Kildare 1-16 Roscommon 1-15
There was one unhappy Kildare man in Tullamore today.
Much of the discourse around this game during the week centred on scoring difference at the top of Group 3 and how Roscommon would essentially have to match Dublin’s victory over Sligo to go straight to the quarter-finals.
As it turned out, they couldn’t achieve any sort of result, never mind the 24-point win which would have been required, and so dropped to third in the group instead, meaning that they will be on the road in a preliminary quarter-final next Saturday instead.
As a Kildare native and resident, Roscommon manager Davy Burke would have been acutely aware of their credentials being talked down and how it might work against his side.
“Totally written off – sure it’s completely wrong,” he said. “Blowing us up and playing them down. Maybe that seeped into our dressing room, maybe subconsciously? I don’t know. But completely wrong.
“There are no bad teams. There are 16 teams, the Tailteann Cup is there for a reason now. Did Cork beat Mayo today? This nonsense... so every game is a kick of a ball and that’s it.”
Consistency has been a notable feature of Burke’s side this year but their levels dropped considerably here as they were “outfought, outhunted, outbattled, outworked”, according to their manager.
“That’s it,” he added. “You don’t win games when that happens to you.”
There was only a point in it in the end but Kildare were certainly deserving victors, with Kevin Feely sealing the victory effectively from the game’s last play in the fifth minute of injury time after he was teed up for an attacking mark by Daniel Flynn.
The Athy man kicked the winner off his left from a tight angle for his third pointed mark of the day and Kildare’s fifth.
Roscommon only got a foothold in the game after enjoying a numerical advantage for 17 minutes of the first half as Kildare shipped two black cards.
Alex Beirne, the son of a Castlerea man, brilliantly whipped home the game’s first goal soccer-style in the 12th minute and added a point to put Kildare 1-4 to 0-2 up before being sent to the line for 10 minutes for a foul on Cian McKeon.
It seemed a harsh call from referee Martin McNally but there could be no arguments when Ryan Houlihan was black-carded in the 22nd after pulling Ben O’Carroll down.
“The black cards are one thing – that’s an interpretation thing, but then there was an obvious mark that wasn’t given and they went down and got a point,” reflected Kildare boss Glenn Ryan afterwards.
“And in a game of such fine margins… but anyway. I thought it was officiated, in fairness, to the highest standard and we don’t make it easy for them, let me tell you.
“There was times we should be a bit more gracious on the sideline, and it’s something we have to work on.”
Roscommon struck 1-3 without reply while enjoying their numerical advantage, Enda Smith netting the goal on the break after Eoin Doyle fumbled in midfield.
McKeon added another point when parity of numbers was restored and Roscommon led 1-6 to 1-4 at half-time.
The expectation was that the Division One side would kick from there but it never materialised.
Smith’s 47th minute point restored their two-point lead at 1-10 to 1-8 but Kildare hit four on the trot and though Roscommon responded with three of their own, they couldn’t shake them off.
A brilliant Ben McCormack point put Kildare back in front in the 69th minute and though Smith kicked a superb leveller three minutes into injury time, Feely’s link-up with Flynn to secure and convert the mark sent Kildare into second place behind Dublin and grants them a nominal home preliminary quarter-final next Saturday.
“You have to find any way you can to get your scores, and whether it’s marks or whatever way they come, they still have to be scored,” said Kildare boss Glenn Ryan. “And it was a hugely difficult kick, a hugely difficult catch, a hugely difficult kick into him, and Kevin did really well to finish it under the circumstances.
“The opportunity is there to put the ball inside whether it’s hopping or whether it’s up on the chest. The mark is there to allow fellas with the ability to kick the ball over the bar to attempt it but I wouldn’t say it’s something we went hugely after.”
KILDARE: Mark DONNELLAN 6; Eoin DOYLE 6, Ryan HOULIHAN 6, Shea RYAN 7; David HYLAND 7, Kevin FLYNN 7, Jack SARGENT 6; Kevin O’CALLAGHAN (0-1) 7, Kevin FEELY (0-4, 0-3m, 0-1f) 8; Paddy McDERMOTT 6, Alex BEIRNE (1-2) 7, Neil FLYNN (0-4, 0-3f) 7; Daniel FLYNN (0-1m) 7, Darragh KIRWAN (0-1m) 6, Ben McCORMACK (0-3) 8.
Subs: Darragh Malone for Houlihan (44), Tony Archbold for Beirne (59), Harry O’Neill for Doyle (65), Paul Cribbin for McDermott (70).
ROSCOMMON: Conor CARROLL 6; Dylan RUANE (0-1) 6, Colin WALSH 5, Brian STACK 7; David MURRAY 6, Niall DALY (0-1) 7, Eoin McCORMACK 6; Enda SMITH (1-3) 8, Eddie NOLAN 6; Ciarain MURTAGH (0-4, 0-3f) 6, Cian McKEON (0-3, 0-1m) 7, Conor DALY 5; Donie SMITH (0-1f) 5, Ben O’CARROLL (0-1) 6, Diarmuid MURTAGH (0-1f) 6.
Subs: Conor Hussey for Walsh (44), Ciaran Lennon for Conor Daly (23), Daire Cregg for Diarmuid Murtagh (59), Niall Kilroy for Smith (60), Richard Hughes for Nolan (70).
REFEREE: Martin McNally (Monaghan).
QUOTE ME ON THAT
“No. We could have topped our group today. We didn’t. Kerry, Dublin, I don’t give a s***e who it is. We’ve lost the game. It’s not good enough for our standards.”
Roscommon manager Davy Burke when asked if facing his native county was difficult.
STAR MAN - Enda Smith (Roscommon)
Too many Roscommon players dipped below the standards they’d set all year but not Smith, who hit 1-3 from midfield and looked to have salvaged a draw with a brilliant late point.
AN OTHER - Kevin Feely (Kildare)
Hasn’t featured as much as he would have liked this year but got through the full game and exploited his fielding ability to the full with three marks, including the winner.
UP NEXT
ROSCOMMON: All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final (a), June 24.
KILDARE: All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final (h), June 24.
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