Review of the year: A look back at the highs and lows of the Kildare senior footballers 2016

A new dawn

The new era of Kildare senior football actually began in the latter reaches of 2015 -on October 2 to be precise- as it was announced that Moorefield man Cian O’Neill would take the Kildare managerial post vacated by Jason Ryan.

The new boss brought in plenty of fresh faces in the early stages of his tenure, with 50 players being part of an initial training panel with the Lilywhites for the O’Byrne Cup campaign. Plenty of players made their debuts across the three games with DIT, Louth and Offaly, with the defeat to the Wee County men on a deplorable night in a mud-gulfed Hawkfield ensuring that progression to the semi-finals was never in reach.

The league campaign brought a mixed bag of both performances and results. The results, by and large, were positive, with just a solitary defeat to Sligo in the regular rounds of the league meaning they were the only other team along with Dublin to win six or more games out of seven.

O'Neill was announced as the new Kildare Senior Football manager last October.

After beating Westmeath in their opening fixture -a game that looked to be their toughest on paper- the Lilywhites put in an improved showing against Longford to beat the midlanders by 2-11 to 0-10. It wasn’t as dominant as the scoreline suggests, and O’Neill summed up the mood following the game.

“It’s a funny one when you’re coaching, especially with a new team, you’re just waiting for that eureka moment. We seem to be doing lots of good things, but it hasn’t just clicked yet,” said the new manager.

It was a general theme that followed Kildare’s route to promotion, with various wins being overshadowed by a propensity to allow sides back into games, a lack of real fluidity in attack and a general lack of discipline that saw them cough up plenty of frees in scoring range for the opposition.

That said, there were plenty of positive signs in the early stages of the league. Daniel Flynn and Kevin Feely were proving to be a solid midfield partnership, youngsters such as David Hyland, Adam Tyrrell and Neill Flynn were all producing composed displays, and the concession of just one goal in the opening three league games hinted at some solidity in defence.

There were plenty of positives to be taken from that game, with Niall Kelly, Eoghan O’Flaherty and Daniel Flynn immense in attack, while Tommy Moolick and Kevin Feely continued their fine partnership at midfield. The backline was again solid, with Fergal Conway, Peter Kelly and David Hyland minimising the threats of Michael Quinlivan, Conor Sweeney and Philip Austin superbly.

There would be reverberations following the victory in Munster however, with Daniel Flynn suffering a hamstring injury that would ultimately spell the end of his involvement in the 2016 season for the Lilywhites, and he would prove to be a big loss.

Shock setback

That win confirmed Kildare’s promotion to the second tier of league football, meaning Cian O’Neill could experiment against Clare in the final regular round league game in St Conleth’s Park. It led to one of the most exciting games of the 2016 league campaign, with Kildare coming out on the right side of a 0-22 to 1-14 scoreline, a win that ensured both the Lilywhites and the Banner men would meet in the Division 3 league final three weeks later.

Kildare were hot favourites going into that game, but a failure to convert their chances, the loss of both Kevin Feely and Ryan Houlihan to red cards, and a stunning comeback from Clare ensured that the silverware would go west of the Shannon on that cold Saturday night in April.

The disappointment following that defeat was palpable. Kildare’s first return to Croke Park since their 27-point loss to Kerry the previous August had ended in a chastening defeat of a different kind.

A despondent Neill Flynn at the full-time whistle following the league final defeat to Clare

A case for the defence

The concession of 2-17 is ultimately what led to a championship campaign in which Kildare were described by Joe Brolly as a ‘modern cliché of Gaelic football’. His comment was made on the back of the defensive system instilled by Cian O’Neill, who, having witnessed the porous defensive display in April’s league final, opted to batten down the hatches and build from the back.

Captain Eoin Doyle returned for the Leinster quarter-final against Wexford, making his first competitive start of the year. That proved to be the most noteworthy aspect of a game that will not live long in the memory, and the poor crowd that were brave enough to stick it out in the Croke Park rain witnessed a game of just 17 scores, with Kildare edging a dire affair by 0-9 to 0-8.

Things had looked good at half-time when the defensive style seemed to be paying off as Kildare went in with a 0-7 to 0-3 lead, though they scored just two points in 39 second half minutes and were eventually hanging on for dear life as they fell over the finish line.

Once again O’Neill expressed his disappointment, but considering Kildare had conceded 14 goals on their last three visits to headquarters, the defensive display was at least a positive.

Those positives dissipated in a 12 minute spell against Westmeath, as the back-to-back Leinster finalists obliterated Kildare’s six-point advantage with 20 minutes to go and managed to win by a point.

O’Neill remarked how the players were ‘devastated’ following that defeat, but his ire was also directed towards referee Derek O’Mahoney who penalised Tommy Moolick for a foul on Westmeath goalkeeper Darren Quinn in the build-up to a disallowed Cathal McNally goal.

“They showed it on the big screen twice, which is unusual for Croke Park because if it’s controversial they don’t usually show it.

“The big decisions, you’ve got to get them right. I just think that was not the right call,” said a frustrated O’Neill.

The rise before the fall

On to the familiar trail of the qualifiers, and a familiar foe was thrown up in the shape of Offaly. It appeared that the shackles were let off and Kildare prospered on a gloriously sunny day in St Conleth’s Park. Tommy Moolick was superb once again, Niall Kelly kicked four fabulous points from play and Fergal Conway turned in an impressive performance from midfield. The Faithful men were well and truly beaten on a scoreline of 1-22 to 2-14 in what was arguably Kildare’s best display of the year.

Tommy Moolick celebrates his goal against Offaly.

A favourable draw is what Kildare were hoping for, but to be sent away to Mayo in the next round was as tough an ask as any could wish for. Kildare operated with just one sweeper, rather than the two that had been in place against Wexford and Westmeath, and though it contributed to their heavier concession of scores, the style seemed more accustomed to players and fans.

The Lilywhites lost out on a scoreline of 2-17 to 0-14, but it was nowhere near as one-sided as the scoreline suggests. There were fine individual performances in Castlebar that night, with the likes of Fionn Dowling, Eoin Doyle and Neill Flynn all putting it up to the eventual All-Ireland finalists, but, in truth, Mayo are at a different stage in their development to Kildare and it always seemed a step too far.

Speaking after the game in Castlebar, O’Neill offered some insight into the structure of the team in 2016 and what their prospects were when they set out.

"Ultimately in Leinster we were just trying to get to a Leinster final, and generally that was going to be against Dublin with no disrespect to anyone else. We had that in the back of our mind. Once that was out of the equation we tweaked out defensive structure a bit," revealed O'Neill.

"There's no doubt we needed to have it[the defensive system], because Kildare have conceded 14-51 in their last three matches in Croke Park. You can't hide away from that. To concede two goals last week when we changed our defensive structure and two again this week justifies that it is needed, but it also shows that we can defend better with less numbers, it's just something we need to work on."

2017 begins with games against Longford, IT Carlow and Offaly in the O’Byrne Cup, before Kildare go on to open their league campaign away to Meath in Division 2 on February 5.