Kildare v Longford

TommyKeegan wrote:

What good team have this Longford beaten in qualifiers? Seriously? Who? When?

Sorry but after all our underage success, after getting to Division One, after thinking this group can restore pride... Now seeing this after trying every which way to f**k up a qualifier in Longford while scraping a win despite our idiocy is a good thing? You put a sick dog down, not hug it for dribbling. This shambles is a huge waste of money.

After half a million a year paid for by clubs and fans, they can't defend or think or do basics but well spent as we beat Longford..? Cian O'Neill I was told by Kerry folk a year back would sell sand to Arabs. His big quality. What is he on this summer as team fall over line despite him? Sack him and save a few quid.

Some seem to think it is as simple as win good lose bad. This group from a footballing perspective are brain dead. The leg up programme. Project bootstrap. One more year of trying to sneak through easy draws to save face. Skill regression. Is this what we want to be? It is utterly pathetic from top to bottom. "But we won in Longford." Is aim ever to be a real county?

A lot of our problems with the Longford game was how we were set up TK. There's no doubt in my mind about it. I think we are a 7/8 point better team than Longford.

I was located very near the Kildare dugout and could hear the management instructing lads to get in a tackle to Longford players when they were in possession . Very often actually almost all the time we stood off them and allowed them to be comfortable and retain possession which inevitably forced an opening. We didn't really pressure the way we should have in 1st half and they created 2 goal chances and should have converted.

In the 2nd half we utterly dominated, without reflecting on the score board. We missed some terrible chances and took some terrible decision - we kept them to 1-04, the goal coming in the last minute more or less. I think the goal was the only score from play in 2nd half too. It wasn't a shootout that some predicted . They were defensive and we were too. In a game like that we never shoot the lights.

I'm not saying we're Wrold beaters or everything is Rosie all of a sudden. I agree with a lot of what you say . However after the year we've had , away from home with the game in the melting pot with 70 mins gone we dug a little deep when it would have been easy , far easier I suggest in those conditions to throw in the towel and bring the curtain down.

If nothing else. We showed a little battling quality against a team we should be besting anyways. And came out the right side . Overall - happy with the win, but little changes

Dont understand all the negativity on here. Look it, at last we showed a bit of fight and some character to dig out a win. Longford have taken a few big scalps down there in recent years so yesterdays and would have fancied their chances big time yesterday.
Niall kelly now needs a huge game nxt time out to save his season and show us how good we know he can be

TommyKeegan wrote:

Win or lose, we are absolute muck. This is genuinely our level. Games with Longford and Carlow. It's actually hilarious. Also sounds like that to make this panel you need single-digit footballing IQ.

Hilarious?? Prick

jj wrote:

TommyKeegan wrote:

Win or lose, we are absolute muck. This is genuinely our level. Games with Longford and Carlow. It's actually hilarious. Also sounds like that to make this panel you need single-digit footballing IQ.

Hilarious?? Prick

I agree with a lot he says jj I suppose I'm a prick too?

Xavi wrote:

jj wrote:

TommyKeegan wrote:

Win or lose, we are absolute muck. This is genuinely our level. Games with Longford and Carlow. It's actually hilarious. Also sounds like that to make this panel you need single-digit footballing IQ.

Hilarious?? Prick

I agree with a lot he says jj I suppose I'm a prick too?

Probably a bit harsh but despite all our misgivings in Kildare GAA I certainly don't find it hilarious. Angry, hurt, frustrated etc etc but never hilarious

You wanted fight, you got fight. The defending in the first half was juvenile, absolutely staggeringly juvenile. It was better in the second half. Some of the cheap turnovers must be the stuff of nightmares for management. But they fought hard. That's what you wanted.

Part of the problem with the negative reaction is the expectation. As they say, it's the hope that kills you. I still don't know what the expectation is based on - the big expectation. Obviously, the expectation that you'd beat Carlow, is fair enough. I expected that.

Kildare have some excellent players in the front eight, and a bit of depth there. But structures and systems aside, one-on-one defending was stunningly bad in the first half. As I say, it improved significantly in the second and had they cared for the ball a little more and not been so wild with the finishing, they would have won with a little in hand.

Kevin Feely remains as good a footballer as is in the country - certainly, his kicking skills are not bettered by anyone I have seen. Grand, you'd love another yard of space but he's a big unit and I've yet to see the perfect baller. His kick pass against Derry is the best I've ever seen. His impact in 10 minutes on the pitch in scoring a point, and two big plays that resulted in a goal and a point, on one leg, was inspirational.

And anyone who wasn't there - don't miss Neil Flynn's point. If Kelly's goal isn't score of the year for Feely's pass, Flynn's will be. Again - if a Dub or Kerry player did it, fellas would be creaming all over Twitter.

It was great to win.

It was great to show fight, character and bottle to win away from home against a tricky and difficult side who had already beaten Meath at home.

Yes we were fortunate not to concede two first half goals but that’s in the realm of shoulda, coulda, woulda and so what that’s football. In the same breath we should never have conceded the goal we did!

On that topic how’s is it and when did it become good goalkeeeping in Gaelic to punch clear balls like that? 20/30 years ago a goalkeeper would be shot for
contesting a ball between a fullback and a fullforward! Likewise I don’t remember goalkeepers punching balls, the aim was always to catch it and clear it. Have we imported goalkeeping coaches?

Of topic slightly but are there too many involved in the management of teams on the sidelines during big games? Obviously Roly running onto the pitch to give instructions is important but it seemed to me that at least on one occasion the water boys were running in when Longford had a free. They took the free quickly when some kildare players were getting a drink; good play on their part but surely stupid on ours. I know this might seem silly but a lack of attention to detail will lose a match.

Regardless the win was hugely important.

From such a low base to win away to Derry and away to Longford I think is a very decent couple of weeks. They have showed some guts and desire which is want we all wanted. Yes they still are making some mind boggling mistakes and their ability to keep opposition teams in games by allowing easy scores is infuriating but they won and won a tight game which is invaluable to this team.
I don't care who we get tomorrow but a home game is vital. The weather will be hot next weekend and memories of Donegal in 2001 spring to mind.

Well done to the team on a great weekend for the County.

Ratings:

Allentown 6
Italian Restaurant 6
Pressure 6
Raglan Road 5
Always a Woman 7
Anthony's Song 8
New York State of Mind 9
My Life 8
Only The Good Die Young 8
And So it Goes 5
The Longest Time 7
Vienna 6
The Entertainer 7
A Hard Day's Night 8
Piano Man 10

Subs:
Uptown Girl 9
We Didn't Start the Fire 8
Still Rock and Roll to me 7

Slow start but the subs helped pull it out of the fire

Ha ha very good.

You can always depend on My Life & Uptown Girl when the going gets tough. Never shirk responsibility.

Piano man had a stormer, next JD??

Had to laugh at Marty and Co. bigging up Laois today. They are rubbish.

It is possible that a team or two that is not equiped for the quarters will slip through the net and make it. The 4 semi finalists are already known.

LillieLad wrote:

Piano man had a stormer, next JD??

He was a bit, er, off-key against Carlow though

Look we can shite on about how we should be beating Loingford by ten points or we accept that in reality we have the ability to lose to anyone on any given day.
Pearse Park is not an easy place for bigger and better teams than Kildare to come out of, so I was delighted with the win.

I cannot comprehend how many silly things our lads do...I mean it would be Junior C defending at times.
We have loads of bodies back in one line and a simple hand pass opnes it all up. Eoin Doyle needs to sit ion the D or put Murray at 6.
Our defenders don't seem to sniff danger and it is a terrible worry.

We also need to break harder. Paul Cribbin in the second half ran straight and hard and it worked.
Donnellan was v ropey too.

It shows the talent these lads have, that IN SPITE OF THEMSELVES at times they can still win. That is what frustrates everyone here. They need to use their heads a lot more.
In terms of all that Feely is a real leader and when he comes on he really talks and orchestrates things. We need him on the field playmaking and calling the shots.

I might be old-fashioned but fuckin hell, full backs nowadays never play against direct football, so maybe try the odd long ball into Flynn and even Brophy...even the Dubs don't fancy it coming in on top of them.

Murray struggled on Saturday, doesnt look ready for this level yet,

e.s.b. wrote:

Murray struggled on Saturday, doesnt look ready for this level yet,

That's hugely disappointing to here. But it's early days. Looked comfortable v Derry.

He looked a bit lost on the wing, but throw him the no6 jersey and see how it goes. That is his best position.

[TommyKeegan"]Win or lose, we are absolute muck. This is genuinely our level. Games with Longford and Carlow. It's actually hilarious. Also sounds like that to make this panel you need single-digit footballing IQ. '

Should we still 'put the sick dog down?'