A summer certainty: more magic from Micko

YOU just begin to take these things for granted. Mick O’Dwyer, in the championship, winning games.

Even with Wicklow. This is the second consecutive year they’ve been victorious in the first round of the Leinster campaign. That’s not something they’ve been able to say for a while.

But when the man with the rolled up match programme comes to town, he brings results. It is undoubtedly a magic of sorts. Kerry, obviously. Kildare and Laois were transformed from dreamers to Leinster champions.

Wicklow was surely a bridge too far you thought, even for the Pied Piper of the GAA? Surely he must be slowing down?

Oh ye of little faith!

Even after the shock defeat of Kildare last year, they were underdogs yesterday. Longford had a new manager of course, the man they hoped would be their Micko. And Micko knows him well.

Glenn Ryan was the Waterville wizard’s on-field lieutenant in the glory days of 1998 and 2000 for Kildare. It ended disappointingly for Ryan and he refused to talk to the press afterwards. Micko never refused to talk to anyone in his life but he wasn’t as effusive as normal.

It was a great game of course. They all are when O’Dwyer is talking. But he had been nervous in the final 10 minutes, when Wicklow had blown a seven-point winning lead.

Pádraig Berry’s goal had helped peg them back but in the end, Paul Earls rescued the situation.

“I didn’t enjoy it there I can assure you in that last quarter of an hour. It was tough stuff,” he smiled. “It was a good championship game. We were up seven points and sat on our lead as usual. That’s what we normally do. But when they came level again we showed good character in our team and came back really well to get a great goal that made all the difference. But it was touch and go all the way to the finish.”

He praised Tony Hannon’s place-kicking and described Rory Nolan “as a great bit of stuff”.

“There isn’t much of him there but what’s there I’ll tell you, he’s something else.”

Seanie Furlong could do with getting fitter we were told. One reckons there are a lot of laps ahead for the full-forward, and that the same will apply for the midfield duo of Thomas Walsh and James Stafford.

“The two of them haven’t played any football to be honest. Tom only came back six weeks ago, and Stafford came back from Australia six weeks ago, but overall they did pretty well. I mean they’re resting all winter!”