LIKE ABRIDGEOVER TROUBLED WATERS
Ex-lilies star Doyle calling for cool heads after a week of turmoil which saw the GAA back down in ‘safety’ row over venue
BODIES on fire, heads in the fridge is Johnny Doyle’s message to Kildare ahead of the eagerly anticipated Newbridge showdown with Mayo.
Doyle, the county’s alltime top scorer, only played a handful of his 67 Championship games for Kildare at St Conleth’s Park and of those, there are only a couple for which the place was heaving.
The 2010 qualifier against Antrim – with Dermot Earley Snr having been buried earlier that day – stands out for obvious reasons along with a 2001 qualifier against Donegal, when 14,500, in excess of 6,000 more than will be admitted this evening, were present.
Doyle recalled: “The day that Dermot Earley Snr was laid to rest we played Antrim, they probably should have beaten us that night and the whole emotion of the thing and people saying, ‘If we never win another bloody match, we have to win it today’ and all that sort of thing.
“Subconsciously that can get to players and we should have been beaten that night, there’s no doubt about it, we were lucky to get a draw.
“I suppose the biggest game for me was that game against Donegal. I think we were eight points down at one stage and there was about twice the crowd you’ll have on Saturday in Newbridge.
“At that stage and the health and safety didn’t seem to be as busy then as they are now but it was a massive atmosphere and when you got a bit of a purple patch and got a couple of scores the crowd really got behind you.
“I remember Martin Lynch got a great goal and they just lifted the whole thing. Ken Doyle came up from corner-back to kick a great point to win it by a point.”
Having been on a lengthy losing streak until recently with public support in the team and management waning, this week’s successful ‘Newbridge or nowhere’ campaign has really galvanised the county.
Doyle added: “Things were at a lower ebb with the way the League has gone but if you wanted some way to galvanise the county and get everyone back together, it’s a huge thing what happened this week from a Kildare point of view.
“Everywhere you went, ‘I hope the GAA see that this is the right thing to do’ and that’s all you were hearing and in
All-ireland R3 qualifier: Armagh Clare
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v MATTIE MCGLEENAN says Cavan are “over the moon” after getting two players cleared to face Tyrone in tonight’s All-ireland qualifier.
Breffni skipper Dara Mcveety (right) and Conor Moynagh got straight red cards after the post- fairness the GAA have done that. The problem is, even the most diehard Kildare supporters that would go to every match no matter where it was, some of them won’t get tickets.
“It’d be easier to get tickets for an Allireland final now than it is to get tickets for this game but it’s for the greater good. It’s galvanised the county, there’s no doubt about it. There’s huge interest in the game.
“There’s people who will watch the game and the watch the razzmatazz match brawl against Down last weekend but the CHC lifted their bans on Thursday night. Now they’re free to face the Red Hands in Enniskillen (5pm).
“We have a full team now so there are no excuses,” said the Cavan boss (left). “We are over the moon and it’s a great motivation now we have everyone available to KILDARE MAYO TV TIMES: Live on Sky Sports from 6.00pm (throw-in 7pm)
building up to it and it’s great. It gives the whole thing and probably the Championship needed it. There have been a lot of one-sided games.
“From a Kildare point of view, we hope we can pull a result out of the bag.” Doyle is realistic on that front.
“Everything that’s in Kildare has to come out and even if they produce that, Mayo are a really, really good side and Kildare will have to play to their best and maybe get a little bit of luck to get over the line,” he added.