Comment: Relief all round as Kildare rise to the challenge

Walking into Glenisk O'Connor Park on Sunday one could but not be impressed with the colour on view.

The colour of the Roscommon-clad supporters that is as they outnumbered The Lilies by some eight to one, at least.

A sign of the times I wonder to myself.

Or maybe with the game live on television Kildare followers just decided to stay put and watch it on the box.

Still, and after a similar showing two weeks previously against The Dubs in Nowlan Park, is it an emerging trend?

Anyway it is a long way from the heady days of Micko and The Geezer when Kildare fans followed their favourites by the thousands all over the country.

Even when Kildare arrived out on the sacred sod of O'Connor Park on Sunday some 20 minutes or so prior to throw-in there was hardly a murmer, hardly a clap or hardly a cheer.

Now contrast that with the reception Davy Bourke's Roscommon got when they appeared.

Tremendous receptionfor the side that has enjoyed a good Allianz Football League (Division 1) campaign; defeated Mayo in the Connacht championship (before bowing out to Galway) and then arriving in Offaly on top of Group 3 with, the hope, at least, of finishing in second place.

In the absence of captain Mick O'Grady (injured) the forgotten player of 2023, Daniel Flynn, pink boots and all, took the toss while we were informed that U20 star, Harry O'Neill would be wearing no. 2 from the bench.

A real step up for the Clane dynamo who enjoyed a brilliant season with the All-Ireland U20 winners this year following on from an impressive 2022 in the senior club championship.

The early rain blew away as the action got under way with both managers Glenn Ryan Davy Bourke taking up their respective roles close to the action.

Underdogs Kildare certainly got off to a flyer and the goal after 11 minutes was something to behold.

Darragh Kirwan, Kevin Flynn and Alex Beirne all involved with the Naas man volleying a flicked pass from the Celbridgeplayer to the back of The Rossies net.

Everything was going along hunky-dory for the boys in white, that is until a black card arrived on 17 minutes.

It was a black card that wasn't a black card, if you get me drift, a foul, probably two as a matter of fact, by Alex Beirne, but a black card?

Not in my eyes anyway.

And it got worse when a second black was flashed, this time Ryan Houlihan the recipient, a card no one could have any doubts about and that's for sure.

A missed mark by the match official had the Kildare management fuming and to add to the woe, Roscommon attacked immediately and added a point.

And to add to the first half misery, by the time the two Lilies returned to the action, Kildare had seen a five point lead turning to a two point deficit.

Having said that The Rossies certainly did not look like anything special; a clatter of wides did nothing for their cause and Glenn's boys were certainly close enough at that stage if they had the wherewithal and the belief in their own game.

The second half was a toing and froing encounter, the sides level on six occasions and long before the long whistle arrived, many were of the opinion that a draw was looking the more likely result.

Kildare displayed something we had not seen in this campaign, or most campaigns for that matter, and that was an ability to make, to call and convert marks.

In total The Lilies were awarded six marks, converting five with the winning score probably the best of them — a brilliant forward ball; a outlandish fetch and a magical convertion that put the boys in white in front with the clock heading to the seventh minute of time added on.

Done and dusted.

A mighty win.

A tremendous boost.

Glenn could hardly conceal his joy, his relief, his satisfaction and his admiration for his players.

Davy was stunned.

No doubt about that.

Whatever about not finishing second, finishing third was never part of the agenda, part of the plan.

In fairness he said Kildare deserved their win; adding his players never got off the bus as he tried to explain knowing that he and his team were now facing an away trip next weekend and while not knowing their destination, was fully aware a long trip was probably on the cards.

The Lilies have a home game to look forward to but of course with no home at the minute a decision now had to be made on where to camp out next week — a decision made on Monday to return to Offaly headquarters and O'Connor Park (against, as we know now, Monaghan).

It has been a long, long time, way too long, that we have exited a game fully of hope, full of anticipation and full of relief.

Yes over the last couple of years wins have been recorded, in league or championship, but that feeling of a 'real' win, a win against top opposition, was absent.

A win against a Division 1 team.

A win against a team that many now fear has been missing for a fair few years at this stage.

Probably the last big championship win was all the way back to 2018 and that famous Newbridge Or Nowhere match against Mayo in the Qualifiers.

That shows how far The Lilies have slipped when it comes to championship football.

Now the plan must be to build on it but not to get cocky.

Winning gracefully is every bit as vital, and important, as losing gracefully.

There was a bit of an incident after the game that should have been avoided.

An incident that manager Glenn Ryan referred to in his after-match interview when he said that Kildare don't make things easy on themselves, adding “I though the game was officiated to the highest standard” adding “and we don't make it easy for them (officials) let me tell you, but there are times we should be a bit more gracious on the sideline ... and that is something we have to work on.”

How right he is.

Leaving that aside Sunday was a mighty satisfying occasion. We have come through a tough season; a very tough few seasons and that win over The Rossies should certainly put a bit of pep in the step of players, management and followers alike,

The trick now is to build on it.

If one swallow doesn't make a summer, one win doesn't make a season.

Far from it.

But what that win did show was that Kildare are capable, more than capable, of mixing it with a team from the top division.

Now let's go out and prove it again this weekend!