Cill Dara v Laois Leinster Semi-final Sat 27th June 7pm

laoisgaa · June 27, 2009, 11:34:55 PM

GNevin wrote

QuoteWhy was it delayed?

Bloody Dubs - needed extra-time to dispose of Offaly in the Leinster MFC Semi-Final - you should have been keeping up with the latest scores thread! (actually you should have known they were playing in the first instance!)

Donnellys Hollow · June 27, 2009, 11:41:47 PM

Enjoyed that! We really owed them a good beating for 2005 and 2003.

It looked like it might be a long evening during the first ten minutes. Laois hit the ground running and we looked vulnerable when the likes of Billy Sheehan ran at us. Smith's goal kept us in it and then once we got a grip around the middle of the field Laois didn't really have an answer to us. I thought Roli in particular was superb in the first half. He broke ball away from Quigley on the kickouts and drove forward at every opportunity. Conway and Flanagan were superb in shoring up the halfback line - Conway is as good a distributor of the ball as we've had since Nuxer and it really is hard to believe that this is Flanagan's first real season on the team.

Kavanagh's goal effectively killed the game as a contest but I thought that the Laois heads had dropped before halftime. I was surprised with the lack of spirit they showed once things started going against them. At one point Kingston was arguing with Darren Rooney over the quality of ball going into the fullforward line. Once we got on top of their running game they seemed bereft of ideas. It was really desperation stuff when they threw Quigley in on the edge of the square and started raining garryowens down on top of him. I haven't seen a Laois team play as badly since the pre-Micko days so nobody should be getting carried away with the margin of the Kildare win.

All the same it was great to see that Kildare showed no mercy when they had the opportunity to take the foot off the gas. Even when the match was long in the bag guys like Foley were still putting their bodies on the line throwing themselves in front of goalbound Laois shots. We've got to keep this up and kick on from here in two weeks time. My only slight concern is the possibility that we might have played our final already.

Roll on Westmeath!

Jinxy · June 27, 2009, 11:46:26 PM

He was on the losing side but I have to say MJ Tierney must have the sweetest strike of a ball off the ground in the country.

Bud Wiser · June 28, 2009, 09:01:38 AM

Mods, can you delete this thread before Dinny Breen wakes up today - please.

Congrats to Kildare - but we diodn't get enough frees.

The Real Laoislad · June 28, 2009, 11:13:09 AM

Disgusted and embarrassed...

Best of luck to Kildare in the final,go and win it now..!
If you play like ye did yesterday I think ye will

The Real Laoislad · June 28, 2009, 11:14:31 AM

Quote from: Gnevin on June 27, 2009, 08:37:12 PM
Score? Why was it delayed?

Gnevin the great Dublin fan...

Sure if a game is not in Croke Park its not worth knowing about even if is your own county

Gnevin · June 28, 2009, 11:47:16 AM

Quote from: The Real Laoislad on June 28, 2009, 11:14:31 AM
Quote from: Gnevin on June 27, 2009, 08:37:12 PM
Score? Why was it delayed?
Gnevin the great Dublin fan...
Sure if a game is not in Croke Park its not worth knowing about even if is your own county

Sorry for having a life outside the GAA.

Zulu · June 28, 2009, 12:02:07 PM

QuoteMy only slight concern is the possibility that we might have played our final already.

I can't understand why so many lads are saying things like this or asking have we/they peaked too soon (not having a go at you DH by the way). But it seems to have become the latest analytical gimmick to suggest a team that plays well early in a season might have peaked too early while the ideal is too stumble along until August and then explode. A nice concept no doubt but one which isn't in the hands of a coach to deliver and playing well in June shouldn't mean you'll have any problems playing well in August.

Dinny Breen · June 28, 2009, 12:06:30 PM

Don't worry Bud, RLL, Laoisgaa et al, I'm not going to gloat and will try to be as magnanimous in victory as the Laois fans yesterday were in defeat the only thing I will say is that Kildare were in the exact same position in 2005 and it took us four long painful years to get back on the right track, it won't take Laois that long Sean Dempsey will have learned a lot about his players yesterday, he knows what he has to do and strikes me as the man given time to get it right.

Quote
It looked like it might be a long evening during the first ten minutes. Laois hit the ground running and we looked vulnerable when the likes of Billy Sheehan ran at us. Smith's goal kept us in it and then once we got a grip around the middle of the field Laois didn't really have an answer to us. I thought Roli in particular was superb in the first half. He broke ball away from Quigley on the kickouts and drove forward at every opportunity. Conway and Flanagan were superb in shoring up the halfback line - Conway is as good a distributor of the ball as we've had since Nuxer and it really is hard to believe that this is Flanagan's first real season on the team.

Kavanagh's goal effectively killed the game as a contest but I thought that the Laois heads had dropped before halftime. I was surprised with the lack of spirit they showed once things started going against them. At one point Kingston was arguing with Darren Rooney over the quality of ball going into the fullforward line. Once we got on top of their running game they seemed bereft of ideas. It was really desperation stuff when they threw Quigley in on the edge of the square and started raining garryowens down on top of him. I haven't seen a Laois team play as badly since the pre-Micko days so nobody should be getting carried away with the margin of the Kildare win.

All the same it was great to see that Kildare showed no mercy when they had the opportunity to take the foot off the gas. Even when the match was long in the bag guys like Foley were still putting their bodies on the line throwing themselves in front of goalbound Laois shots. We've got to keep this up and kick on from here in two weeks time. My only slight concern is the possibility that we might have played our final already.

Agree with all that, the movement of the Kildare forwards was excellent, they run in to out lines and it just creates fantastic space, one of Sweeney's points he must of ran 40 yards to pick up a pass from I think Flanagan and then just kicked a sweet point. I was very concerned about Conway and Bolton on the same wing, two good footballers but not defenders, I need had no worry as Conway was my man of the match, the 60 year old woman beside was calling him a tasty footballer, sums him up nicely. Nice liitle tactical switch on Laois kick-outs where Sweeney and Conway swapped so Roly could mark Quigley, it's the little things like that that can make all the difference. Doyle is coming back to his best and himself and Smith had the beating of their men nearly every time, ironically enough it was Kildare who won some soft frees here. Massive performances around the pitch but he won't getting many mentions but Flynn's work-rate last night was phenomenal, a heir to Willy McCreery's mantle finally.

I think our target this season was a Leinster final, it's very hard to hold in the expectation but I'm finding to see any reason why we can't win it. Saw on the Kildare forum (fever pitch excitement over there) that Kildare haven't been in Leinster Senior/Minor double since 1975 and that minor team included Johnny Crofton, Red Paddy, Mickser Condon, Tom Shaw and we beat a Meath team that included Colm O'Rourke.

We do have a horrible band-wagon but is it really any worse than other county.

14,500 at the game, did we really need to separate the two semis

dodo · June 28, 2009, 01:07:08 PM

Quote from: Main Street on June 27, 2009, 11:03:17 PM

Is it a coincidence that people refer to Kildare as the flourbags when they have a player called Odlum?

Dean Odlum plays with Wicklow.

Donnellys Hollow · June 28, 2009, 01:11:45 PM

Quote from: Zulu on June 28, 2009, 12:02:07 PM
I can't understand why so many lads are saying things like this or asking have we/they peaked too soon (not having a go at you DH by the way). But it seems to have become the latest analytical gimmick to suggest a team that plays well early in a season might have peaked too early while the ideal is too stumble along until August and then explode. A nice concept no doubt but one which isn't in the hands of a coach to deliver and playing well in June shouldn't mean you'll have any problems playing well in August.

I hear where you're coming from Zulu. I wasn't really talking about peaking too early in the year, I was more referring to teams that put up impressive semi-final displays not reproducing it in the final. There's been many instances of it in Gaelic Football over the past decade or so. Kildare couldn't replicate their semi-final win over Kerry in the '98 final, Meath never reached the heights of their semi-final performance in the '01 final, Kerry in '02, Mayo in '06.

I feel we'd have been better off coming into the final under the radar but I suppose we can't complain with such an emphatic win over our dear neighbours!

If the lads can now deal with the increased hype and expectation, and they can put performances like that back to back then it will take a good team to beat us.

Bud Wiser · June 28, 2009, 01:20:30 PM

Well done Dinny, I really hope ye go on and win it now and Sam as well. I wasn't at the game due to illness yesterday, paced up and down the garden trying to listen on the wireless but RTE decided that it would be better to broadcast the game that was on TV at the same time. Cork/Backdoor Kerry, Antrim/Tyrone Galway/Sligo ?? Ye have to be up there with the best of them now, not just because ye beat Laois, but how ye beat them and with Ciaran Mac Géibheannaigh in the pilots seat ye could well land the big prize. Best of luck.

Donnellys Hollow · June 28, 2009, 01:35:12 PM

Go way outta that Bud

We'll be happy to stay within ten points of the Dubs given their record in recent Leinster finals

Dinny Breen · June 28, 2009, 01:48:01 PM

QuoteWell done Dinny, I really hope ye go on and win it now and Sam as well. I wasn't at the game due to illness yesterday, paced up and down the garden trying to listen on the wireless but RTE decided that it would be better to broadcast the game that was on TV at the same time. Cork/Backdoor Kerry, Antrim/Tyrone Galway/Sligo ?? Ye have to be up there with the best of them now, not just because ye beat Laois, but how ye beat them and with Ciaran Mac Géibheannaigh in the pilots seat ye could well land the big prize. Best of luck.

Cheers Bud, as I said the Laois supporters have been very humble in defeat, something a lot of supporters can learn from but Kildare can only take one step at a time but the Kildare v Cork league was one of the best games I've seen all year and that form line seems to have come into the championship, gives us hope and Ciaran Mac Géibheannaigh

and Paul Grimley have been brilliant for Kildare.

Westmeath will be favourites for Leinster after today.