Short turn around for Dowling and Kildare are tough McDonagh Cup final victory

"These lads are going to be very sore. There were a couple of them, I won't name names, but how they got on the pitch at all I don't know. We really had to patch them up. We had serious injuries coming into this game but we got through it."

SHORT TURNAROUND: The Kildare team celebrate after the Joe McDonagh Cup final match between Kildare and Laois at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Joe McDonagh Cup hurling final: Kildare 2-26 Laois 1-19

Brian Dowling has revealed that he questioned his ability to manage Kildare after they lost to Kerry in the opening round of this season's Joe McDonagh Cup.