'Had we lost that, things would be difficult' - relieved Ryan hoping Lilywhites can kick on
UP AND RUNNING: Kildare manager Glenn Ryan. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
At the end Kildare took a merited moment and soaked in applause from the small cohort of loyal Lilywhite followers who made the trip. Their first league win was one they had to fight doggedly for while down to 14 men. In Cusack Park they passed a real examination.
Daniel Flynn came off the bench to kick two points. Replacement Neil Flynn was superb in the second half while Mick O’Grady gave a captain’s performance in defence.
“There is no doubt had we lost that, obviously things would be difficult,” said Glenn Ryan post-match.
“We still have a huge amount of work to get done and a huge game against Derry next week. You pack this away and get ready for next week. There will be as much pressure, intensity, ferocity and hunger in that game as there was today.”
On the football podcast, former Mayo boss James Horan recently labelled Clare at home the ultimate gut-check team. Over 70 minutes they would stress test every aspect of the opposition’s gameplan. That was why he relished challenge games against them.
Here they played with the breeze in the first half. Kildare dropped off their kickout and Stephen Ryan was content to tap the majority short and avoid the Kevin axis of Feely-O’Callaghan-Flynn. Only once in the opening 35 minutes did they go long.
After 20 minutes Alan Sweeney was shown a black card for an off the ball incident but otherwise, Clare were cruising. At the turnaround they led by four with Eoin Cleary’s free-taking a particular highlight. They were well able to vary their attack, Podge Collins kicking a score with his right while Gavin Cooney stroked over a beauty with the left.
In comparison, much of Kildare’s attacks came down the righthand side. Kevin Feely marked his first competitive start since his Achilles rupture with a well taken give-and-go score but otherwise they were heavily reliant on Hyland’s frees.
“I wouldn’t say it was down to a lack of heart,” said Ryan. “There was a significant breeze. I don’t think it was a lack of effort. Maybe just channelling that effort in the wrong direction. We showed at the end we have lads capable of getting scores if the ball is kicked into them.” Daniel and Neil Flynn came in the second half and got them going. Just before the 50-minute mark Flynn finally won a ball out in front and scored on the spin. From the resulting kickout, a high tackle by Ben McCormack saw Kildare reduced to 14 men.
Five down with 20 minutes left, time to dig deep. Kirwan caught sight of goal and smashed over. Neil Flynn cut the gap to three and then kicked a monster from out wide with five minutes left to guarantee a dramatic conclusion.
“I could see what was coming from a long way off,” reflected Colm Collins. “It is ourselves that lost the game not Kildare won it.
“What we did in that second half there was complete football suicide. That is all it was.”
Having gone nearly 20 minutes without a score, Clare needed something. Cue Cleary’s left foot. Again the away outfit refused to die. David Hyland scored and the kickout press saw the ball back to Ryan in goals turned over. He fouled with a hand trip and took a black card, meaning McMahon had to stand in goals until the final whistle.
All of Kildare’s stalwarts came to the fore in the end. O’Grady’s firefighting in defence was awesome. Daniel Flynn summoned an equalizer. Feely broke the following kickout. A late driving Neil Flynn run resulted in a highly contested free, but they won’t care.
“It was important today we depended on our football when it was most required,” said Ryan. “At the end it took a bit of composure, some very good shooting and good play to create opportunities.” In Ennis, Kildare found the sort of spark that can fire a season.
Eoin Cleary 0-8 (6 frees), Emmett McMahon 0-2 (1 free), Gavin Cooney 0-2, Ronan Lannigan 0-1, Podge Collins 0-1, Emmet McMahon 0-1 (1 free).
Jimmy Hyland 0-4 (4 frees), Neil Flynn 0-4 (2 free), Paddy Woodgate 0-2 (1 free), Jack Robinson 0-1, Kevin Feely 0-1, Daniel Flynn 0-2, Darragh Kirwan 0-1, David Hyland 0-1.
: S Ryan; M Doherty, C Brennan, R Lannigan; C O’Dea, P Lillis, A Sweeney; C O’Connor, D Bohannon; J Malone, E Cleary, D Coughlan; P Collins, E McMahon, G Cooney.
Subs: I Ugweru for Sweeney (half-time), A Griffin for Cooney (47), B Rouine for O’Connor (47), C Downes for Coughlan (55), C Russell for Doherty (70)
M Donnellan, M O’Grady, S Ryan, R Houlihan; D Hyland, E Doyle, P McDermott; K Feely, K O’Callaghan; B McCormack, K Flynn, P Woodgate; J Hyland, D Kirwan, J Robinson.
Subs: D Flynn for Robinson (42), N Flynn for Woodgate (44), D Malone for O’Callaghan (58), S O’Sullivan for Hyland (67)
Referee: D Murnane (Cork)
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
