"No excuses" as big week beckons for Kildare underage footballers
Colm Moran in action during Kildare's victory over Meath in the Leinster U20 Football Championship semi-finals. Photo: James Lawlor.
Another big week beckons for the underage footballers of Kildare with the minors facing into a provincial quarter-final against Westmeath tonight (Mullingar 6.30pm) before Niall Cronin takes his under-20’s into a first Leinster Final in three years against holders Louth on Wednesday night in Parnell Park (7.30pm).
It’s a task Cronin is relishing with his team battle-hardened by those wins over Westmeath and Meath. He spoke to the Kildare Nationalist after last week’s win over the Royals.
“Louth’s game was obviously played on Sunday so they’ve the extra recovery and the front row seats which I suppose is a small bit disappointing that that was allowed to happen. Look, that’s the way it is, no excuses.”
Louth will go into this as hot favourites. Having won a first Leinster in 44 years a year ago they went on to meet Tyrone in the All-Ireland final with an extremely young team. They started their semi-final with Longford last week with nine of the same players that started that final against Tyrone, including five of the six forwards.
Goalkeeper Tiarnan Markey was the only squad member to feature in the senior match-day squad against Dublin on Saturday but in the likes of Cormac McKeown at centre-back, Shane Lennon (younger brother of Craig), Conor Mac Criosta, Pearse Grimes-Murphy and Tony McDonnell in attack, manager Fergal Reel has real talent to call upon.
Louth are unbeaten, as are Kildare, this year. They beat Westmeath by eleven points in their Group 1 opener before accounting for both Dublin and Wexford by three before they comfortably beat Longford 0-18 to 0-7 in the semi-final.
Kildare’s campaign has been more of a slow-burn with group wins over Wicklow and Offaly followed by that abandoned quarter-final against Westmeath in Kinnegad. They really turned it on for a spell in the refixture, outscoring the Lake Men 1-12 to 0-1 in the opening fifteen minutes with the wind behind them. They had to withstand a Westmeath rally that had hearts fluttering in the crowd, but Kildare pulled away again with a strong finish to win by 1-20 to 2-12.
Meath came to Newbridge last week as favourites and were the sort of big strong, team that both the Royals and Louth seem to be specialising in these days. Kildare, though, had perhaps the more skillful footballers and showed plenty of guts to come out the right side of a two-point win, scoring 1-20 again.
Kildare have been unlucky with injuries. Joey Cunningham, the classy Allenwood forward, hasn’t played a minute of the campaign yet though he is edging back to fitness, while TJ Nolan was shaping up nicely before that leg break in Kinnegad. Cronin then lost Liam Kenny in the second half last Wednesday after a fine display from the Naas youngster.
“That’s why we’re training as hard as we are and that’s why we’re looking at different options and relying on different lads to come in every day. Someone else is going to have to come up to the mark next week, that’s a great opportunity for them. We’ll have to dust a few more down as well I’d say and see what’s under the bonnet.”
If Kildare show the same appetite and take their opportunities like they did against Westmeath and Meath, they shouldn’t feel overawed going in against Louth.
The night before the now familiar Westmeath jersey faces Kildare at minor level where Tommy Konstantin’s Lilywhites are coming off a three-week break since the group defeat to Louth. Before that they had been shaping up well with wins over Laois and Meath. Westmeath beat Dublin and Longford in their group but lost to Offaly before crawling past Carlow by two points in the preliminary quarter final. If Kildare can replicate their group stage form, they can progress to the last four.
