Kildare vs Mayo

Not going to nitpick at all for the time of year it was a cracker. The black card rule seems to allow teams to be opened up a lot easier. Think backs may have been conscious of it and thats why it was so open. Hopefully it'll continue cos that made for a hell of a game

johnny doyle to play kildare for other year

Forgive me but didn't Tomas's 1-2 all come from balls "lamped in on top of him"? I don't think any of those were aimed at the big man. For the goal he fetched a wayward effort from Mulhall and his points were fisted over when Hyland and Brophy hit efforts that fell short. He did win an amount of ball that was hit his way with a bit more purpose and direction but not being able to turn and kick a ball over the bar and always having to lay it off makes defending against him so much easier on the big days. I'm encouraged that Ryan would have started Fogarty if fit today. Tomas is Plan B always for me and the more we get used to playing with two scoring forwards Brophy and Fogarty supplemented by Mulhall and other running off their shoulders, the more chance of bridging the gap in the big games we'll have for me.

Great to get the league off to a good start today. Paddy Brophy was just brilliant. Glad to see Tomas O'Connor back on the pitch and scoring a goal. McNally kicked some good points too and O'Flaherty did well.

I've been impressed with Mick O'Grady and Kevin Murnaghan in the backs so far this year. Good to see the new players doing well. Wish Mick Foley would stay in front of goal though, seemed to come out very far at times today.

I'd like to see Hurley being left in midfield with Moolick who was also impressive today. Glad to see Flynn coming on for a while too.

The free against Connolly towards the end was harsh enough but he should've known better than to come out so far with the ball like that. It'll be interesting to see if Donnellan gets another chance at some stage during the league.

Things to improve on but very pleased to get the win. Roll on Cork!

Taibi wrote:

Stonecold wrote:

Great win, very open game, love the attack and the way they aren't afraid to take on players. TOC and Brophy were great. Too much handpassing but I suppose its a tactic to open up play?

O'Grady to me isn't a corner back, can't mark and miles behind his man, Connolly should know better at this stage. We give away too many soft frees which resulted in scores. But again great working win 2-19 wow

That's a little harsh, he was left isolated on his man on many occasions, the half back line offered little protection to the full back line because they were bombing forward at every opportunity and were then caught in no man's land when possession was lost. I thought he recovered well mostly, that block in the first half with the side of his head was as good as a goal at the other end.

I'd be more critical of Mick Foley. He looked heavy legged and couldn't cope with the pace of the game at all.

So when people have said the full back line over the last few weeks has been poor who do you think it refers to?? He's there to be a man marker and he's not, whether he has a role elsewhere I don't know.

Crofter wrote:

Forgive me but didn't Tomas's 1-2 all come from balls "lamped in on top of him"? I don't think any of those were aimed at the big man. For the goal he fetched a wayward effort from Mulhall and his points were fisted over when Hyland and Brophy hit efforts that fell short. He did win an amount of ball that was hit his way with a bit more purpose and direction but not being able to turn and kick a ball over the bar and always having to lay it off makes defending against him so much easier on the big days. I'm encouraged that Ryan would have started Fogarty if fit today. Tomas is Plan B always for me and the more we get used to playing with two scoring forwards Brophy and Fogarty supplemented by Mulhall and other running off their shoulders, the more chance of bridging the gap in the big games we'll have for me.

Tomas's scores did come from shots that were dropping short or going wide. I thought he did great to get 1-2 from those half chances.
I think he still is a good option in the full-forward line, either from the start or off the bench, provided we play the ball into him with a bit of direction and not just hoof it in as we have done in some games.

Stonecold wrote:

Taibi wrote:

Stonecold wrote:

Great win, very open game, love the attack and the way they aren't afraid to take on players. TOC and Brophy were great. Too much handpassing but I suppose its a tactic to open up play?

O'Grady to me isn't a corner back, can't mark and miles behind his man, Connolly should know better at this stage. We give away too many soft frees which resulted in scores. But again great working win 2-19 wow

That's a little harsh, he was left isolated on his man on many occasions, the half back line offered little protection to the full back line because they were bombing forward at every opportunity and were then caught in no man's land when possession was lost. I thought he recovered well mostly, that block in the first half with the side of his head was as good as a goal at the other end.

I'd be more critical of Mick Foley. He looked heavy legged and couldn't cope with the pace of the game at all.

So when people have said the full back line over the last few weeks has been poor who do you think it refers to?? He's there to be a man marker and he's not, whether he has a role elsewhere I don't know.

I never said he set the world alight in the O'Byrne Cup. I thought he was good today, made lots of important interceptions and looks comfortable on the ball, ignoring the madness at the end of course.

Let's not forget that was his league debut today. He'll improve no doubt.

Thought O'Grady was better today than in any of the OBC games, tidied up a lot of ball. Would say the entire full back line is consistently struggling to man-mark well though.
Foley looked better against Meath in the second half but was probably our only player who wasn't at the races today and couldn't cope with the pace. The suggestion he should keep closer to goal is all very well if you're marking a TOC type FF but Andy Moran was coming out for ball constantly as most will nowadays. Mick had to try to follow but to me wasn't up to it. Harsh but true. Unfortunately FB and CB still look problematic to me. Thought Conway did well when he came in, looked more aggressive and physical than I'd seen him. Might prove the answer over time but asking a lot of a lad his age at this stage. Won't go far without fixing those two positions.

Crofter wrote:

Forgive me but didn't Tomas's 1-2 all come from balls "lamped in on top of him"? I don't think any of those were aimed at the big man. For the goal he fetched a wayward effort from Mulhall and his points were fisted over when Hyland and Brophy hit efforts that fell short. He did win an amount of ball that was hit his way with a bit more purpose and direction but not being able to turn and kick a ball over the bar and always having to lay it off makes defending against him so much easier on the big days. I'm encouraged that Ryan would have started Fogarty if fit today. Tomas is Plan B always for me and the more we get used to playing with two scoring forwards Brophy and Fogarty supplemented by Mulhall and other running off their shoulders, the more chance of bridging the gap in the big games we'll have for me.

Plus one. We've seen similar performances from Tomas before and they all proved to be false dawns. I mentioned on here before the game that I felt Brophy and Fogarty have the potential to be really top players. We saw flashes of it from Brophy last year and today he delivered a MOTM performance. In time we'll see similar displays from Podge. We went to sleep after going six up but that can happen when you establish a decent lead. But certainly we'll have to tighten up and improve the concentration at the back. Mulhall did well - I was laughed at on here when I suggested he had something to contribute to Kildare but I dare say he's made a decent impact so far.

Overall, a very high quality game, as good a league encounter as you'll come across, and a spectacular effort from Brophy to win it. You were bracing yourself for the inevitable wide, then it went over, and it was a brilliant moment. It was one of those occasional high points - pardon the pun - that you get as a football follower. The younger players generally did very well, but Dublin have loads coming through as well of course. Obviously they introduced some cracking players last year and now they have the likes of Lowndes, Carthy and Costello breaking into the team as well. Christ!

But a good start to the league and two very valuable points. Hopefully we can retain Div 1 status - as Geezer said last year it's very important for Kildare football. It sickens Meath as well of course and that always helps.

Something I'd like to throw out there for debate - we're playing a more attack minded game under Ryan, which I welcome, and we've been racking up huge scores. But does playing that sort of style mean you're necessarily more open than if you're playing a Tyrone/Donegal-type defensive game? Personally, I think Foley can still cut it at full back - I remember his brilliant performances in his All Star year and I still think he has plenty to offer - and Eoin Doyle may fit the bill at centre half back. But I think Bolton is a decent solution - agree with Crofter, with Conway, it's asking a lot of a young guy like that to fill such a central position.

Anyway, thoughts? As I say I'm glad we're playing with a bit of panache. Jim McGuinness is obviously a genius but he's basically George Graham.

Obviously would be more open like when the half backs or midfield are running out and half backs are coming off your shoulder when ye loose it there are going to be fuck all back to mind the house, at the moment its working though but as everyone are saying we need stop teams running through the middle mayo had like 4 or 5 goal chances today took two of them, Meath had about 7 the last day Shane made 2 or 3 decent saves today but the likes of dublin will be a lot more ruthless but at the end of the day only first round of the league and we got some win!!

Shudder. It was genuinely astonishing how many goal chances Dublin created against us last year - there seemed to be one every 30 seconds. Surprised Connolly wasn't admitted to rehab afterwards.

Haha I know weirdly enough thought the full backs did well that day I know that sounds mad but honestly thought they did.

Great to get a win today, and some absolutely massive performances put in by some of the lads, especially some of the younger players.

Looked like the tide was turning in Mayo's favour early in the second half when they got the two goals and came back level.

We gifted them at least 2-3 or 2-4 today, both goals came from us losing possession around the middle and they got a couple of easy scores from winning our kickouts.

Again we looked weak across the half back line in terms of dealing with runners from deep. Don't think we managed to stop an attack breaking through without conceding a foul until just after Hyland and Conway came on? I wouldn't call Conway the answer at centre back or anything just yet but he definitely looked solid at times and managed to help turn over possession a few times.

Same problems again in midfield too. Against Meath we started to win our fair share of kickouts as the game went on, probably a combination of Gillespie going off and two from Moolick, Hurley and Whyte staying close together on our own kickouts. Today we seemed to get on top somewhat after O'Shea went off, but at times we just got caught out too easily. A lack of movement and a lack of numbers, lost count of the number of times Hurley went up for a ball in the second half and had to try beat two Mayo men to get a touch to it. Flynn certainly provided a strong option when he came on at least. Donnellan will surely fancy his chances of starting next week now. For all his ability under a high ball and saving shots Connolly just doesn't appear to know what to do when there isn't a clear run being made. Not entirely his fault though and surely something Ryan will look to work on with the middle eight.

The shooting today was top quality for the most part. There seems to be less of a shoot on sight policy at work and if it means passing it around a bit waiting for a man to find himself in a better position then so be it.

I've been critical when it comes to O'Connor in the past, not his ability or anything but the way we play with him and use him. Fair enough today he played a massive role, but too many balls went sailing out over the endline in the first half, and even if he was going to get on the end of some of them, nearly every time he was running for a ball there was nobody else inside the 21 or near him. We can't exactly be expecting him to pull off goals like that every time he wins a ball, he needs support and like the Meath game there looked to be big gaps between the half and full forwards lines.

Negatives and things to work on, but for the moment they're outweighed by the positives.

Brophy was immense, Hurley and Moolick got on a huge amount of ball in the middle, McNally, Murnaghan, O'Grady and McGrillen got through a massive amount of work too and both Hyland and Conway appeared to stabilise a problem area.

Cork had a big win today but there's no reason at all why we can't go there a get a result next weekend.

Match report

Kildare v Mayo

Excellent win and excellent performance from a number of individuals today! Brophy has played very well so far this season and long may it continue. He is excellent at anticipation and getting out in front. Love watching him play personally. Thought O'Grady, Murno, Hylo and EOF were very good today also. I hate to single players out but I have been to the UCD, Meath and Mayo games and every game Mick Foley has been slow, off the pace, and second to most balls which everything a full back should not be. Whether he is short on fitness or confidence even but he just does not look the same man that won an All Star, granted its early days yet but I worry about him in there.

One thing that impressed me greatly was a thing that frustrated under Geezer. Tomas O Connor would win serious amount of posession inside but would be left isolated with our corner forwards which usually was Jimmers and Smith not close enough to him to receive the ball off him. However, today I was impressed with how O Connor worked with Mulhall, EOF and especially Brophy in these situations. Special mention for McNally who I felt showed he had something to offer. Long may it continue.

The concession of 2-18 would usually mean Kildare were on the end of a horror story but a 2-19 return what??

Many teams over the w/end rattled up big scores, maybe this black card is playing on defenders minds?.

Long may it continue, the future looks bright.

Was a great start to the league and there are a lot of positives to take from it especially the way the heads never went down and to pull it out at the end will give the players more confidence.

The major fault obviously was the way we leaked goal chances and they seemed to be able to run through us now i was at the game and got caught up in the atmosphere but looked at it again last night and that was more worrying especially when the Cork game came on after and the first thing i noticed was the size of the pitch compared to our tight Newbridge ground.

Don't know what people think but playing a game in Newbridge compared to Croke Park / Gaelic Grounds etc. must be massive when you look at pitch sizes and i think that teams open us up easier on wider pitches over the last few years

Very early days but it's nice to see a young Kildare team coming out the right side of another tight game for the second Sunday in a row. 2-19 is great scoring and it's encouraging for the future. There will be great competition for places when Johnny and Niall Kelly return which is what we need. It also looks like we will have greater midfield options this year which should help against the stronger teams. Moolick and Hurley caught some great ball there yesterday.

Tomás showed that he can be a serious weapon when he's used correctly. He is never going to be a forward who will win a ball out in front, dip his shoulder and fire a shot off on the turn. He has other strengths and Kildare made good use of them yesterday. He was not the default option which he has been in the past and this kept the Mayo defence guessing. He was used as a decoy on a few occasions pulling the defenders out towards the corner which created space for Paddy Brophy and others. He is also a great man to clean up the scraps. He has to try and get around the house for any long range shots dropping short and that's how he got his 1-2 yesterday. He might not be a nailed on starter anymore with the emergence of Brophy and Fogarty but he's still a valuable asset for Kildare.

The defence remains a concern because you are not going to get 2-19 in every game. Ollie Lyons was doing very well on Moran until he had to go off. I hope they can sort out his hamstring problem. Foley still struggles with smaller pacy forwards so we have to cut our cloth to suit depending on the type of forward line we are up against.

Spot on there KK, and it was great to see the old place rocking yesterday, great atmosphere too, I was among a lot of Mayo people (good decent supporters they are too) and they were seriously impressed by some of Kildare's youngsters.

KK, good analysis on O'Connor, properly used and supported he has a lot to offer as long as he is not Plan A. He could create space for players like Brophy and O'Flaherty to prosper in the year ahead.
Fogarty will have to come up with a very good display soon if he is to be guarenteed a starting spot at full forward.Was impressed with McNally yesterday, 3 points was a good effort considering the amount of work he did all over the field.
I actually bought the Indo today for the first time in ages just to read the report on the game. I was hoping Eugene McGee might have been at the game just to see what he would write about our scoring forwards. However all he wanted to write about was how big a loss Paul Galvin was to the game!

murof wrote:

KK, good analysis on O'Connor, properly used and supported he has a lot to offer as long as he is not Plan A. He could create space for players like Brophy and O'Flaherty to prosper in the year ahead.
Fogarty will have to come up with a very good display soon if he is to be guarenteed a starting spot at full forward.Was impressed with McNally yesterday, 3 points was a good effort considering the amount of work he did all over the field.
I actually bought the Indo today for the first time in ages just to read the report on the game. I was hoping Eugene McGee might have been at the game just to see what he would write about our scoring forwards. However all he wanted to write about was how big a loss Paul Galvin was to the game!

Ya silly billy! We don't have scoring forwards...the scoreboard goes up by magic...

Really thought Hurley was immense yesterday and got on a serious load of ball. He seems like the only Kildare midfielder at present with the pace and power to run through tackles at speed, and break the game line from Midfield (something other teams seem to do at will against us) - so do we leave him at 12 or give him a midfield spot with either Moolick / Chalky - neither of whom did much wrong yesterday. My preference would be for a Chalky/Hurley combination with Hurley bombing forward and Chalky sitting back - I was very impressed with Chalky's tackling yesterday.

sometimes i can't believe my eyes with some of the stuff I come across on this.

"to make someone look or feel young and energetic again"


I am after looking up the word rejuvenated in an online dictionary. thats the result.

JohnnyC wrote of one of our best players last year that
"On the plus side, Paddy Brophy looks to be totally rejuvenated this year"

Straight out of minor, main man for a provincial winning u21 team. Scores a goal in leinster senior champ v Dublin.
Plays super stuff in O'Byrne Cup final last weekend.

Madness.

Stonecold wrote:

O'Grady to me isn't a corner back, can't mark and miles behind his man

Very harsh on a guy making his first League appearance for Kildare - and completely inaccurate. I have watched the match back on the TG4 player and O'Grady had a fine game - tackles well and was responsible for at least 4 Mayo turnovers - looks a good find to me and with more games will, surely only get better.