Wee relief for Brennan while Ryan just wants Kildare to get a win

For perhaps a minute of play early in the second half at Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday night, Louth had lurched into real-time relegation trouble.

They had just fallen behind to a Paddy Woodgate ‘45’, kicked brilliantly into the wind. It might have been worse: that ‘45’ was awarded after ’keeper Niall McDonnell had pawed away a goal-bound effort from Kildare’s Shane Farrell.

Meanwhile, 180km away in Kingspan Breffni, Fermanagh were in the box seat against Cavan.

If it stayed that way at both venues, Fermanagh would have preserved their Division 2 status, and Louth would have been left to curse another promising situation spurned, with devastating consequences.

There was one problem with this narrative: it ignored the reality of Kildare’s spring from hell, and the team’s chronic inability to produce anything close to a sustained 70-minute performance.

Louth kicked the next four points after Woodgate’s ‘45’. Their cushion later stretched to five before a Kildare rally of sorts fuelled the possibility of a last-gasp equalising goal. But it was all too late and rather too hit-and-hope.

Even a draw would have seen Louth survive, but a deserved 1-12 to 0-12 victory not alone secured Division 2 safety but – in all likelihood – continued tenure in the Sam Maguire group stages.

“It’s hugely important,” said manager Ger Brennan. “The aim for us is to ensure we’re doing everything we can to get back to the provincial final, and then therewouldbenoquestionoverourstatus. It has to be a huge target going forward because the more often you’re playing against the bigger boys, the more you know where you stand.”

Based on barren form graphs, that target currently looks beyond his embattled opposite number Glenn Ryan (above).

In 2018, Kildare lost all seven top-flight league games by a cumulative 29 points. To lose all seven in Division 2, with a scoring difference of minus 37, constitutes a much bigger failure.

And a far more damaging one too, unless they can reach a Leinster final. To do so would likely require wins over Westmeath and Louth. Still fancy them?

After Saturday’s defeat, Ryan stressed that he couldn’t fault the effort or commitment of players who “did everything they could do to try and win that game”.

But it’s a measure of how far they’ve fallen that little more than 1,000 diehards were there to see it, and most of the noise came from the Louth contingent.

Safe to say Kildare have seen enough of their temporary Carlow home: they lost all four games here by a combined 27 points. Then again, the old Newbridge was the scene of double-digit collapses to Cork and Derry last spring while the new St Conleth’s Park will be hosting Division 3 minnows in 2025.

How Ryan must have craved a finisher like Ryan Burns, scorer of 1-2, whose 14th-minute goal was the difference.

“He’s really flying it,” his manager purred.

Brennan had been fully up to speed with events in Cavan. His half-time message? “I might have told them that Fermanagh were winning by a bit more,” he replied,“andtheyresponded.Westarted the second half really well.”

But while “delighted” to have stayed up after a “well-rounded performance that was scrappy on occasion”, Brennan wants far more. Maybe that’s to be expected from a player who scaled the Sam Maguire summit with Dublin.

“It’s kill or be killed sometimes so there definitely is a bit of relief that Louth, based on the last 10 days, have been able to maintain Division 2 status . . . but overall I wouldn’t be particularly happy. We could have, should have, been pushing closer for promotion.”

Hard to say the same about Kildare.