‘Massive’ relief for O’Neill after Kildare fight to save season
KILDARE 2-22 DERRY 2-14
KILDARE manager Cian O’Neill said he was fully aware he had been playing for his future after the Lilywhites bounced back from their Leinster Championship shock against Carlow by dumping Derry out of the Qualifiers at Owenbeg yesterday.
Daniel Flynn and Niall Kelly were the Kildare goal-scorers in the eight-point win made more comfortable by a dubious late red card for Derry’s Mark Lynch, which helped sealed a victory O’Neill admits probably kept him in a job.
‘We didn’t come here for a polished performance and I don’t think Derry did either,’ said O’Neill (right) after the final whistle, ‘We needed a win and that’s being brutally honest.
‘We had the added challenge of the road trip which I actually think suited us. We had a chance to bond and we knew this was our season in a nutshell. You talk about seasons and then your talking about your own future as players and as management, so we needed that win badly.
‘Of course you feel the pressure. That wasn’t just a defeat out of the blue against Carlow. We came off seven defeats in a row in the League.
‘Whether we had close matches or not, that’s where your league is at and then you lose the first round of Leinster.
‘Some people bring last year into it as well and you can’t argue with that. We just needed a massive win to get us back on track.’
Two first-half goals from Enda Lynn and Shane McGuigan had Derry well in this encounter at half-time with Kildare leading 1-12 to 2-7 but the Leinster side’s greater experience told after the break. After Niall Kelly flicked home his goal during a scoring spree of 1-3 Kildare began to take control.
The Lilywhites, however, were lucky to escape with only two black cards following a number of cynical fouls that went unpunished by Meath referee David Coldrick.
That won’t matter to O’Neill though as Kildare notched up a first win since last season’s Leinster Championship semi-final victory over Meath.