Preview: Herity's hurlers vying to get promoted as Kildare face Offaly in league final
It has been a campaign of enormous positivity for Kildare in Division 2A. They have passed every test faced along the way and it appears with every game that has been won people have begun to realise how good this team really is. Kildare will now face a repeat of their toughest game so far as they face Offaly in the league final.
To look ahead to this game we have to look back and we don’t have to go too far as Kildare and Offaly clashed in the final round of the regular league season. It was a draw but there was so much to unpack in the 70 plus minutes of action.
Kildare could have easily both won and lost this game. The Lilywhites second half performance was incredible for the most part. After a lacklustre opening half, they turned up the heat and Offaly weren’t able to handle their free-flowing play. Kildare outscored Offaly 10 points to one in the opening 20 minutes of the second half. It was a dominant period in the game and if there is an ability to repeat that kind of a spell in the final, I think Kildare come out on top.
I will stop far short of not accounting for what happened next with the concession of two sloppy goals as high and hopeful balls had green flags raised in Offaly’s name. Kildare were yet to concede a goal to that point and I feel that defensive solidity will return.
The goals can be attributed to personal mistakes and poor conditions on the day as opposed to any systematic failure so they won’t concern management too much moving forward. That Kildare defence has been super and one blip doesn’t change that fact but they have to be cut out nonetheless.
Kildare manager David Herity said post-match, “The two goals we conceded when we were six up and having outscored them 10 to one at that stage, they weren’t great goals. They were goals we should have got over that broke in the edge of the square.
“We haven’t conceded a goal since last May. It was a terrible day for hurling but we left balls out there and left that game in the balance and it shouldn’t have been. But to come back and hunt down that last ball to get the draw I am very happy they didn’t let the game slide. That easily could have just gone away from us.”
Kildare showed real fight to snatch a draw at the death in a game that looked destined for defeat after the aforementioned goals. But they fought to the last whistle and got the result they needed. The result meant they avoided the gruelling semi-final that Offaly endured with Kerry this past weekend.
In terms of reflection on their previous meetings I think both Kildare and Offaly will take encouragement from it. Offaly will feel they got pipped at the end and Kildare will know it should never have been that close to begin with.
Offaly had the better of it for the first half and went in with a three-point lead but when Kildare hit their stride, there was a nine point swing. It bodes well but all involved in Kildare will expect Offaly to raise their level for the final.
Kildare manager David Herity also mentioned a slight nervousness post-match that may have crept in before the Offaly game post-match which is sure to be present in a final but these players will take great encouragement from that previous meeting. Nerves are natural and normal, especially when facing a side as good as Offaly but great heart has to be taken from that last game where Kildare looked every bit the side Offaly were and in my opinion, more.
Reviewing the campaign so far, Kildare opened their account away against Carlow and despite pre-season success, Dr Cullen Park has been a joyless visit for the Kildare hurlers on many occasions. Despite only an okay start by their standards, Kildare went in at half-time with a four-point advantage but the style and guile that grabbed the eye of interested on-lookers was yet to come. Kildare ramped up the tempo and ran out winners by a margin of 14. It was a statement win and although we didn’t know at the time, set Kildare on the path to the final.
The opening day success was followed by a narrow victory against Down that exemplifies that competitiveness in this division. Added to that an impressive win against Derry away from home as the Lilywhites made their way to Owenbeg and came out with a 2-23 to 0-19 win.
Victory over semi-finalists Kerry meant that Kildare finished top of the table after the previously mentioned Offaly draw. It has all led to this game and it promises to be a must-see, just like the last league meeting.
The journey that manager David Herity and this team are on is shaping up to be something special and winning a league final and promotion from 2A would be another enormous accomplishment. What stands in their way is a very good Offaly side and an enormous fixture for Kildare hurlings progress. It will be something not to be missed and the team needs Kildare fans everywhere to try to get down to the game.