Nfl div 3

[Mclf]

Any sign of Ian Fahy to step it up at senior? Or does he play for commercials also? Was a woeful beast of a young fella for his age, good footballer too, thought he would have progressed through by now.

hes been with the seniors a couple of years now, had a hard time of it personally last year so football wasnt to the front of his mind. yeah he is one of the commercials lads too

That's a shame, it's a pity to see events of the field affecting lads in counties like Galway, Tipp,  Roscommon and Dublin to name but a few

[tippabu]

Any sign of Ian Fahy to step it up at senior? Or does he play for commercials also? Was a woeful beast of a young fella for his age, good footballer too, thought he would have progressed through by now.

hes been with the seniors a couple of years now, had a hard time of it personally last year so football wasnt to the front of his mind. yeah he is one of the commercials lads too

That's a shame, it's a pity to see events of the field affecting lads in counties like Galway, Tipp,  Roscommon and Dublin to name but a few

This isnt a case of him going off the rails or anything like that.

[Mclf]

Any sign of Ian Fahy to step it up at senior? Or does he play for commercials also? Was a woeful beast of a young fella for his age, good footballer too, thought he would have progressed through by now.

hes been with the seniors a couple of years now, had a hard time of it personally last year so football wasnt to the front of his mind. yeah he is one of the commercials lads too

That's a shame, it's a pity to see events of the field affecting lads in counties like Galway, Tipp,  Roscommon and Dublin to name but a few

This isnt a case of him going off the rails or anything like that.

I know, that is not what I meant,  the other cases in the other counties had nothing to do with going of the rails either. I just meant it's a shame for any external factors to affect talented footballers.

[tippabu]

Any sign of Ian Fahy to step it up at senior? Or does he play for commercials also? Was a woeful beast of a young fella for his age, good footballer too, thought he would have progressed through by now.

hes been with the seniors a couple of years now, had a hard time of it personally last year so football wasnt to the front of his mind. yeah he is one of the commercials lads too

That's a shame, it's a pity to see events of the field affecting lads in counties like Galway, Tipp,  Roscommon and Dublin to name but a few

This isnt a case of him going off the rails or anything like that.

I know, that is not what I meant,  the other cases in the other counties had nothing to do with going of the rails either. I just meant it's a shame for any external factors to affect talented footballers.

Oh right.....the fact you named a couple of counties threw me. no worries

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

Kildare team to play Westmeath named:
1. Mark Donnellan - Maynooth
2. Peter Kelly (Capt.) - Two Mile House
3. Ciarán Fitzpatrick - Kilcock
4. Ollie Lyons - Celbridge
5. Johnny Byrne - Allenwood
6. Fergal Conway - Celbridge
7. Ryan Houlihan - Moorefield
8. Daryl Flynn - Moorefield
9. David Hyland - Athy
10. Adam Tyrrell - Moorefield
11. Eoghan O'Flaherty - Carbury
12. Paul Cribbin - Johnstownbridge
13. Neil Flynn - Maynooth
14. Niall Kelly - Athy
15. Cathal McNally - Johnstownbridge

Expected 1st team starters missing are Eoin Doyle, Tommy Moolick, Kevin Feely, Daniel Flynn and Emmet Bolton possibly. Plenty of inexperienced lads and it will be interesting to see where David Hyland lines up and what sort of shape is implemented.

A bit disappointing seeing the same full back line in place given the roasting they have suffered in recent times but individually they are good defenders. The half back line is very inexperienced with Johnny Byrne and Ryan Houlihan making their first league starts but both are decent prospects.

Daryl Flynn is past his best but is probably the best option available given the injuries in that area, Paul Cribbin at half forward with freedom to roam everywhere is ok. Adam Tyrell and Neil Flynn have their chance to impress. McNally and O'Flaherty are known quantities.
Niall Kelly at full forward could work if tried, his playing style can sometimes remind me of the great Peter Canavan but of course he ever developed into half the player of Peter the great he will be doing all right.

It will be interesting.

[Mclf]

Except for a handful of teams it's amazing how the company and surrounds can change so quickly in the league for a county, going into the league last year most people would have said Kildare could be playing in division one this year but after a disastrous campaign last year they find themselves in the same league as two teams who was playing against the likes of London, Leitrim and Waterford last year.

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

Except for a handful of teams it's amazing how the company and surrounds can change so quickly in the league for a county, going into the league last year most people would have said Kildare could be playing in division one this year but after a disastrous campaign last year they find themselves in the same league as two teams who was playing against the likes of London, Leitrim and Waterford last year.

The spectacular last minute collapses against Tyrone and Down in successive years were the difference between relegation each season but Jason Ryan really was not the man to take over from McGeeney at the time in hindsight.

[sligoman2]

Sligo Team v Clare
Sunday 31st January 2pm. Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare

1 Aidan Devaney (Calry/St.Joseph's)
2 Daniel Maye (Tubbercurry)
3 Kevin McDonnell (Castleconnor)
4 Eoin Flanagan (St. John's)
5 Keelan Cawley (Coolera/Strandhill)
6 Brendan Egan (St. Vincent's)
7 Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch (St.Mary's)
8 Cian Breheny (St. Mary's)
9 Niall Murphy (Coolera/Strandhill)
10 Neil Ewing (Drumcliffe/Rosses Point)
11 Eoin McHugh (St. James')
12 Noel Gaughan (Tourlestrane)
13 Brian Egan (Tourlestrane)
14 Pat Hughes (Geevagh)
15 Criostoir Davey (Coolaney/Mullinabreena)


Inexperienced would be the first word that sings to mind - very young team,

You'd never know

[Mano]

Sligo Team v Clare
Sunday 31st January 2pm. Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare

1 Aidan Devaney (Calry/St.Joseph's)
2 Daniel Maye (Tubbercurry)
3 Kevin McDonnell (Castleconnor)
4 Eoin Flanagan (St. John's)
5 Keelan Cawley (Coolera/Strandhill)
6 Brendan Egan (St. Vincent's)
7 Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch (St.Mary's)
8 Cian Breheny (St. Mary's)
9 Niall Murphy (Coolera/Strandhill)
10 Neil Ewing (Drumcliffe/Rosses Point)
11 Eoin McHugh (St. James')
12 Noel Gaughan (Tourlestrane)
13 Brian Egan (Tourlestrane)
14 Pat Hughes (Geevagh)
15 Criostoir Davey (Coolaney/Mullinabreena)


Inexperienced would be the first word that sings to mind - very young team,

You'd never know

Inexperienced is one word to describe that team. Reality is that many of the best players in the county not longer want to give the commitment to the county panel (understandable given the demands with little reward). That combined with injury and unavailability we are left with a young patched together team. We have a midfielder playing full back, 2 forwards playing in midfield and 2 corner backs playing at wing forward. Young lads thrown into the fray before they are ready, others who are not up to the standard of county football.

Gary Brennan will have a field day at midfielder on Clare kick outs and if Clare push up aggressively on Sligos kamikaze short kick out strategy then it could be a long game.

Hopefully I'm wrong and we put up a strong performance but I doubt it.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Niall Kelly and Daniel Flynn need wrapping in cotton wool before the summer.

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

Important win for Kildare today against a strong Westmeath team in atrocious conditions. Westmeath arguably were the dominant team for log stretches of this game but Kildare defended reasonably well and 2 exceptional 1st half goals were the difference between the two teams.
Kildare led at half time by 4 points despite playing into a gale force wind and the match looked wrapped up at that stage.
The second half was a disappointment from a Kildare point of view as Westmeath dominated possession due to Kildare's inability to win any breaking ball and it was a nervy enough finish. The conditions helped prevent Westmeath from taking advantage.

Player Ratings for Kildare
Mark Donnellan 6.5 
Made one good half save in the first half and was reasonably assured under the high ball. Carried the ball well at times but gave the ball away cheaply once in the second half. Kickouts were not fantastic but conditions did not suit.

Peter Kelly 6.5
Gave away a couple of cheap frees but was not bad otherwise. Made a good goal line clearance from Donnellan's half save.

Ciaran Fitzpatrick nr - Not on long enough due to injury.

Ollie Lyons 7
Not excellent defensively in the 1st half but his ball carrying and forward runs were crucial at relieving pressure in the second half

Johnny Byrne 6.5
Not a bad 1st league start, bring a good physical presence to the defence. Looked tired at times.

Fergal Conway 7
Solid defensively and looks like he has bulked up more over the winter. Remains a good prospect.

David Hyland 7
Moved to full back following Fitzpatrick's injury and did well enough, remains better going forward and showed great fitness level and energy doing so in the latter stages.

Darryl Flynn 6
Looked off the pace early on and got caught in possession a couple of times early on. Made one great recovery tackle after giving the ball away at one stage. Got yellow carded very harshly for a brilliant shoulder and was replaced at half time

Daniel Flynn 9
Scored one of the greatest goals ever seen carrying the ball maybe 55 metres before rifling the ball into the top corner. Made some top class tackles too and used the ball well too. Could have done better in winning possession from kickouts. Promising display

Adam Tyrell 6.5
Scored 3 out of 4 frees in the first half and used the ball reasonably well in general. Missed a good chance in the second half when he had a good shot at goal, a point at that stage was needed and he was replaced after.

Eoghan O'Flaherty 6.5
Used the ball intelligently in the first half but was less effective in the second. Got black carded for a lazy drag down with about 10mins to go.

Paul Cribbin 6
Anonymous in the first half, better in the second when moved to midfield and scored a good point at an important time.

Neil Flynn 5
Could not get into the game at all, had one great pass into Daniel Flynn in the second half which could have created a goal. He is still young and worth persisting with as conditions did not help

Niall Kelly 8
Was majestic in the first half as he pulled the strings and got a couple of nice points, was not effective in the second as the quality of supply into him was atrocious.

Cathal McNally 7
Worked his socks off and scored a couple of good points, frustrated at times as the ball bounced off him but is a good player to have in the squad

Subs
Cian O'Donoghue 8
Scored a great goal, defended well and has great pace, baffling as to why he wasn't used as often in the last couple of seasons

Eanna O'Connor 6.5
Worked very hard and tried to pick out some good foot passes, had a terrible attempt at a 45. Not a bad option to have.

Others not on long enough.

Offaly next which will be tough enough.

[Croí na hÉireann]

Westmeath didn't offer enough of a scoring threat from play yesterday, which was their undoing. 9 of the 11 points were from frees. We dominated the middle in the 2nd half but insisted on shooting from crazy angles. Weren't helped by John Connellan failing a fitness test yesterday morning and Francie Boyle clashing heads with Shane Dempsey in the warmup. Shane was remarkably quiet in the first half I thought and probably shouldn't have started. We were carved open for both goals and need to work on protecting the middle at all costs. Kildare are certs for promotion now with 4 home games to come and I saw enough there in the second half to suggest we can join them there in the final. We'll have to bring that second half energy for the 70 minutes though.

[AZOffaly]

Delighted to see Offaly winning at home v Longford. Longford beat Dublin, which means Offaly are better than Dublin! Big game v Kildare the next day, if they could get anything out of that, they'll be right in this race.

Tipperary struggled, as I expected, against Limerick, but showed good guts to get a draw, and could easily have had the win. The game looked to be going away from them, and that could be a valuable point. They are treading water until the Clonmel lads come back though, in my opinion. A draw away to Limerick is a good result in the circumstances, but next week below in Clonmel v Clare could be a vital game. Win that and they'll be looking up, lose it, and they'll be nervous about looking down. Big game for February 7th!

In other results, the big two seemed to play out a game which points to them being the main threats all season. Good win for Kildare in Dunnes Stores, but I expect Westmeath to bounce back next week against Sligo.

Poor result for Sligo below in Miltown Malbay, but that's a hard place to get a win, f**k me it's a hard place to find!, so I'm sure they'll be hoping for a bounce back but they (Sligo) might be under the cosh in this division if they don't get some more experienced heads back.

Longford and Limerick is another big game. If Limerick could sneak a win up there, they'd be delighted with themselves, but Longford would be in early trouble. I can't see that happening thoug
I'm now predicting the following for this division, in no way knee jerk!!

1 Kildare
2 Westmeath
3 Offaly
4 Longford
5 Clare
6 Tipperary
7 Limerick
8 Sligo

[fearsiuil]

I'm now predicting the following for this division, in no way knee jerk!!

1 Kildare
2 Westmeath
3 Offaly
4 Longford
5 Clare
6 Tipperary
7 Limerick
8 Sligo

Leinster > Munster > Connacht

Leinster by population
Munster by reverse population
Connacht ah sure

[Jinxy]

Daniel Flynn 9
Scored one of the greatest goals ever seen carrying the ball maybe 55 metres before rifling the ball into the top corner. Made some top class tackles too and used the ball well too. Could have done better in winning possession from kickouts. Promising display