OPINION: Kildare can continue good start in Leitrim 

Snatches of memories from our one and only game against Leitrim in their own county. It was March 1993 and the O’Dwyer bandwagon was rolling nicely with a packed house in Carrick-on-Shannon to see what was effectively a knock-out tie with Division 1 football the following year the prize.

Those memories feature a photo of a demented, gap-toothed Spike Nolan roaring in celebration after scoring one of three first half goals that put the game to bed prematurely.

Spike had missed a penalty in an action packed opening couple of minutes. Glenn Ryan’s perceptive pass sent Liam Miley through from almost the first play and the Leitrim keeper pulled him down. Spike, never short on confidence, stood up to the plate but placed his kick too close to the goalie and it was pushed out for a ‘45. Nuxer’s kick was short, but Miley set up Dermot Doyle to finish to the net.

That was actually a fine Leitrim side under John O’Mahony. As they struggled to live with a Kildare team that Donal Keenan described in the Irish Independent as “belonging to an elite group of teams which are well ahead of the rest,” few would have foreseen Leitrim winning a provincial title before Kildare did. That they did, famously, the following year, just their second (and last) Connacht crown.

Memories too of Martin Lynch lording the aerial battles around midfield. Wouldn’t he love the new rules that force kick outs down the throat of the midfielders?

I recall the traffic crawling out of Carrick that day. Reports suggested 8,000 were in Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada and most of them were heading back down the N4. Slowly.

That performance proved to be a false dawn, of course. Kildare were well-beaten by Dublin in the league quarter final and again in the Leinster Final before defeat in the opening round of Leinster the following year signalled the end of Micko’s first coming.

Thirty two years later we return next Sunday to Lovely Leitrim, this time for our first visit to Ballinamore (2pm) with Carrick out of action at the moment.

These are very different times and although a good core of Lilywhite supporters made the trip to Sligo two weeks ago (possibly outnumbering locals in an estimated 1,500 crowd), we are a long way from the bandwagon phase.

Supporters, though, will have taken plenty of encouragement from the opening two Division 3 league games under Brian Flanagan.

Two very different games, from the free-scoring attacking display against Fermanagh to the dogged, dig-the-heels-in resilience to come out of Sligo with both points.

The panel needed refreshing and the introduction of the likes of James McGrath, Colm Dalton and Ryan Sinkey can hardly have gone smoother, with the return of David Hyland and Brian McLoughlin a particular boon under new rules that encourage use of the kick pass.

Callum Bolton has looked every inch the inter-county athlete at midfield and Flanagan is getting quite the tune out of Darragh Kirwan, who has developed over the last year into our most potent scoring outlet.

Beyond individual performances, it was the aggressive attitude against Fermanagh particularly that was encouraging. Kildare have too often been passive, and the new rules give teams every encouragement to press high up the pitch. That, married with a vociferous and appreciative home crowd in Newbridge, was a compelling combination that Fermanagh struggled to deal with.

The performance in Sligo, though the heavy pitch was undoubtedly a factor, was a bigger learning exercise for Flanagan. Although he praised the full-back line I thought they struggled a little against a strong Sligo inside line. Flanagan has named the same starting team but the return of Harry O'Neill to the matchday squad strengthens the options there. 

With Leitrim having a nightmare start to the campaign, beaten heavily by Clare and Laois, Kildare will look to keep their foot on the throttle and realistically, if they bring the attacking aggression of the Fermanagh match and the dogged work rate shown in Sligo, should prevail convincingly to make it three wins from three.

Sunday 16 February

Allianz FL Division 3

Laois v Sligo, Laois Hire O’Moore Park, 1pm

Clare v Fermanagh, Cusack Park, Ennis, 1.30pm

Leitrim v Kildare, Páirc Seán Uí Eslín, Ballinamore, 2pm

Offaly v Antrim, Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore, 2pm