Kildare had lost 12 games on the trot coming into this one.
But, surprisingly, it was only a fortnight ago when the panic really set in for the Lilywhites. Despite having lost 11 games in a row prior to their fall at the very first hurdle in Leinster, you always felt that there wasn’t any cause for serious worry amongst Cian O’Neill’s men.
Graphic Credit: RTÉ.
That’s because it’s been proved on countless occasions that reading into League form is a bit of a hiding to nothing. You can say all you want about the high quality games that are thrown up, but in reality, the championship is what really counts and most teams are nowhere near full throttle until the summer sun emerges. On top of that, Kildare’s League losses were all by the narrowest of margins so that fed the notion that they were always on the cusp of returning, returning to the type of form that saw them demolish Meath last year and run Dublin as close as anyone else.
But when they went down to Carlow – by seven points, and in turn became the first Kildare team to lose the Scallion Eaters in 65 years, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. That was when the patience wore thin.
Losing is a habit just as much as winning is and the men in white were trapped in a vicious circle. On Saturday afternoon in the first round of the qualifiers, they finally emerged from the abyss to score their first victory in 12 months.
Kildare went up to Owenbeg with their tail between their legs, but in fairness, so did their opponents Derry – once a powerhouse, the 2014 Division One finalists were relegated to Division Four this year.
And Kildare took advantage of that fall from grace on Saturday. Wearing their green strip, the away side got off to a shaky start with Shane McGuigan raising an early green flag for the Oak Leaf County.
To their credit, a vulnerable Kildare side put the head down and they didn’t let this derail them. Daniel Flynn roared back with a goal almost immediately and from there they kicked on.
Kevin Feely kicked a couple of fine scores from midfield, Fergal Conway reeled off four points and these contributions hoisted them into a two point lead at half-time, despite the concession of another goal after Enda Lynn had bursted through their rearguard.
Kildare took off upon the resumption of play, however, with substitute David Slattery making an instant impact. He kicked a point before Niall Kelly would strike for a goal on the 43 minute mark.
Derry’s mountain looked steep then and it got steeper when substitute Neil Flynn raised two white flags upon his arrival to the fray, just before Mark Lynch would see red.
James Kielt with a point. @KildareGAA full back David Hyland picks up a black card and then Mark Lynch picks up a red card. Haven't a Scooby Doo why. @Doiregaa trail by five. 3mins left.
— Derry GAA (@Doiregaa) June 9, 2018
Cian O’Neill will be delighted that his side kicked on, as they broke that ugly streak to win by 2-22 to 2-14.
Scorers: Neil Flynn 0-6, Daniel Flynn 1-1, Fergal Conway 0-4, Niall Kelly 1-0, Paul Cribbin, Kevin Feely, Tommy Moolick 0-2 each, Keith Cribbin, James Murray, Mark Donnellan, David Slattery, Johnny Byrne 0-1 each.
— Kildare GAA (@KildareGAA) June 9, 2018
