Kildare playing with style and swagger

Laois might have been abysmal, but the impression of a Kildare team growing in confidence and capability was inescapable in Tullamore, on Sunday. Daniel Flynn has sensed as much within the confines of the camp, and in the county at large.

“We’re enjoying our football and that has a lot to do with it. We are just confident in ourselves. Even around the county, you can feel it. There is a pep in the step. Success breeds success and we’ve come up from Division Three to Division One.”

The liberation of the side has been obvious. Stilted and cagey last year, they tottered past Wexford in their first Leinster Championship game with the grand total of nine points, and fell to Westmeath in the semi-final, after scraping 1-11. They hit Laois for 1-21 at their ease.