Kildare finally get their lines right

AT half-time yesterday, the talk was that Micko had dreamt up another masterstroke.

Announcing his decision to leave Wicklow at the end of the campaign on the eve of the game seemed to have steeled his troops to give their venerable manager a going away present.

A point down at the break and with the wind in their favour, the game was theirs to take. But O’Dwyer was left to lick his wounds after a dreadful second-half in which Wicklow were taught a containment and tackling power lesson.

O’Dwyer’s opposite number, Kieran McGeeney, was in high spirits afterwards — and with good reason. On two of three previous Leinster opening days, his team had fluffed their lines.

Before losing to Louth last year, they had overcome Offaly to go on and reach a Leinster final in 2009.

But before that, they had crumbled to this same opposition on a forgettable day in Croke Park. As Kildare have shown, they are a streaky side and victory yesterday couldn’t have been more paramount to get them out of the blocks and chasing elusive silverware.

They started the more promising side, John Doyle, starting in midfield, shrugged off a host of tackles to tag one over.

After Ciaran Hyland upended Alan Smith in the sixth minute, Doyle doubled his tally with a free and Kildare were off. It wasn’t until the second half that Doyle’s all-action superiority was clearly evident.

There were also indications the full-forward line partnership of Tomás O’Connor and Alan Smith was going to bear fruit, as evidenced by the free Smith won.

Wicklow returned fire in the 11th minute when Seanie Furlong capitalised on a foul on Austin O’Malley but the score was quickly cancelled by a Gary White 45.

Even with the wind hindering them, Wicklow stuck with the high ball tactic into O’Malley and Furlong with Leighton Glynn drifting back. The direct tactic worked in the 16th and 21st minutes when both Furlong and O’Malley found their range.

O’Malley, the former Mayo forward making his championship debut for Wicklow, was prominent in the first-half and kicked the last score before the break.

Still, Wicklow were showing they were familiar with the swarm defence and were successful in reducing Kildare to long-range kicks.

Nevertheless, the Lilywhites were dominating possession and were bound to convert that into scores, however little it turned out to be. Smith profited from an O’Connor offload to make it 0-4 to 0-3 in the 26th minute and Hugh Lynch boomed an effort over.

O’Malley finished out the scoring to reduce Wicklow’s arrears to a point, 0-5 to 0-4 by the break.

Kildare, having totted up ten wides, looked like they hadn’t done enough to justify the wind. As it turned out, Wicklow, missing the direction of an injured Tony Hannon, were beaten into submission.

While they weren’t overrun, they looked naive. Again, the Lilywhites started the better, O’Connor smashing a fisted attempt against the crossbar but clenched his hand again to stick over the rebound.

His partner in crime Smith converted a 47th minute effort to extend Kildare’s lead to three before referee Marty Duffy retired injured with a hamstring injury, replaced by Syl Doyle.

Some of the more cynical Kildare fans might suggest his absence made life easier but the truth was this game was only going one way.

With his second free, Doyle had made it 0-8 to 0-4 and when O’Malley received his marching orders for reacting to some close treatment from Aindriú MacLochlainn seven minutes from time it was all but confirmed.

Wicklow had run out of ideas and out of steam.

Doyle pointed a third free and Smith tagged on his third when he benefitted from another O’Connor breakdown. Emmet Bolton got in on the act and was followed by young substitute Padraig Fogarty.

Glynn ensured it wasn’t a scoreless second-half for Wicklow when he converted a free. It rang hollow, though. And it’s going to take an awful lot of Micko magic to raise them from this torpor in July’s qualifiers.

Scorers for Kildare: J Doyle (3f) 0-4, A Smith 0-3, T O’Connor, G White (45), H Lynch, E Bolton, P Fogarty 0-1 each.

Scorers for Wicklow: A O’Malley, S Furlong (1f) 0-2 each, L Glynn 0-1.

Subs for Kildare: J Kavanagh for E O’Flaherty (28), E Callaghan for Flanagan (31), P Fogarty for Sweeney (49), C Brophy for O’Neill (57), T O’Neill for MacLochlainn (temp 65-67), F Dowling for O’Connor (72).

Subs for Wicklow: C McGraynor for Hannon (inj 22), N Mernagh for Dalton (45), JP Dalton for Finn (64).

Referees: M Duffy (Sligo)/S Doyle (Wexford).