Kildare minor ladies face Cork in tonight's All-Ireland "A" semi-final
The Kildare minor ladies are the opening act in a huge week for Kildare LGFA as they are tasked with an All Ireland "A" semi final against Cork at 7.30pm tonight, July 19. The game is taking place in Staker Wallace GAA club, Co Limerick and precedes the senior team’s All-Ireland Intermediate semi-final this weekend as the first of two Kildare games with All-Ireland final spots up for grabs.
It’s been a while since the minor ladies have been in action with the big gap between provincial and All-Ireland Championships facilitating many a player’s leaving cert in the process.
Their undoubted eager return to action is finally here and manager Darren Kendrick believes the penultimate championship game will be a belter, he says “They (Cork) would be very good, very strong and well set up. They’ll take no prisoners…this semi-final will be a clash of the titans. From what I have seen and found out, Cork are like ourselves, they have exceptional skills and I think tomorrow will be worth watching and remembering.”
The Kildare manager’s prediction will certainly be on the cards if there is a repeat of this year’s Leinster “A” final as the Lilies and opponents Longford put on a classic. Kildare trailed by 2-5 to 0-6 just 10 minutes before half-time but turned things around in spectacular fashion.
On top of the stellar scoring to kick 1-23 by full-time, Kildare showed an enormous amount of character to change a Leinster final that looked like it was all going against them for the first 20 of the 60 minutes.
Boss Darren Kendrick said their character is one of many great elements to his team saying “What sets this team apart is that they have exceptional talent, combined with a brilliant tactical understanding and of course that team resilience. Their ability to bounce back from setbacks all year has been inspiring.
“They really are a great team, the members themselves are unparalleled and there is a great bond between them all. You can see it and that is going to contribute to any sort of success. The players are getting on and you can see that from the results this year.”
Kildare’s Leinster final comeback was led by stars Leah and Sarah McGovern who kicked 1-15 of their sides 1-23 tally, with all but four of those scores coming from play, it was truly a shooting clinic for the ages from the Raheens pair.
“The McGovern’s will get the plaudits of course and they are great players but, and without sounding too cliché, it’s a real team event. We have brilliant players who can play at speed and play the ball through to them,” Kendrick says.
He concluded, “It’s been three days a week for us since January and the team are really reaping the rewards now of the hard work they have put in. I am just really looking forward to it, it will be an incredible game and both teams are going in with amazing talent. I think we can do it, we are a fantastic team and regardless of what happens tomorrow Kildare football is going in the right direction with these girls.”