Staunch Tyrone tactics to present another hurdle as Kildare look for first league win
Photo by Pat Tinsley
It is just two games into the league season, and despite Cian O’Neill preaching caution on anyone getting too concerned over two defeats, today’s meeting with Tyrone already takes on massive importance in the overall context of Division 1. Two defeats leave Kildare sitting at the foot of the table alongside Sunday’s opponents and their northern neighbours Donegal.
Tyrone have endured a disappointing start to their own campaign, losing to Galway in Tuam and then going down to 14-man Dublin in Omagh last Saturday evening. Much has been made of their style of play as they suck players back into defensive zones and effectively play with one full-time forward – an overworked Mark Bradley on most occasions.
That said, this is the type of team that Kildare have typically had trouble with in recent years. Aside from the third quarter last Sunday, the Lilywhites were panicked and error prone when met with a packed Monaghan defence, and Tyrone will take that to another level in the tight confines of St Conleth’s Park on Sunday.
O’Neill has not placed too much emphasis on the need for victory, insisting that Kildare will be taking it game by game akin to last year, but home games in the league are important, and considering that at least six points will probably be needed to avoid dropping out of the division, getting that first win on board is vital right now.
“I think every game is a must win, and obviously they’re in the same position as us,” said O’Neill.
“There are seven matches in this league and I think people get a little excited in the early stages. You have to realise that it’s a 14-point competition and we just happen to be at the bottom of the pile at the moment. I’ve been in situations where we’ve lost our first three or four matches of the league and still survived and won a lot after that. It’s not where we want to be.”
Being down at the bottom is hardly ideal, but all Kildare can do is to right the errors of last weekend and atone for them this Sunday when Mickey Harte’s men roll into Newbridge.
“I think if you start looking at the scoreboard and looking at the points table then you’re setting yourself up for a failure,” stated O’Neill.
“I’m talking more about the process whereby we were winning matches last year looking at it one game at a time. We’re losing matches this year and we’re still looking at it one game at a time. Every point, every two points is crucial. We should have salvaged a point today, we could have won the match but we didn’t. We’ve got to pick ourselves up again,” he continued, with one eye on the meeting with Tyrone and the other on the overall objective of securing Kildare’s place in the top division.