Monaghan v Kildare

[Donnellys Hollow]

Loose change to us Kildare folk

Sure we light the cigars with that after a round at the K-Club

[Main Street]

My only change to that would be Louth, Bandit.

I know it's Croker, but I think Louth'll come out all guns blazing and I can't see the Dubs avoiding overconfidence after last weekend, plus no Ref is going to go too hard on them this weekend and incur more attention.

It's redemption day at Croke Pk on Saturday.

[Hardy]

Indeed. Fate wouldn't dare interfere with Louth's destiny at this stage.

Louth
Down
Kildare
Cork

15/1

[bennydorano]

Dubs will strangle the life outa Louth

Dubs
SLigo
Kildare
Cork

for the Christmas money

[Dinny Breen]

looks like it will be a good crowd on Sat, lower tier nearly sold out, opening the upper tier

[Donnellys Hollow]

Some footage from last year's league encounter:

Forgot about that 'shoulder' Roli got from the goalkeeper! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viDxVF8wMwk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICNl0UbJQbo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu9OsYKtils&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dhrv_zCVyc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcyDTYwykG4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDChEDEzXq4

Thursday, March 19, 2009

GAA: Lilies leave it late to get past Farney Army

NFL DIVISION 2 ROUND 4
Kildare 1-14 Monaghan 1-11

SOMEONE said to Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney that he's starting to get good at this managerial 'lark'.


A few astute changes in the second half provided Kildare with the fresh legs needed for victory and proved that McGeeney has produced a panel of players capable of winning at this level. The Armagh will know how tough it is to win against Monaghan in Clones, particularly against a team that had won three out of three before Sunday, but his Kildare side did their best to make it look easy.


For the first 10 minutes they kept their opponents scoreless while managing to kick five points and it was 0-7 0-1 after 20 minutes when a dodgy Monaghan penalty brought the home side back into it.


And even when the Lilies - wearing the away green jersey for the game to avoid a clash with their opponents - were given a fright by a resurgent home side late in the second half they kicked three points in the last five minutes of the game, each score finished and created with great ease, to see off their toughest challenge to date.


Home wins were always going to be crucial to stave off relegation worries but Kildare are well beyond that at this stage. The results so far and the form of the team puts them head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in division two, even if Cork are still level on points but not score difference, after they stole a draw in Newbridge.


With Monaghan just a point behind the Lilies in the group they will need to win at least two of their remaining games and possibly all three to be sure of promotion but no one can argue that such a feat is beyond them. Kildare are favourites for the division two title now and rightly so because they have answered a lot of hard questions in the process of beating Monaghan in Clones.


Unlike the draw with Cork they didn't allow refereeing decisions affect their performance because there were plenty of howlers from the appointed official, Thomas Quigley.


The Monaghan penalty, when Kevin O'Neill made a superb block on Dick Clerkin 20 minutes into the first half, was a bad call but what really made Quigley look foolish was his decision to give the Moorefield man a black book. If O'Neill had blatantly taken his man out of it as Clerkin was about to shoot for goal then surely he should have been issued a yellow card?


Instead O'Neill had to look on in frustration as Tommy Freeman easily dispatched the penalty into the bottom left corner, leaving Shane McCormack motionless in the centre of the goal.


When Ronan Sweeney was denied a penalty midway through the second half, having been taken out of it by the Monaghan keeper Padraig McBennett, Kildare might have wondered if they had wronged Quigley in a previous life. Instead they put those decisions to one side and focused only on what was within their control - kicking scores.


While John Doyle missed a couple of chances early on and wing back Brian Flanagan lashed a ball wide from 45 metres it was a sign of how dominant Kildare were they managed to kick seven points and three wides in 17 minutes of football.


Both Flanagan and Mark Scanlon - a late replacement for the injured Mick Foley - got forward to score points during that spell. Flanagan's point was a real beauty, from just inside the Monaghan 45 he clipped it with the outside of his boot perfectly between the uprights.


Freeman's penalty followed shortly after, reducing the margin to three points but when Ronan Sweeney goaled seven minutes before half time - getting to Ken Donnelly's knockback from Mikey Conway's looping free - Monaghan were in serious trouble even with the assistance of two points from Rory Woods and Freeman before the break to leave it 1-9 to 1-4 at the interval.


Kildare did have the benefit of a substantial breeze in that opening 35 minutes while Monaghan were cursed with injuries to centre-forward Paul Finlay and centre back James Conlon.


While they weren't body blows to Seamus McEnaney's side they certainly took from the fabric of the side and Finlay's loss was sorely felt was Kildare centre back Brian Flanagan controlled the centre and got forward with purpose.


Rory Woods was the key man for the Ulster men in the second half and without a man-marker tracking him he was able to drop deep and gather possession, setting up Freeman for scores inside as well as getting forward for two points as Monaghan drew level in the 65th minute. Full back Darren Hughes was after kicking two inspiring scores to bring the Farney men level but Kildare recovered the lead within a minute through Ronan Sweeney while sub Karl Ennis scored within seconds of his introduction to increase the lead.


Alan Smith scored a third in injury time and the Lilies were top of the table.


This national league 'lark' is really suiting them.


KILDARE: Shane McCormack; Hugh McGrillen, Kevin O'Neill, Aindriú MacLochlainn; Mark Scanlon (.-.), Brian Flanagan ( Mikey Conway; Killian Brennan, Dermot Earley; Eamonn Callaghan (.-.), Padraig O'Neill (.-.), James Kavanagh (.-.); Ken Donnelly ( Ronan Sweeney (.-.), John Doyle (.-., .fs). YELLOW CARD: John Doyle, .. mins, replaced by Alan Smith (.-.). SUBS: Morgan O'Flaherty for Scanlon, ..; Robert Kelly for Brennan, ..; Eoghan O'Flaherty for P O'Neill, ..; Karl Ennis (.-.) for Kavanagh, ...


MONAGHAN: Padraig McBennett; Dessie Mone, Darren Hughes (.-.), Dermot McArdle; Conor McManus, James Conlon, Gary McQuaid; Vincent Corey, Owen Lennon; Dick Clerkin, Paul Finlay (.-.f), Damien Freeman; Mark Downey (.-.), Rory Woods ( Tommy Freeman (.-., .-. pen, .fs). SUBS: Gary McEnaney for McQuaid, ..; Stephen Gollogly for D Freeman, ..; Raymond Ronaghan for Finlay (inj), ..; Ciaran Hanratty for Conlon, h/t; Paul McGuigan for Hanratty, ..; Stephen McAleer for Downey, ...


REF: Thomas Quigley, Dublin 

http://archives.tcm.ie/kildarenationalist/2009/03/19/story28819.asp

[Main Street]

Who's the div 1 team though

Sure we had promotion in the bag by that stage.

[Dinny Breen]

http://www.leinsterleader.ie/sport/Grimley-to-come-back-to.6428752.jp

Grimley to come back to haunt Lilies?

20 July 2010
By RUTH O'BRIEN
ROUND four of this year's All Ireland Football Championship qualifiers and Kieran McGeeney will go head to head with his close friend; the man who left Kildare for Monaghan last year.
Paul Grimley will be in the opposite dug out this Saturday in Croke Park, just a week after his side were comfortably picked apart by Tyrone in the Ulster final and the big man will not be short on inside knowledge when it comes to the Lilywhites.
Grimley describes his two year term in Kildare as 'fantastic' but a recent conversation with the Kildare players certainly now sees him back pedalling.

"I had two fantastic years in Kildare. I have no problem saying that they were a great bunch of lads to work with. I was recently down for Dermot Earley's wake and I wished the lads all the best and said that I hope to see them back in the quarter finals but I need to change my tune now!" joked the Armagh man.

Picking his side up after Sunday's defeat is Grimley's biggest concern now especially after the nature of Kildare's victory and performance in Celtic Park. They will also have to plan without the services of the influential due of Vinny Corey and JP Moyne.

"It's going to be seriously difficult to pick them up for it. Everything was geared towards winning an Ulster final.

"Kildare played extremely well against Derry, particularly in the second half. They seem to have a momentum with them and they will be difficult opposition. People are saying Derry were disappointing and didn't get going but Kildare suffocated them," he admitted.

Aside from Cork, Kildare were the one team Grimley wanted to avoid because he believes they are one of the best teams still in it.
"Out of the other top teams of I think Kildare have been most impressive. They got over the Louth game exceptionally well and responded and I hope we can do the same."

Meanwhile Kildare would seem to have picked up just one additional injury worry. Clane's Tomas O'Connor, forced off early in the game, will have a scan on his injured knee this week.

Apart from that it would seem the Lilies have come through their fourth game in four weeks relatively unscathed.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Hope Tomás O'Connor's injury isn't too bad. The poor lad can't buy a break. If he was able to get a sustained run at the team over the next few years I'd expect him to become a realistic option at midfield - especially with big Dermot not getting any younger.

[AZOffaly]

Is he related to our Tomás O'Connor?

[Dinny Breen]

He's be a son I think

[AZOffaly]

Jaysus. Will ye ever stop robbing our sons? We need the likes of Mick Wright and Tomás O'Connor

[Dinny Breen]

You can have Mick Wright back

[Hardy]

Is he related to our Tomás O'Connor?

Or ours?

[AZOffaly]

You can have Mick Wright back

I'd take him. Is he gone to the dogs?