Cill Dara v Gallimh

[Dinny Breen]

Despite Galway's attempts to get this game called off it goes ahead with a 1:30pm throw.

Armagh, sorry Kildare are looking like they'll be unchanged from the trip to Tyrone.....

[GalwayBayBoy]

Galway welcome back veteran Padraig Joyce but will be without captain Kieran Fitzgerald against Kildare at Newbridge.

Joyce returns from suspension, while Fitzgerald is sidelined with a leg problem for the NHL Division One Round Two meeting on Sunday February 17.

The visitors will also be without Nicky Joyce, who is due to miss most of the league campaign following groin surgery.

[GaillimhIarthair]

Galway also without Mark Lydon and Gareth Bradshaw as they are involved with Moycullen in AI Intermediate Final on the same day in Croker (hence the original request for postponement).  Diarmuid Blake is also an injury doubt for Sunday I believe. 

[MaroonAndWhite]

Blakes out for 6 weeks....had a groin op yesterday. The team will probably be selected tonight...they delayed it by a night to see Armstrong, Matt Clancy, Niall Coyne got through Sigerson games!
And yes PJ is back....ye will remember him from a few years back Dinny 

[GalwayBayBoy]

No Fitzy and no Blake in defence means there will have to be a rejig at the back. Bradshaw might have come in but he's unavailable too. I guess Deccie will move back there anyway for a start and Coyne will start at centre back.

[OakLeaf]

Is there anyone going to the Kildare / Galway match that would be willing to text updates to the Live Scores service on GAA Radio?  The number to send your texts to is 447624804328. The service is free for everyone to view at http://www.gaaradio.com/scores/liveScores.jsp . Thanks.

[MaroonAndWhite]

Foireann na Gaillimhe folks.........1) Flaherty 2) Alan Burke 3) Hanley 4) Damien Burke 5) Sice 6) Coyne 7) Mullahy Bergin 9) Coleman 10) Bane 11) Padriag Joyce 12) Deccie Meehan 13) Matt Clancy 14) Mike Meehan 15) Armstrong.
Very young bench....Paul Conroy named on subs. Didnt realise he'd been called in by Sammon. Its good to see all the same. Moycullen having one last cut at getting Bradshaw off for the red in the semi against Annascaul.....lets hope its successful

[Dinny Breen]

nd yes PJ is back....ye will remember him from a few years back Dinny

It's bloody MD that gives us Kildare folks nightmares, PJ would be more a Royal nightmare....

[GalwayBayBoy]

Foireann na Gaillimhe folks.........1) Flaherty 2) Alan Burke 3) Hanley 4) Damien Burke 5) Sice 6) Coyne 7) Mullahy Bergin 9) Coleman 10) Bane 11) Padriag Joyce 12) Deccie Meehan 13) Matt Clancy 14) Mike Meehan 15) Armstrong.
Very young bench....Paul Conroy named on subs. Didnt realise he'd been called in by Sammon. Its good to see all the same. Moycullen having one last cut at getting Bradshaw off for the red in the semi against Annascaul.....lets hope its successful

I'll stick up the whole team and subs.

  Date : 13/02/2008 18:49 
Galway Team to play Kildare

1 Adrian Faherty

2 Alan Burke

3 Finian Hanley

4 Damien Burke

5 Gary Sice

6 Niall Coyne

7 Darren Mullahy

8 Joe Bergin

9 Niall Coleman

10 Cormac Bane

11 Padraic Joyce

12 Declan Meehan

13 Matthew Clancy

14 Michael Meehan

15 Sean Armstrong

Subs

16 P Doherty

17 D Finnegan

18 Gary O'Donnell

19 P Geraghty

20 E Hoare

21 F Breathneach

22 M Gottche

23 C Kenny

24 P Conroy

[MaroonAndWhite]

Could you point us Galway folk in the direction of the pitch in Newbridge?

[cill_dara]

Kildare Team for Sundah

1.     Enda Murphy (Leixlip)   

2.     Emmett Bolton (Eadestown)

3.     Andrew McLoughlin (Ellistown)   

4.     Morgan O'Flaherty (Carbury)   

5.     Anthony Rainbow (Suncroft)   

6.     Kevin O'Neill (Moorefield)

7.     Gary White (Sarsfields)

8.     Pádraig Mullarkey (Round Towers)   

9.     Killian Brennan (Suncroft)   

10. John Doyle (Allenwood)   

11. Michael Conway (Nurney)   

12. James Kavanagh (Ballymore)   

13. Ronan Sweeney (Moorefield)

14. Demot Earley(Sarsfields)   

15. Ken Donnelly (Ellistown)   


Same team bar the Goalkeeper , Looking forward to a good tough match 

Not sure which way you are coming from but really you cant miss the pitch it's off the main street in newbridge across from a pub called swifts where ya can get an early pint if you so wish.
May the best team win!

[GalwayBayBoy]

Kildare 2-8
Galway 1-12

A great result given we are poxed with injuries right now. Nicky Joyce, Blake, Fitzy and Lydon all unavailable before the game. What happened to Coleman then? Armstrong and Hanley going off injured during the game. Damien Burke getting injured and then sent off. In the circumstances that was a great 2 points to pick up as we had a pretty rag tag bunch on the field by the end of the game. Especially at the back where Gary Sice had to act as emergency full-back.

[MaroonAndWhite]

Meehan stars as Galway edge thriller

By Brendan McGrath
Monday February 18 2008


An injury-time penalty goal from Michael Conway wasn't enough to stop Galway escaping Newbridge with maximum points yesterday.


Two red cards and three goals made for an entertaining afternoon although most of that entertainment came in the second-half when the home crowd were treated to some spirited Kildare play.

It was all Galway in the first- half once referee Michael Hughes issued the game's first red card to Gary White in the 26th minute for his second yellow card offence.

Michael Meehan's goal arrived shortly after the dismissal and when he rounded Enda Murphy in the 30th minute it was enough to give Galway a four-point lead.

Further points from the exceptional Meehan, Matthew Clancy and Joe Bergin helped Liam Sammon's team into a six-point interval lead, 1-7 to 0-4. Kildare scored just two points from play in the opening period but their downfall was in the delivery of ball to their two man full- forward-line of Dermot Earley and Ronan Sweeney. Poor service left Earley and Sweeney chasing shadows for most of the opening 35 minutes while the Galway defence coped easily with the threat of John Doyle.

Doyle departed with an injury at the break but Kildare flourished just 30 seconds into the second-half when James Kavangh broke through to score their first goal.

A rejuvenated home team came within a point of their opponents courtesy of two Alan Smith frees and the game was level at 1-8 apiece with just 12 minutes remaining when Smith curled over his third free. Both sides were down to 14 men at that stage after Galway corner-back Damien Burke picked up his second yellow card in the 41st minute.

Galway always posed a bigger threat in attack and with Padraig Joyce using all his experience to create space for the rest of the attack, they kicked four successive points to take a decisive lead.

There was late drama when Kildare were awarded a penalty three minutes into injury-time and Michael Conway slotted it home but Galway held on.

SCORERS -- Galway: M Meehan 1-5 (0-3f), C Bane 0-2 (0-2f), M Clancy, J Bergin, F Breathnach, P Joyce and P Geraghty 0-1 each. Kildare: M Conway 1-2, (1-0 pen, 0-1f), A Smith 0-3 (0-3f), J Kavangh 1-0; J Doyle 0-2, (0-1f), D Earley 0-1.

GALWAY -- A Faherty; A Burke, F Hanley, D Burke; G Sice, N Coyne, D Mullahy; J Bergin, P Geraghty; C Bane, P Joyce, D Meehan; M Clancy, M Meehan, S Armstrong. Subs: M Gottsche for Burke, (25), F Breathnach for Armstrong (35), D Finnegan for Hanley (55), B Cullinane for Gottsche (58).

KILDARE -- E Murphy; E Bolton, A MacLochlainn, M O'Flaherty; A Rainbow, K O'Neill, G White; K Brennan, P Mullarkey; J Doyle, M Conway, J Kavanagh; R Sweeney, D Earley, K Donnelly. Subs: A Smith for Doyle, (ht); T Fennin for Sweeney (65), N Browne for Brennan (66).

REF -- M Hughes

[GalwayBayBoy]

Tribal style wins the day over Lilies' new-found substance

By Eugene McGee
Monday February 18 2008


We had a marvellous game of entertaining football in Newbridge yesterday and while Kildare might say they deserved a draw that is not actually true. Galway were a cut above the locals with regard to the skill level of the match and in particular Padraic Joyce dominated the game with a rare exhibition of clever football from the centre half forward position.


Joyce has been a long time around by this stage but after being absent through suspension for a month and inspired by the magnificent weather on view one could only wonder at the grace of Joyce.

He controlled this game with the finesse of a violin performer, with all the subtleties of a veteran, which prompted a host of other forwards into playing their full repertoire of skills. In the end Galway only won by a single point but in reality they dominated large sections of this game. It would be a mistake to claim that Kildare were out of their depth, indeed far from it and the final summing up of a one point win for Galway was probably quite accurate.

But the second quarter was the disaster period for Kildare when stupidly going down to 14 men and then conceded 1-5 without reply from Galway who led at half-time by 1-7 to 0-4.

But the usual large crowd which revelled in the sunshine was inspired to spur the locals into doing something and within six minutes they were level. James Kavanagh one of the new-look players for Kildare steamrolled the ball into the net after just 17 seconds and a couple of quick points really got the home crowd going. One would have expected Kildare with Kieran McGeeney urging on the half-time power to steam ahead but once again it was Kildare who went sleep walking.

In the final quarter they only managed to score a point near the finish and a penalty at he very end but it was Galway who got their act together by scoring four points in the last 10 minutes and go four points clear before the last second penalty. A big factor in the Galway fight-back was the substitute Barry Cullinane whose power was crucial when others waned.

Overall Kieran McGeeney had once again adopted a safety first, defensive performance as he did when drawing with Tyrone. The backs were tightly controlled and there were always two or three additional players in defence when required as happened so often with Armagh in the past. That probably explained why the talented Galway attack, inspired by Joyce and Michael Meehan, were often left stranded and they only managed a meagre two points in 26 minutes, both from Meehan.

But the talent of Joyce always seemed capable of dislodging the Galway attack and it was actually Kildare who found the attacking set-up the hardest when they went no less than 26 minutes without a single score.

Clearly this is a huge problem for Kildare to address, particularly with another barren period of nearly 20 minutes in the second half. So bad were Kildare in the opening period that McGeeney was forced to scrap Dermot Earley from the full-forward position in which he'd been doing well. Instead he went to his traditional midfield area in an attempt to entice the forward line into something. But apart from the opening dash of 1-2 in the space of the opening six minutes, there was little on offer from the Kildare attack.

Instead it was the Galway forwards who upped the ante in the final quarter and but for a few very untypical scoring frees from Michael Meehan the margin would have been much more decisive for the Tribesmen.

This is a very good performance for Liam Sammon for his opening two league games and there is no doubt there is a sweet cut about the Galway team. However it may be that they were a bit too stylish at times especially in the opening half and it is a strange thing to say that Kildare were more inclined to do a fair bit of legitimate pounding for the greater part of the game. No doubt the northern influence is making a change in the Lilywhites but we will have to wait a while longer to see if they actually have the football skills to match their harder approach.

Incidentally Kildare defenders started to aggravate attackers who had already been given free kicks with the result that the referee advanced the frees and collected at least two handy points, bearing in mind the final score was just one point.

Determined

The change in approach by Kildare players will take some getting used to but McGeeney is a very determined personality and it will be a surprise if there is not a major change in style for the Lilywhites by next summer.

It is an interesting development because for so long Kildare have dominated with the ultra short-passing game and changing a whole philosophy of football style is never easy. But it could be a fascinating approach to Kildare if the players REALLY believe in McGeeney from the start.

Michael Meehan had a marvellous performance with his casual, almost laid back approach and if he emerges as a truly great player again he would, along with Padraig Joyce, put Galway in pole position for the Connacht championship.

Niall Coyne from Carna-Cashel was also a powerful performer in the centre of the Galway defence and looks a real prospect but the big danger overall is that if Galway are being dominated by a handful of brilliant players they may sometimes lack the level of hard sloggers that is currently included in the present Galway football team. However, Liam Sammon's skill as a coach could also be a critical factor in the destination of Galway football.

- Eugene McGee