‘Defeat by Dubs was a blessing’

WHEN asked ‘where did it go right?’ following their 10-point victory over Meath, Kildare boss Cian O’Neill replied: ‘Two weeks ago maybe in Newbridge.’

He was of course referring to the humiliating O’Byrne Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of a third-choice Dublin team, and O’Neill described that defeat as a blessing in disguise.

‘We knew we had a performance in us. It just has never been there consistently for 70 minutes. All through the O’Byrne Cup we played in fits and starts. When we were good, we were very good. And when we were poor we let teams in and they did damage.

‘With the exception of the second quarter, we were in control of that game today. That’s full credit to the players. We had a lot of learning to do.

‘It was a huge disappointment to lose against Dublin,’ O’Neill continued. ‘We didn’t perform, but we had to learn from it and we did that today. But it was only one match.

‘The O’Byrne Cup almost had a qualifier feel to it; we were playing games one after another.

‘Ben McCormack made his starting debut today. Three guys came on who made their first competitive debut – Conor Hartley, Shea Ryan, David Slattery. Matches in the O’Byrne Cup helped them perform.’