Comment: Lanigan's Ball and lots more besides

The press scrum gathered under the main stand at Laois Hire O'Moore Park, Portlaoise on Sunday.

Some 15 minutes or so after referee Sean Lonergan from Tipperary had brought an end to an absolute intriguing game.

Relegated Division 2 side Kildare, hot favourites to advance, taking on Division 4 side Wicklow.

No hopers and that's for sure.

However as anyone who knows anything about a gamble, let it be football, racing, or whatever you fancy is, there are no such things as certainties.

Kildare, never a side that the favourites tag sits comfortably with, were close to unbackable at 1/5, that despite having failed to win a competitive game since the 8 June 2023 when they defeated the Davy Bourke managed Roscommon side in O'Connor Park, Tullamore, by a point to book a place in the preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final where they were on the wrong side of a one point losing margin to Monaghan.

That was how close they were to making it through to the All-Ireland quarter-final proper.

Since that of course, The Lilies have lost seven league games and fallen to the depths that is Division 3 come 2025.

But here, finally was a real, genuine opportunity, to make a statement, or at least to record a much needed win.

Granted Wicklow upset the apple-cart just a week previously at the same venue when dispatching Division 3 champions Westmeath.

But still, Kildare were more than hopeful that this was an opportunity not to be missed.

As the press crew awaited the arrival of the 'Bearded One' after a game in which they could have so easily lost, playing for over forty minutes with 14 players, losing three players through injury, but importantly, being the better of the sides, they had to dig deep, very deep and the fact that did is certainly one of the positives that can be taken from this game.

The dressing room finally opened and out stepped Glenn Ryan, who had, for the first time in a long time, a smile on his feasóg.

It certainly wasn't a smug smile.

Hardly even a smile of satisfaction.

More like a smile of relief.

Relief that finally he and his players have something to show for their efforts.

Remember regardless of the results, time and effort has never been in question.

But that is not to say the manager, his backroom team, his players were not under pressure.

Of course they were.

Each and everyone of them.

On Sunday evening though the manager heaped praise on his players suggesting that they could have lay down, could have folded their collective tent and walked away.

The fact that they didn't was another reason for that smile.

Kildare may have practically thrown this one away but when the chips were down, when their backs were to the wall, they showed bottle and lots of bottle at that and that, hopefully, is something that can be built on.

Remember unless they get the better of the Ger Brennan managed Louth side on Sunday week (Croke Park, throw-in 1.45) it will be on to The Tailteann Cup.

Not a pleasant thought.

At times during the opening half Paddy Woodgate must have felt he was a live contender for Lanigan's Ball the musical.

When Kevin Feely was forced off with a blood injury in stepped the Raheens player.

Three minutes later he was back on the sideline but before he had his tracksuit back on he was stepping in again as the Athy man was stepping out.

Another two minutes and Woodgate was stepping off the main stage again but incredibly before he even had his backside on the bench he was up again, this time replacing the injured Daniel Flynn. Amazing stuff and that's for sure as the words of Lanigan's Ball came to mind.

I step out and you step in again; you step out and I step in again.

And it didn't end there.

Later in the game Shea Ryan was forced off with a spec of blood around his knee, this time Ryan Houlihan was the player stepping in but lo and behold he hardly got a bit of sand (and there was lots of it around this pitch) on a boot but was back on the bench as Ryan's blood spec had been cleaned up.

You couldn't make it up.

And as for that few moments of madness.

O my God.

The roving keeper.

The accident waiting to happen.

Well it did.

Mark Donnellan did what a lot of modern day keepers (foolishly) do these days and went walk-abouts up the field, bringing back memories when we were kids playing on the green and the use of a 'fly' keeper was in vogue.

Never did we ever believe that all those years later we would be seeing the use of such 'fly' keepers at senior inter-county level.

And more is the pity.

It has happened in recent times when keepers were out and it could so easily have been so costly for Kildare on Sunday when a Wicklow half-back had some 45m of open space between him and the goal posts with only the two umpires in his view.

He pulled the trigger.

The ball went to right and wide.

A definite lesson there for one and all and that's for sure.