Comment: Can the Lilies bounce back after Offaly set-back

It was, in manager David Herity's words “the biggest crowd Kildare hurlers have ever played in front of” and he hoped “they would continue to support them, beginning on Saturday when they travel to take on Carlow at Dr Cullen Park in the opening round of the Joe McDonagh Cup.”

Sunday though was disappointing, hugely disappointing; on a perfect day for hurling after the horrible weather we have endured in the previous few days, everything was set for a cracking encounter between the two best teams in Division 2A.

And the way The Lilies opened in the opening ten minutes one felt that that dream of joining the elite counties in the AHL in Division 1 come 2024, looked to be firmly on the cards.

However for some reason Kildare lost their way; lost the early initiative and while still ahead at the break by three, many felt the writing was on the wall what with Offaly having the benefit of the breeze in the second half; the chances Kildare had spurned in that opening half and signs that time and time again the wrong options were being taken, the most glaring being the continuation of Kildare lobbing the sliother down the throat of Offaly sweeper, Adrian Cleary, who simply gobbled up the possession, saying thank you very much and duly set up another Offaly attack.

Apart from that some of the decision making, in particular the shot selection, left a lot to be desired.

Yet Kildare, at one point during the second half, looked like they could get a bit of a hiding, they stuck to their guns, made a few changes that saw them cut into a six point lead, getting it back to two and finally three before a last gasp 20m free when seeking a goal saw Offaly keeper, Stephen Corcoran, deny his Kildare counterpart Paddy McKenna, making a fine save before the long whistle finally arrived.

Despite the disappointment one can but wonder if the defeat might in fact be a bit of a blessing in disguise. This is basically a very young Kildare side and trading punches with some of the top counties in Division 1, could, in all probability be a stop too far, too soon for this side.

No doubt Kildare are a talented side but they still have a lot to learn as we saw on Sunday in a game that was their sternest test in over 12 months.

That they had the wherewithal to dig deep, respond in the final minutes says a lot about the character of the players. They will hopefully learn from this experience and improve.

Now whether they can do that and response positively in six days time is another question. A huge ask as they prepare now to take on Carlow in Round 1 of the Joe McDonagh Cup against Carlow.

Kildare have played the Tom Mullally managed team twice in recent months, won both, somewhat comfortably but those results will stand for nothing come Saturday.

If there is any hurling manager that knows all there is to know about Kildare hurling it is Tom Mulally. Tom is the present manager of Naas, who he has led not just to senior county honours but also to provincial honours and All-Ireland honours at intermediate level and even last season saw them make a major impact when playing in the Leinster Senior Club, winning one game before bowing out to All-Ireland champions Ballyhale Shamrocks. So Tom will need no video reviews, no individual notes on players as he knows them one and all.

When these sides met initially in the Kehoe Cup, Kildare won comfortably but as manager David Herity said at the time “we (Kildare) are well ahead of them at the minute preparation-wise but they will get better and stronger as the season unfolds.”

And while Kildare defeated Carlow again when the met in the AHL, it would seem they now have a number of players back in the fold. Carlow probably targetted the Joe McDonagh as their no. 1 priority this year and no doubt they will be relishing the opportunity to get one over on a county until recent times they have held the upper hand.

How much Carlow will have improved in recent weeks we will have to wait and see but the other major factor that has to be taken into account is how Kildare will come out of Sunday's loss to Offaly.

That was Kildare's stiffest test by a country mile and while they only lost by three points there were parts of their game that needs improvement if they are to get back to winning ways.

David Herity and his management will have a fair few decisions to make as to his line-out for this one. On his own admission some of his more senior players did not stand up to the test against Offaly and while one would not expect wholesale changes for the Carlow test, it would be no surprise if one, or two changes will be made. On top of that a quicker use of the bench than we witnessed against Offaly will be required if that is what it takes.

Kildare though still have the ability to win this one, provided they can put the disappointment of the Offaly defeat behind them.

l Inter-county fixtures: Wednesday April 5 Electric Ireland Leinster MFC Manguard Plus Hawkfield (7.30) Kildare v Offaly.

Sunday April 9, Joe McDonagh Cup Round 1, Carlow v Kildare, Dr Cullen Park, 2 pm.

Monday April 10: Oneills.com Leinster U20 HC, Laois Hire O Moore Park (2pm) Kildare v Kerry.