It has been somewhat of a difficult year for Sam Doran in spite of Kildare’s superb run to the All-Ireland final.
The Johnstownbridge utility man would undoubtedly be a starting player in most other teams at this age group around the country, but such is the strength in depth of this Kildare panel that he has had to make with a role as an impact sub for the majority of the year. He started the first couple of Leinster Championship games against Laois and Meath, but lost his place for the penultimate game of the group stage against Wicklow, and though he impressed from the off in a routine win over Carlow, he has had to contend with a role from the bench ever since.
With the half-forward line of Padraig Nash, Darragh Ryan and either Tony Archbold or Stephen Comerford motoring well as a unit, it is a hard team to break into right now. When the likes of Shane O’Sullivan, Mark Glynn, Niall Murphy and Doran are on the bench, it shows the depth of attacking talent that is waiting in the wings to make an impact.
“It is, yeah,” admitted Doran when asked if it can be frustrating not starting in the big games.
“I started the first two games and then dropped off, but there is serious competition, especially for places, even in the backs as well, but you need that. Any of the other teams I’ve played with at minor and that, there wasn’t really the same competition. We’re showing now that we have the bit of competition that lads have to keep putting in the work and hold their place, and I think that’s helping the team overall.”
Happy to help the team in any way possible, and Doran will no doubt have a say on Sunday. There are a couple of players who won’t feature this weekend that were previously key parts of the Leinster Minor Championship winning team of 2016, with both Jack Robinson and Danny O’Sullivan abroad for the summer. They would undoubtedly been part of Davy Burke’s plans if they were around, but the Lilywhites are coping well in the absence of two very talented options.
“The lads we have there now are flying it and they’re putting in serious work, so we haven’t really missed them yet. They would have been serious help to us though,” remarked Doran.
The structure of the newly formed U20 championship has meant that it has been a long haul for teams playing in Leinster. Kildare have played seven games in comparison to Mayo’s five, but Doran is happy with the layout of the championship and sees the positives of having more than one chance to get it right. The Lilywhites were shocked by Longford in the first round of the Leinster Championship last year, and that meant their season was over before it really ever started. This time around the group stage allowed them the reprieve of a defeat to Meath.
“It was a bit slow to get started compared to the U21s last year where we started training around the same time but got going around March,” said Doran.
“This time around it was a bit slower, but it has been picking up nicely and going well.
“It gives a better chance to the better teams going as well as they could go, whereas in a straight knockout a team can slip up and be knocked out. It’s good because it gives you plenty of games. We’ve came an awful long way since the start when the first game was against Laois. We struggled to beat Laois, but we’ve improved each game since.”
The momentous victory over Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final was a landmark win for this team, especially when you consider that Kildare fell to the same opponents two years ago in the minor All-Ireland semi-final by a massive 22 points. Doran feels they will have gained plenty of confidence from that victory but revealed that earlier in the year they were pretty much beaten out the gate by the Kingdom in a challenge match earlier in the year.
“We played them in a couple of challenges in minor and this year, and it was the same as that; we got serious beatings,” he said.
“We played them at the start of the year this year and we probably lost by 15 points, but even we came out of the game thinking they weren’t unbeatable. We didn’t have a full strength team – we were missing a couple of lads – and we thought we knew coming into the game (All-Ireland semi-final) that if we performed like we did against Dublin that we would have a great chance of winning.”
“We beat Dublin and Kerry, and then Mayo – they are the three sort of big teams in Ireland so it would be class to win it that way.”
The Croke Park factor is unlikely to prove a daunting prospect for this team, with almost every member of the panel having played in headquarters at least once in their nascent careers so far. Doran has plenty of experience here, while their opponents on Sunday will not have too many within their panel that have played on the hallowed turf.
“I think most of the lads would have played there because we played there a couple of times at minor and that, so we would be familiar with it. I don’t think there is anyone who hasn’t played there before, so it should be fine for us,” concluded Doran.
Doran may not be in from the start, but he will be gunning to make an impact when called upon on Sunday.
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