Lots at stake on huge weekend for Kildare GAA
The Kildare senior football management team need to find a way of inspiring a response from their players for a huge tie against Louth on Sunday Photo: Sean Brilly
When Kildare beat Offaly to move onto three points from two games on the last day of January who’d have thought less than two months later it would come down to this, a final game denouement where nothing less than a win over Leinster Champions Louth can save Brian Flanagan’s misfiring side.
Even a win of course may not be enough as a draw or better for Cavan in Derry would keep them ahead of the Lilywhites.
A return to Division 3 and, most likely, the Tailteann Cup, for 2027 would be a gutting blow to Flanagan’s management team, who are surely feeling the pressure at this stage with Kildare supporters beginning to lose faith in their ability to turn under-20 success into competitiveness at senior level.
The first half against Cork was nothing less than embarrassing. A shambles, diabolical, whatever words you want to use. No sugar-coating it.
Flanagan has been dealt, or dealt himself, whichever way you prefer to look at it, a weak hand in terms of defensive resources. The retirements of David Hyland and Mick O’Grady and the unavailability of Kevin Flynn, Ryan Houlihan and Tony Archbold has stripped the backline of the sort of father figures who might have guided the youngest backline ever to represent the county when the going inevitably got tough this spring. There’s only so much Brian Byrne can do in that regard.
Flanagan, it must be said, chose the panel, chose his management team including this year’s addition of Davy Burke, and ultimately knows he carries the can for the selection decisions, tactics, and motivation. And ultimately, for the results.
You could live with a team going down fighting, with a clear structure and method of play at both ends of the pitch. But there has been little of that. Thirteen points scored against Cavan, ten against Meath, and then the debacle in Páirc Uí Rinn where a record 1-22 was conceded in one half of football.
It’s one thing to watch a team going down with their boots on. It’s another to see players wave opponents through their backline with barely a shrug of the shoulders let alone a tackle. And these are young lads who should be laying themselves on the line for the man who brought a bunch of them to rare All Ireland glory.
With a two-week lead-in to the Cork game, we hoped for a reset and some hard work on the training ground to bear fruit but there was no improvement.
Flanagan pointed to the team having “turned a corner” in the second half but that only came in the last twenty minutes when Cork had extended their advantage to nineteen points. It was a challenge game from there on.
There has to be a response surely on Sunday. Management have been conservative in throwing players back in after injury but Tommy Gill apparently was flying on Friday night for Carbury and he and James McGrath, possibly with Daragh Ryan, unused again on the bench, offer the best hope of defensive improvements. It will need management to do their job with the tactics board as well of course.
In attack, Jack Robinson, Alex Beirne and Ben McCormack are clearly chomping at the bit. They must come in. Darragh Kirwan’s place should be under pressure even if he is now the de-facto captain on the field given Kevin Feely’s injury. He appears untouchable. No forward missing as many chances as he has should feel immune from a spell on the bench.
Can Kildare win? It will take a turnaround of miraculous proportions in personnel, tactics and attitude. Think Owenbeg in 2018 after the Carlow debacle. Anything less and we’re back at square one two years into the Flanagan era.
What an opportunity for Brian Dowling’s hurlers to head to Wexford and take on the Yellow Bellies in what is a huge game for the home team, but with no pressure whatsoever on the Lilywhites.
Their comfortable win over Carlow the last day out having secured their place in Division 1B for another year, and having run top-of-the-table Clare close earlier in the campaign, Kildare can now test themselves against another of the “Big 3” in this division. It will be no challenge match either with Wexford clinging to hopes of joining the Banner in the top flight next year, though Dublin will pip them if they do their own job in Carlow.
Dowling, who won an All-Ireland schools title with Kilkenny school St Kieran's College this week, will be looking to use this to test out his side ahead of the mouth-watering Leinster Championship opener against the same opposition in Newbridge four weeks later.
He’ll have Jack Sheridan back from suspension to boost his charges but Cathal Dowling and Richy Hogan missed the Carlow game with injury and it’s unlikely any risks will be taken. It’s another perfect opportunity to gauge just how far Kildare have progressed. Too much to dream of a first ever win over Saturday’s opponents?
With two games to go in Division 1, the Kildare ladies are outside the relegation zone by a whisker, only scoring difference separating them from Armagh and Dublin with all three on four points.
Sunday’s opponents, Waterford, have three wins from five and are third in the table but after winning their opening three they have gone off the boil somewhat with defeats to Meath and Cork in their last two games.
Pat Sullivan, a Waterford man himself of course, will be targeting this one for three points as the Lilywhites have a daunting final round home tie with Kerry to round off their campaign. With Armagh facing the Kingdom this weekend and Dublin away to high-flying Galway, this really looks like a must-win game for Kildare.
History suggests it won’t be easy. Over the last decade or so the sides have only met three times but on each occasion it was the Déise who came out on top, including last year’s opening league game when Kildare were very disappointed to come away beaten in Hawkfield.
Kildare though should come into this full of confidence having outshone Meath in Hawkfield last time out. Waterford will look to curtail Aoife Murnane, who is in outstanding form, but Kildare seem to have enough about them to go down to Dungarvan and take home three crucial points.
Last weekend’s defeat to Roscommon leaves Rob O’Neill’s team need snookers in the last round. Roscommon have played all their games now and are currently in second place in the table and Kildare need to beat Tyrone by ten points or more to leap frog the Connacht side and join Armagh in the league final.
