LEINSTER SFC FIRST ROUND Kildare 1-16 Offaly 1-10: THE SUN beamed down in Portlaoise as Kildare set about the business of winning a Leinster football championship match for the first time in four years.
After last season’s mortification at the hands of Wicklow, manager Kieran McGeeney was presumably a little apprehensive.
However, shortly into the match all anxiety had been gently vaporised into the warmth of the afternoon as his team dazzled and, all pace and purpose in the sunshine, ran riot. Offaly’s defence couldn’t have been less in touch with their men and still stayed on the pitch. By the ninth minute, the score stood at 1-5 to 0-1.
Rampant at centrefield where Dermot Earley was the dominant personality (even his high foul-count drew no sanction from the apparently mesmerised referee Aidan Mangan) and stormed possession, initiating movement and getting up for two scores and back for several useful defensive interventions.
Just 16 minutes into the match, Offaly manager Tom Cribbin was forced to back-track on his youth-first policy and send in Ciarán McManus to counter Earley.
Kildare popped ball out to the corners where John Doyle – who was involved in 1-6 of the first-half 1-9 – and Alan Smith were always out in front of their markers Conor Evans and Karol Slattery.
As early as the third minute, Doyle switched a cross-field ball to Smith, who rolled through a tackle, lost the ball, regained it and swept the ball to the net. Doyle followed up with two points and already Offaly’s championship life was flashing before their eyes.
James Kavanagh also chipped in two from play in the opening phase and annihilation looked on the cards.
Niall McNamee was expected to be Offaly’s trump card if a surprise was to be sprung, but, having started full forward, he received little in the way of a decent supply.
Offaly recovered a little ground before the break, doubling their total from a pitiful two points to four and an eight-point deficit.
There was to be no swift defiance on the restart and Earley led a break-out from the back, which swept the length of the field for the unlikely figure of debutant full back Hugh McGrillen to finish for a point.
But Kildare’s concentration lapsed and McManus and Niall Smith had an improved spell at centrefield. A mini-revival saw three points on the spin including one fine individual effort from McNamee. The margin was down to six. The trouble for Offaly was that Kildare always looked capable of reasserting hold, as indicated by two points from Kavanagh and Ronan Sweeney in the space of a minute.
The match was grinding to an inevitable conclusion after another scoring burst left Kildare ahead by double scores, 1-15 to 0-9 on the hour.
To describe John Ryan’s 63rd-minute goal as a late twist would be to exaggerate, but, after the Birr player scored, McNamee then set up John Reynolds for a point and the deficit was down to five.
The comeback stalled there and another high-voltage combination attack by Kildare yielded the final score of the afternoon for replacement Robert Kelly.
KILDARE: T Corley; M Foley, H McGrillen (0-1), D Brennan; E Bolton, B Flanagan, M Conway; D Flynn, D Earley (0-2); J Kavanagh (0-3), P O'Neill, E Callaghan; A Smith (1-1), R Sweeney (0-2), J Doyle (0-6, four frees). Subs: G White for O'Neill (58 mins), R Kelly (0-1)for Callaghan (both 58 mins), K Brennan for Earley (60); M O'Flaherty for Brennan (64); A McLoughlin for Bolton (69).
OFFALY: A Mulhall; C Evans, R Dalton (0-1), K Slattery; B Darby, M Mitchell, S Lonergan; N Smith, C Carroll; J Reynolds (0-3), S Ryan (1-0), K Casey (0-1); T Deehan (0-1), N McNamee (0-3, two frees), W Mulhall. Subs: C McManus for Carroll (17 mins); S Sullivan for Mitchell (30); N Darby (0-1, free)for W Mulhall (half-time); N Coughlan for Casey (55); G Rafferty for Lonergan (68). Yellow cards: Slattery (15), Ryan (22), McManus (55), Rafferty (72).
Att: 12,356.
Referee: A Mangan(Kerry).
