Flourbags Vs Micklow - 22/5/2011, Portlaoise

[thejuice]

you mean hoo-ho-hoors?





sorry

[Donnellys Hollow]

Leper is a big doubt for this match. He went to see a specialist in London on Wednesday but it's not looking good. Probably our most important player last year so hopefully they can patch him up because it would be a big risk to have to rush Conway back. I don't think there are any other players on the panel capable of filling that void.

Good to hear that the challenges are going well but Mickla supposedly hammered Derry at the weekend with Leighton Glynn kicking four goals. Kildare are going to have to hit the ground running and recent history shows that it's something they find difficult to do. It was heartening to see Jimmers and Smithy hitting some form for their clubs at the weekend though. Both were badly out of sorts during the league.

[Lily4life]

Looking forward to this match now. Living near the border there's always good hype up around here when we meet Wicklow.
It'll be interesting to see our starting lineup. 1-8 looks settled enough. Hopefully Lynch will be in the middle, he'd be my first choice after Flynn.
The forwards are wide open though. Hopefully it'll be a good match. Cill Dara Abú!

[Jinxy]

Agrees , great news on Conway. Any of ye know whether any hope of Peter Kelly playing any part in any of this years Championship

What's with all the Kildare lads getting cruciate injuries?

[Donnellys Hollow]

Looking forward to this match now. Living near the border there's always good hype up around here when we meet Wicklow.
It'll be interesting to see our starting lineup. 1-8 looks settled enough. Hopefully Lynch will be in the middle, he'd be my first choice after Flynn.
The forwards are wide open though. Hopefully it'll be a good match. Cill Dara Abú!

I'm not sure Lynch is consistent enough. He'll have a storming four or five minutes and then be anonymous for the following half hour. Peter Kelly is probably a bigger loss than Dermot considering that we played a lot of our football last year without the great man. If Kelly was fit we could play Mick Foley at midfield with Flynn. Both of those would hold their own against any pairing in the land. I'd love to see Chalky getting a run beside Flynn but he'll probably start in the half-backs.

I think Roli has to start at wing-forward to help out at midfield. Conor Brophy could be a great option off the bench. He'll run any tiring opposition midfielder ragged in the final quarter. Tomás Connor seems to be thought of as more of a full-forward if the reports from the challenge matches are to be believed. David Whyte has apparently been tried at full-back so we might see a few surprises.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Agrees , great news on Conway. Any of ye know whether any hope of Peter Kelly playing any part in any of this years Championship

What's with all the Kildare lads getting cruciate injuries?

Kelly got injured playing for UCD in Navan. We hold the groundsman at Páirc Tailteann personally responsible.

[Jinxy]

Thank god none of our lads can turn fast enough to damage their cruciates.

[Go home ref]

Kildare need a good run in Leinster this year but I'm afraid things could get badly unstuck against Wicklow on Sunday too many injuries and too many question marks over some players.

[Lily4life]

In today's Independent there was a piece about Kildare saying John Doyle could be in the middle.
Apparently he played there against Armagh in the challenge match last week.

[Donnellys Hollow]

The Kildare Nationalist says that Leper will be fit but the Leader says he's unlikely to make it. You wouldn't know what to believe. Johnny in midfield? Not the craziest suggestion ever but probably a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. We seem to be in completely the opposite situation to where we were this time last year. We have a settled goalkeeper and defence but the midfield and the forward line is anyone's guess. It was the other way around last year.

Half of the team is fairly certain:

                     Connolly
McGrillen           Foley               McLoughlin
O'Flaherty        White                   Bolton
                      Flynn

The other midfielder will probably be Hugh Lynch. Johnny is obviously certain to start. Eoghan O'Flaherty will probably be in for the frees and Kavanagh will also be accomodated somewhere. Rob Kelly looks like an injury will keep him out again - Fogarty and O'Connor are options to replace him. I think Smith will get the nod over Dowling who would probably be a better impact sub when defenders are tiring. Final position looks between Sweeney, O'Neill, Flanagan and Brophy. I'd say Roli's experience and ball winning ability will edge it for him.

                        Lynch
Sweeney           O'Flaherty             Doyle
Smith                Fogarty                Kavanagh

I'm not sure if that fifteen is any improvement on last year but the overall panel does look stronger. The likes of Paudie, Flanagan, Brophy, Lyons, Fitzpatrick, Cribbin, Dowling, Conway, O'Connor, Moolick, Whyte are all viable options off the bench and there's a nice blend of youth and experience there. I think we'll beat Wicklow but we definitely need Leper back to beat either Meath or Dublin. I have a feeling we'll be dependent on the draw again in the backdoor to get back to the quarters.

[Lily4life]

That's a good team you've picked there. If Rob Kelly is fit i'd have him full forward. I've a feeling O'Neill could be on ahead of Sweeney as Sweeney has been injured but i'd say you're not far off with that lineup.

Another one that stands out for me is Cribbin. Nobody seems to be mentioning him at all but I think he deserves a chance. He probably won't start but he'd be one of my first choices as a sub at least. He won the O'Byrne cup for us with his last minute goal and always works very hard on the pitch.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Kildare team v Wicklow:

1. Shane Connolly            Naomh Lorcan
2. Aindriú MacLochlainn     Baile Eilis
3. Mick Foley                   Áth Í
4. Hugh McGrillen             Cill Droichid
5. Gary White                  Na Sairséalaigh
6. Brian Flanagan              Baile Droichead Sheáin
7. Emmet Bolton             Baile Éide
8. Daryl Flynn                  Achadh Mórdha
9. Hugh Lynch                Confaigh
10. Morgan O'Flaherty      Cairbre
11. Eoghan O'Flaherty      Cairbre
12. Pádraig O'Neill            Naomh Lorcan
13. Johnny Doyle             Fiodh Alúine
14. Ronan Sweeney         Achadh Mórdha
15. James Kavanagh         Baile Mór

[Dinny Breen]

Will that team line out? Very strong defensively.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Hard to know. Might be a bit of a risk to keep Leper in reserve but he's probably not fit enough for seventy minutes anyway.

Forward line selection looks very conservative. He's gone for the tried and tested instead of taking a punt on one of the young lads. I'm surprised Smith hasn't forced his way in. I know he's had his problems but he's one of the only genuine goal threats we have and he usually comes good in the summer.

[alan partridge]

rob kelly still on the injury lisht?