Kildare’s late clincher ends losing streak
SUCH are the vagaries of form and fortune, that a first win in 10 months has put Kildare back on the right track.
The immediate and most important takeaway from Portlaoise yesterday is that the Lilywhites are just one game against Louth away from reaching the Leinster final, and thus qualifying for the All-Ireland series.
The other takeaway is that there is a world of difference between being on the right track and righting oneself. The main reason that Kildare did not slump to a ninth straight defeat and tumble into the Tailteann Cup came down to a moment that is likely to haunt Wicklow’s Matt Nolan for an age.
The roof had all but caved in on Kildare inside a couple of tumultuous injury-time minutes as, protecting a three-point lead, centre-back Eoin Doyle was too casual in possession and got stripped by Wicklow full-forward Kevin Quinn, who raced through on goal and was rugbytackled to the ground by Doyle.
Cue black card, penalty and Wicklow sub Oisin McGraynor firing the equalising goal to the net.
Within 60 seconds, Kildare got turned over again. This time Nolan got his hands on the ball, with Mark Donnellan stranded outside his square, and he went to lob the Kildare goalkeeper, but the ball skewed wide. Had he carried the ball, he would have either got himself into a position for an easy point or drawn a foul for an even easier one.
Reprieved, Kildare went back up the field at the death for one final attack that ended with Jack Sergent punching over the point to see the county win their first game of competitive ball in 10 months.
When set against that backdrop, the result was all that mattered, and it might just prove to be a turning point because they looked like losing more than once.
At half-time, Kildare manager Glenn Ryan’s team led by just two points (0-9 to 0-7), yet his team’s narrow lead was among the least of his problems. They were a man down courtesy of Kevin Flynn jumping off his feet to execute a shoulder charge on Patrick O’Keane in the 29th minute, connecting with the defender’s jaw and earning a straight red card.
On top of that, his captain Mick O’Grady and one of his team leaders, Daniel Flynn, had both limped out of the contest by that stage.
And the lack of organisation and structure that had been a constant in the league reared its head once more, with huge cavernous spaces in front of the Kildare full-back.
On several occasions in the first half, Wicklow players were able to run unchallenged to the edge of the Kildare square by simply getting past a single tackle. It was so easy that Darragh Fee seemed startled when he found himself one-on-one with Donnellan in the 19th minute, which might explain why he settled for a point rather than going for goal.
To find a way back playing into the breeze, albeit one that lightened, deserves credit, much of it down to a much more aggressive approach in the second period, setting up a defensive cordon on their 45 while, at the other end, the cerebral Niall Kelly ran the game, his three sublime points complementing a play-making masterclass.
Points from the impressive Paddy Woodgate, Kevin Feely and Kelly eased Kildare into a five-point lead (0-12 to 0-7) within six minutes of the restart.
That was enough to keep Wicklow, despite the best efforts of Dean Healy, who powered into the game in the second half for the Garden County – until that dramatic end when Kildare threatened to lose a game they had already won.
It is a habit they could do with kicking.
KILDARE: M Donnellan; R Burke, S Ryan (R Houlihan, BS 70&1), M O’Grady (B Byrne, 24; H O’Neill, 64)); J Sargent, E Doyle, P McDermott (T Archbold, 62); A Masterson, K Flynn; A Beirne, N Kelly, S Farrell (S O’Sullivan, 70), K Feely, D Kirwan, D Flynn (P Woodgate, 35&3). Scorers: K Feely 0-7 (5 frees), N Kelly 0-3, D Kirwan 0-2, P Woodgate 0-2 (1 free), A Masterson and J Sargent 0-1.
WICKLOW: S Doyle; T Moran, M Stone, C McDonald; M Nolan, P O’Keane, G Fogarty; D Healy, C Maguire (O McGraynor, 62); D Fee, C O’Brien, J Kirwan (J Prendergast, 70); J Carlin (G Murphy, 33), K Quinn, JP Nolan.
Scorers: O McGraynor 1-1 (1-0 pen, 1 free), C O’Brien and D Healy 0-2 each, K Quinn 0-2 (frees), P O’Keane, T Moran, D Fee, JP Nolan and G Murphy 0-1 each.
Referee: S Lonergan (Tipperary).