'We were sloppy before we got into the groove' says Brian Flanagan after Kildare's win over The Dubs

We got into the groove in the second half, but I thought we were very sloppy in the first half, some 11 turn-overs in the attacking half , and half of them were unforced but poor decision making and poor execution, the words of Kildare manager Brian Flanagan as he reflected on his side's win over Dublin on Saturday in the semi-final of the OBC.

The manager said that they had a chat at that at half-time, adding “I felt we had done a lot right, there was only a goal in it, a bad goal to concede at our end, but if tidy that up it would take the supply line off Dublin, we did that, put a couple of scores back-to-back, lads, stuck the chest out, dropped the shoulders out and played with a bit of energy and confidence from there.”

Good response off the bench and Flanagan said that is what they are looking for, “looking for depth, looking to build the panel, three, four, five lads to put their hands up when they get the opportunity, but the lads are training well, coming out in a game like this and they did that today.”

The manager had special mention for Harry O'Neill, Dara Crowley, James Harris, and all the lads off the bench, adding it will make for some tough decisions in the next few weeks.

On injuries the manager said a lot of lads are close to being back but “with the weather conditions, pitches, and the numbers we have, we don't need to rush anyone, the league is two weeks off but we don't want to fast track anyone back from a hamstring, we'll be patient and do everything in that regard.”

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