Well, no-one’s beaten the record for perfect anyway.
Carlow’s rising. If you haven’t heard it this past year, if you haven’t seen it in hashtag form or felt it in your veins, something is stirring in the River Barrow and a population shy of 60,000 has lifted off its knees.
Two Leinster championship wins – one against Division Two Louth and the other against Division One Kildare – has stormed Carlow through the front door and 70 minutes away from a provincial decider. In their way now, the old enemy, a shot at redemption, Laois.
Kildare were ripped apart by Carlow on Sunday as Turlough O’Brien marched his men into Tullamore dead set on an ambush. Seven points was the difference and Cian O’Neill conceded that the Lilywhites were outfought in the white heat of the Leinster championship as seven points separated the sides in the end, Carlow winning 2-14 to 1-10.
Goals from Daniel St Ledger and Conor Lawler – and 10 points off the boot of Paul Broderick – set the stage for yet another historic day for Carlow GAA as they overcame Kildare in the provincial series for the first time in 53 years.
What was most impressive about all of this though was their downright ruthlessness.
If Kildare – who went into the game having lost 11 on the trot – needed some respite and some form of good fortune or even just a bloody break, they weren’t for getting it off a Carlow outfit with pure savage, cutthroat intent.
It was like they were locked into their target and struck it accurately time and time again with no relent, no mercy. It was like they couldn’t miss.
Literally.
Carlow. 2-14 from 16 shots. 100%. Even being mean and counting the first goal as a missed free that dropped short they were at 94%.
I have nothing – *nothing* – close to this in the database
— dontfoul (@dontfoul) May 27, 2018
If anyone is after a GAA statistics account to follow, dontfoul should be one of your first stops.
After collating the data, Carlow didn’t waste one shot. Not one.
One didn’t reach its intended target but ended up in the net anyway but, even at that, the level of efficiency is downright incredible. No wides, none that dropped short without reward, no wastage. 16 shots, 20 points on the board.
Carlow cruise into the last four. Carlow, as they say, is rising.
