
Galway led 2-8 to 0-12 at half-time and Kildare kept pace with them for the first 15 minutes after the break. A Darragh Kirwan point in the 50th minute made it 2-12 to 0-14 but instead of Kildare ramping up their efforts, that was as good as it got for them as Galway swatted them away.
It was only two points from substitute Jack Robinson that provided any kind of spark for Kildare in the final quarter as Galway closed out as easy a win as they are likely to enjoy in this year’s All-Ireland Championship.
Kildare must regroup and lick their wounds and hope for some kind of luck in the draw on Monday week. There will be some real Championship heavyweights in their bowl and on the basis of this performance, they will be massive underdogs against almost any of their potential opponents.
Connor Gleeson; Jack Glynn, Cian Hernon, Liam Silke; Dylan McHugh, Seán Kelly, John Daly; Paul Conroy 0-1, John Maher 0-1; Céin Darcy 1-0, Ciarán Mulhern, Cillian McDaid 0-2; Robert Finnerty 1-9 (2tp), Matthew Tierney 1-0, Shane Walsh 0-6 (1tp, 1tpf, 1f). Subs: Damien Comer 0-1 for Mulhern (45), Seán Ó Maolchiaráin for Hernon (54), Shane McGrath 0-1 for Tierney (58), Shay McGlinchey for Conroy (62), Brian Cogger for McDaid (64).
Eoin Sheehan; Ryan Burke, Mark Dempsey, Brian Byrne; James McGrath, Eoin Lawlor, Harry O’Neill; Kevin Feely 0-1, Brendan Gibbons; Brian McLoughlin 0-3 (1tp), Darragh Kirwan 0-3 (1tp), Colm Dalton 0-1; Ben Loakman 0-1, Alex Beirne (0-5 2tp,1f), Eoin Cully. Subs: James Harris for Lawlor (21), Darragh Swords 0-1 for Cully (26), Jack Robinson 0-2 for Loakman (50), Tommy Gill for McGrath (54), Sam Doran for O’Neill (66).
Paul Faloon (Down).
