It may not quite be drinking at the last saloon for Kildare today, but by 6pm the Lilywhites could be out of the championship before facing into a dead duck of a game against Kerry on the August Bank Holiday weekend. Should results fall a certain way –Monaghan beating the Kingdom and Galway winning in Newbridge – Kildare will bow out, as will Kerry. Neither set of results are unfathomable, and perhaps when looking back over the damp squib that was the opening weekend of the Super 8’s in Croke Park, a set of meaningless games would reflect aptly on what has been a largely poor football championship overall.
That being said, Kildare’s clash with Monaghan last Sunday was perhaps the most enjoyable of the four heavyweight games played in headquarters. Monaghan brought their usual intensity and tough tackling; Kildare looked some way off their levels produced in previous weeks.
That’s somewhat understandable as there has been a big physical and emotional investment put into this rollercoaster ride by players and management. This Sunday will mark the sixth match that Kildare have played since June 9, and that must take a massive toll on everyone involved. From the physical aspect to the tactical preparations, the short turnaround between games can be a difficult one to manage and it’s likely that the Lilywhites are only keeping things ticking over between games while training.
It's a tough one for Cian O’Neill and his management team too – they pride themselves on being able to analyse their opposition quite microscopically before each game, but they have been dealing with six or seven day turnarounds to get video footage together, look through it with a fine-tooth comb and then implement some of their own tactical innovations that may hurt their opposition.
Against Monaghan the toll of the last few weeks seemed to have taken a grip as Kildare seemed devoid of any of their ability to break lines, turnover balls high up the pitch or execute the beautiful attacking moves that were on display against Fermanagh and Mayo. Aside from Daniel Flynn’s goal and a couple of nice points from Neill Flynn, there was little to crow about from a Kildare point of view. They may have lost by just two points and could have had a chance to draw level late on, but there was always a sense that Kildare were not going to win that game.
A drastic improvement is needed ahead of the meeting with Galway. The Connacht champions are the form team in Ireland outside of Dublin this year, proving more than a match for the Metropolitans in the league final and then turning Mayo over in the own backyard in the first round of the championship. They haven’t put a foot wrong yet this year, and their rather straightforward win over Kerry was huge for their confidence. They are young and talented like this Kildare team, but they seem to have an extra edge that the Lilywhites haven’t quite found yet.
While their victory over Kerry was considerably drab, that won’t matter a jot to Kevin Walsh as he has overseen plenty of those type of wins in the last couple of years. Think back to the league final when Kildare fell to the westerners in 2017, or even the opening round of the Connacht championship when they squeezed past 14-man Mayo. Even their Connacht final win over Roscommon was a miserable enough spectacle at times. That gives weight to the sense that there might be more in them, and they do seem to be upping the gears in different areas of the field.
Shane Walsh has been the best player on the pitch for Galway in their last two games, the sort of consistency he has never been able to allay with his undoubted talent. Damien Comer continues to be a totemic figure at the edge of the square, while the likes of Eammon Brannigan and Johnny Heaney are providing plenty of work ethic and some attacking threat from the half-forward line.
However, the Tribesmen have been stripped of a valuable asset in the shape of Paul Conroy, their classy midfielder unfortunately having his season ended by a double leg break last weekend. Peter Cooke – his replacement after 20 minutes on Sunday – will most likely be called in, and the midfield could prove to be a pivotal battle.
Kevin Feely has become an issue due to the obvious injury he is carrying, and it’s a worry for Kildare. Cian O’Neill has been stressing that the Athy man has been playing very well at full-forward in training and that it’s something they want to persist with in games, but it seems to be masking over the fact that Feely is not moving as fluidly as he can. Why else would you put an All-Star nominee midfielder into the full-forward line? It also lessens the space around Daniel Flynn, who is enjoying fine year in terms of his impact on games, though he has yet to put in a truly domineering performance that would elevate him to the very top level. If Flynn is left alone inside with Neill Flynn on Sunday they could cause some damage to a Galway full-back line that is potentially suspect. The system they employ has covered that up to an extent, but Kildare will go man for man and there is a hope that they can expose some gaps in the opposition defence.
This is a winnable game for the Lilywhites, but they will have to put in a performance that at least mirrors the displays against Mayo and Fermanagh, perhaps even better it. Galway can wrap up their place in an All-Ireland semi-final for the first time since they won the big prize in 2001, so there is every incentive there for them to achieve the victory.
Kildare did well to even make it to this stage considering the mood following the defeat to Carlow, but if their hopes were to be completely dashed on Sunday, it would no doubt be hugely disappointing.
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