Veteran to wave his magic wand again

MICK O’Dwyer steered Kildare to a league final appearance in 1991 in his first season in charge just as he did with Laois earlier this year.

On both occasions, he was on the losing side, but while his team flopped in the first round of the championship 12-years- ago (against Louth), the Waterville maestro has had the satisfaction of seeing Laois make it all the way to the Leinster final this time.

And, the indications are that they will continue to be successful. Notable for the fact that it’s the first final without either Dublin or Meath being involved since Offaly beat Laois in the 1981 decider.

It’s ironic O’Dwyer should find himself opposite Kildare after having done so much to raise the profile of the game in the county and then going so close to delivering an All-Ireland title five years ago.

While it had been well signposted - by O’Dwyer himself - that he was giving up last year, nobody could have envisaged him getting involved at inter- county level so soon and least of all with a neighbouring county.

The reason he did was because he had identified them as a team with definite potential.

Just like the Limerick footballers in the Division Two decider, Laois learned a lot from their defeat by holders Tyrone in the Allianz League final.

It was to be seen in more mature play in the championship, in the two games with Offaly and more especially in the semi -final win over Dublin by a two-point margin.

That was remarkable because Dublin threatened to over-run them in the first half, when they created three goal-chances, only to be denied twice by goalkeeper Fergal Byron and on the other occasion by full-back Colm Byrne.

In brief, it was a highly disciplined performance, built on the dominance of Pauric Clancy and Noel Garvan at midfield and some good score-taking.

In getting back to the final again (last year they lost to Dublin), Kildare attracted most attention through the manner of their win over Meath in the semi-final, by a single point.

Notorious for their liking of the short game and often lacking consistency in shooting, they gave a super display when scoring 10 points without reply in the second quarter.

Meath had begun at a furious pace, scoring 1-3 by the 11th minute, but were not to add to their total before the break. Kildare, to the credit of new manger Pauric Nolan, had seized the initiative by then and retained it.

Laois were particularly impressive in the Dublin game, by their confident approach, their calmness under pressure and most of all their superb football. It may not be easy to repeat that but I believe they will and it will earn them a Leinster title long overdue.

LAOIS: F Byron; A Fennelly, C Byrne, J Higgins; D Rooney, T Kelly, K Fitzpatrick; P Clancy, N Garvan; R Munnelly, M Lawlor, G Kavanagh; B McDonald, I Fitzgerald, D Delaney.

KILDARE: E Murphy; B Lacey, D Lyons, A McLoughlin; AN Other, M Wright, K Ennis; A Barry, K Brennan; P Murray, J Doyle, R Sweeney; D McCormack, S McKenzie-Smith, T Fennin.