Kildare v Westmeath Sat 2pm

A point required to guarantee Division 2 football next year ...... be that in the Spring, Summer or Autumn!

Is it scoring difference first then head to head after that to decide the standings?

If only 2 teams finish on same points then it is the head to head, if 3 or more on the same points then its scoring diff.
I see the game is on GAA GO anyone ever use this service before, a €5 to sign up for the game.

totalgaa wrote:

If only 2 teams finish on same points then it is the head to head, if 3 or more on the same points then its scoring diff.
I see the game is on GAA GO anyone ever use this service before, a €5 to sign up for the game.

there was technical issues with few games last weekend check their Twitter page for yourself

Promotion chances gone from almost zero to slightly more than almost zero.
We need to beat Westmeath regardless.
We need Clare to beat Armagh, only that'd put us and Clare level and they've the head to head.
Thus we also need Cavan to beat Roscommon which puts them level as well and then it's down to scoring difference. Half the Roscommon team, management and backroom team out of there game as they took two buses to the game in Armagh last week with a case on one of the buses.

Also, looks like hurlers set for walkover against Offaly in Christy Ring as their panel in 14-day quarantine after a case in the squad with all the rest considered close contacts.

Call me negative, but none of this has any of the feel of sporting achievement or joy. Walkovers galore in last round of league too. It's feels as cold as pointless. The championship is going to be a mess.

There is also the issue of teams giving 'walkovers' this weekend while keeping their players fresh for the championship next weekend.

Not getting relegated is the number one priority. Div 2 next year will be tough. Cork and Down coming up and Meath and either Mayo, Monaghan, Tyrone or Donegal coming the other way. No gimme's there.

Had Armagh beaten Ros last weekend as expected then we would have been in with a big shot of promotion this weekend. Hard to see them losing in Clare again but you never know. If we win we want Clare and Cavan to also win, if we lose we want the opposite.

After 3 bad defeats I'd settle for survival in Div 2 at this stage. Unfortunately it's where we belong based on what we have done in the last few years.

We would get ate alive in Div one. Definitely a div 2 team

lilysavage wrote:

Had Armagh beaten Ros last weekend as expected then we would have been in with a big shot of promotion this weekend. Hard to see them losing in Clare again but you never know. If we win we want Clare and Cavan to also win, if we lose we want the opposite.

Had Cavan scored the penalty and the late goal chance..
We need to put the ball in the net 8 points up, not fist it over the bar or tap over easy points in on goal.

Watched the rest of the game last night and agree with seamus Goal scoring we had two great goal chances one Flynn and Hyland I hope Jack o Connor told them if you ever get in those positions again go for goal and dont be afraid to go for it you wont beat the big team getting those chances going for points I couldnt believe they went for points.

Kildare Team v Westmeath - unchanged

1. Mark Donnellan, Maynooth
2. Shea Ryan, Sarsfields
3. Mick O'Grady, Celbridge
4. Eoin Doyle, Naas
5. David Hyland, Athy
6. Con Kavanagh, Sarsfields
7. Kevin Flynn, Celbridge
8. Kevin Feely, Athy
9. Aaron Masterson, Moorefield
10. Paul Cribbin, Johnstownbridge
11. Paddy Brophy, Celbridge
12. Liam Power, Raheens
13. Ben McCormack, Sarsfields
14. Darragh Kirwan, Naas
15. Jimmy Hyland, Ballyteague

jimmers wrote:

Kildare Team v Westmeath - unchanged

1. Mark Donnellan, Maynooth
2. Shea Ryan, Sarsfields
3. Mick O'Grady, Celbridge
4. Eoin Doyle, Naas
5. David Hyland, Athy
6. Con Kavanagh, Sarsfields
7. Kevin Flynn, Celbridge
8. Kevin Feely, Athy
9. Aaron Masterson, Moorefield
10. Paul Cribbin, Johnstownbridge
11. Paddy Brophy, Celbridge
12. Liam Power, Raheens
13. Ben McCormack, Sarsfields
14. Darragh Kirwan, Naas
15. Jimmy Hyland, Ballyteague

I wonder why Fergal Conway isn't starting? He's clearly a better option in at least 3 positions.... but actually it could be a really good decision by the management team. I remember the Dublin team in the early days of the drive for 5 talking about finishing with their strongest 15 rather than starting with the strongest 15, its a really interesting concept and I wonder is there a bit of that going on here? Conway, Neil Flynn, Keith Cribben

I'm really interested to see two things in particular today

1) Can the inside line improve again from last week? Can they win as much possession, can they improve how they setup for kickouts, can they take some goal chances they they didn't last week, can Jimmy and Ben kick a few more from play and can Darragh K improve his general play to add to his point taking

2) Can we improve how we defend as a unit - This is going to be a key performance indicator for us, how we improve game on game will tell us a lot about the capacity that this team has to develop into a really good side. See a good and steady positive trend and we're laughing, if the problem persists then there is a problem with either management's ability to achieve defensive solidity or the players ability to implement it

The inside line scored 15 points between them the last day. I'd settle for that today! Always things we can do better though.

Defending as a unit has been a problem for Kildare for a number of years. The jury is still out based on last week but Cormac Reilly does tend to give easy frees to the forwards. We were very attacking last week and the defenders left their men to break forward a lot. It's fine when it works but when it breaks down we look exposed. It probably takes a while to get the right balance, hopefully we can improve today.

It would have been harsh to drop anybody after playing well (for 55 minutes) last week. We have a strong bench and Fergal Conway is a great man to have in reserve if he can't last the full 70 minutes. We really tired for the last 15 minutes last week and can't let that happen again.

Westmeath have some really good players like John Heslin, James Dolan, Kieran Martin and Ray Connellan. I think they are stronger than Cavan and we'll have our work cut out to beat them. Best of luck to all involved.

Full credit to the team and management for winning 2 from 2 on the return to narrowly miss out on promotion (and relegation!!) Its a credit to their attitude and commitment to have come back in better shape than other teams.

I didn't see the game today so will be interested to hear the thoughts of those that did.

It sounded like they were always going to win, which is good to see.

Job done, Leinster final appearance now and that's a good year under the circumstances.

Westmeath set up very defensively (preparing for Dublin maybe) so there was very little room up front and there wasnt the space to kick the ball into as we did v Cavan, the build up was slower therefore, and we had to be patient. It made for a dull enough spectacle but it was a good 'professional' performance. We were 08 to 05 up at break, and finished 0 16 to 011. We defended well, won plenty of turnovers, they did miss some chances and dropped a good few short from distance. We didn't give up any goal chances, but didn't create any either. There wasnt as much space for Kirwan and he wasnt as prominent as last week, he kicked one nice score and showed some classy touches. I thought our defence was better today and Feely and Masterson won the midfield duels. After a poor start to the league we won our last 3 games (fairly comfortably) have introduced some new players and I would say that there are definite signs of improvement in our play

There was one goal chance but again we went for the easier option of trying to fist a point. Malone I think it was cut through and punches against the post but we got a point out of it in the end. That's 3 times its happened in 2 games, which would make you think it's something Jack wants them to do.

e.s.b. wrote:

Westmeath set up very defensively (preparing for Dublin maybe) so there was very little room up front and there wasnt the space to kick the ball into as we did v Cavan, the build up was slower therefore, and we had to be patient. It made for a dull enough spectacle but it was a good 'professional' performance. We were 08 to 05 up at break, and finished 0 16 to 011. We defended well, won plenty of turnovers, they did miss some chances and dropped a good few short from distance. We didn't give up any goal chances, but didn't create any either. There wasnt as much space for Kirwan and he wasnt as prominent as last week, he kicked one nice score and showed some classy touches. I thought our defence was better today and Feely and Masterson won the midfield duels. After a poor start to the league we won our last 3 games (fairly comfortably) have introduced some new players and I would say that there are definite signs of improvement in our play

Westmeath manager was plays defensive game

e.s.b. wrote:

Westmeath set up very defensively (preparing for Dublin maybe) so there was very little room up front and there wasnt the space to kick the ball into as we did v Cavan, the build up was slower therefore, and we had to be patient. It made for a dull enough spectacle but it was a good 'professional' performance. We were 08 to 05 up at break, and finished 0 16 to 011. We defended well, won plenty of turnovers, they did miss some chances and dropped a good few short from distance. We didn't give up any goal chances, but didn't create any either. There wasnt as much space for Kirwan and he wasnt as prominent as last week, he kicked one nice score and showed some classy touches. I thought our defence was better today and Feely and Masterson won the midfield duels. After a poor start to the league we won our last 3 games (fairly comfortably) have introduced some new players and I would say that there are definite signs of improvement in our play

Thanks for that e.s.b.... plenty of positives to build on

Well done to the lads. Turned things around well when things looked grim a few weeks ago. Hopefully get a good run now

Good win today but a lot of work still to be done with this team. To be fair ,J O C needs time now, to bring the speed and the pace up ,and tackling as a unit up in the 21y to middle area. There is definitely 50% more improvement needed.To me we do a lot of shadow tackling rader that getting up close. Look at all the top teams and their work rate in this area is second to none. Our forwards missed a bit today but were ok, they played 15 behind the ball for most of the game always hard to break down. Great to stay up under the circumstances would have liked to go up, but I think we let that chance slip down in Clare. Well done again to the lads and management team .

Another year in division two will stand to us. Obviously it’s not as strong a division one, but we’re a developing team and need confidence. Taking weekly hankerings won’t help that.
Division two next year will be tough. Cork and Down coming up and Meath and Monaghan or Mayo coming down. All of those teams are well capable of beating us.
A lot to look forward to and not a huge amount of time considering the league is due to start up again in February.
Agree on the shadow tackling. That’s a long standing problem but I think some of the younger lads coming through are more likely to tackle hands on. Dempsey and Ryan have shown that as has Flynn and Mick O’Grady. It just needs to be encouraged.
Once again, a word on Brophy. He’s flying. He looks to have slimmed down which has helped his game no end. He’s on the ball for every Kildare attack and his foot passing is class.