League final against Clare was peak of '23 says Kildare's Ellen Dowling
There are five squad members left standing from Kildare’s Intermediate Championship final win over Clare in 2016.
Suncroft’s Ellen Dowling is one of them and she has played a lot of football for the Lilywhites since that first Intermediate Championship win, when she was just 18 years-old.
The confirmation of a repeat fixture seven years on has naturally captured the imagination of fans and journalists alike to discuss two old foes facing off once more.
But Dowling and many other squad members have played down the rivalry between The Lilies and The Banner.
She said, “There are not many Clare or Kildare girls that were involved in 2016 so I wouldn’t say there is bad blood or anything like that. It’s probably more the media saying that there is a bit between the teams.
“Look, the Clare girls are sound and thinking back to that day, there is probably not much in the two teams that is similar now. I think whatever team we were going to be playing it’d be the same preparation either way.”
The much-discussed semi-final with Wexford has been mulled over a lot in the days since the peculiar thriller in Parnell Park. The natural focus of many supporters has been Kildare kicking just 1-4 in that game, a haul that some Kildare forwards have posted on a regular basis by themselves. But after progressing through the tough and blustery conditions, The Lilies are taking the positives of having maintained their recent exemplary defensive record into the final.
“The other end of it (scoring 1-4) was only conceding two points. The one thing that we have looked at this year has been our defensive structure. And not our defensive structure from our back six, it is from one to 15 and everyone that comes on too,” Dowling explained.
“The scoring wasn’t pretty and people were probably looking at the score thinking ‘what is going on with Kildare and Wexford’. But the conditions played into that a good bit, I think with semi-finals nerves are there for both sides, it was probably nerves combined with weather and just trying to get to the final.
“Now that we are there, we are enjoying these training sessions leading up and hopefully we can get a few more scores on the board now in the final,” she laughed.
The defensive improvement has been clear to see across Kildare’s 2023 campaign, but has certainly been even more present down the home stretch of this Championship. Kildare have conceded just 0-10 in their last three games following the concession 4-8 to Leitrim that appeared to be a bit of a wake-up call for Diane O’Hora’s team.
“We look at what we can improve and we bring it into the sessions. It’s a testament to what our coaches are doing. If we can focus on the small stuff, retain possession, not make silly mistakes, I know that’s easy to say but when that is being drilled into you in every session it drives the standards (up). That makes it a lot easier coming into games.”
The attempt at narrative building from the final in 2016 will only be fueled further by this year’s incredible Division 3 league final as Kildare edged Clare by a single point in extra-time to earn promotion.
Dowling herself, amongst many others, put in a staggering amount of effort across an hour of play and extra-time.
The Suncroft forward praised the entire squad’s endeavour to get them promoted back in April, she said, “I think every single player dug to a different level than they even thought that they had. With that league final, it was so important for us to get our Division 3, having been there since 2017 and playing there every single year it was mentally tough.
“That league final was the peak for us this year. Hopefully we can go one step further. Everyone dug to a different level and hopefully we can produce that same level on August 13.”