Kildare's All-Ireland MFC last-eight win over Kerry ‘a great day’
I WANNA BE LIKE GREG KELLY: Kerry's Cian Stack chases down Greg Kelly.
While beating Kerry is a notable feather in the cap, Kildare manager Tommy Konstantin was more impressed that his charges delivered the display he knew they were capable of in Saturday’s All-Ireland MFC quarter-final.
Nine points to the good at half-time (1-11 to 0-5) after playing with the strong wind, the Lilywhites’ youngsters were always able to keep their opponents at arm’s length on the resumption. Three further green flags copper-fastened their deserved triumph.
“Any day you beat Kerry in the All-Ireland series, in a quarter-final, is a great day for Kildare football. We’re absolutely delighted with it. It’s probably one of our better performances as well this year. There is lots of stuff that we’re really happy about,” he said.
“The focus wasn’t necessarily the opposition, or anything like that. It was all about getting that big performance that we knew was in the group. We’re delighted that we delivered that. It’s all a team effort, and the boys being in the right positions at the right time.”
Leading by only three points after 27 minutes (1-4 to 0-4), Konstantin admitted that the three late two-pointers in the first half – courtesy of Jack Reilly, the superb Eoghan Lyons and Greg Kelly – turned out to be pivotal to the outcome.
“I think we were only three points up before those two-pointers, and I felt that we needed that bit of an extra cushion. It was something that we were wary of in the second half as well. We had to push out on Kerry, because two-pointers were probably their route back into the game,” he added.
While the Kingdom young guns never threw in the towel down the stretch – with their substitutes combining for a tally of 1-6 – Marc Ó Sé’s side never really got going. The three Kildare second half goals, from Cian Keogh (2) and replacement Callum Cowzer, were punches to the gut.
“It’s disappointing to lose the way we did. Goals win matches really. I suppose when we got into a position where we came back into it and I think we brought it down to six (2-12 to 1-9), we felt we had an opportunity, we had the momentum,” said Ó Sé.
“Then we left them up the pitch and they got a very easy goal, and that’s a killer blow really. It’s very disappointing for our lads because we put ourselves in a position where I felt we could have pushed on.
“There are a lot of fellas in there who will be on the age next year, and we look forward to working with those fellas. We’ll be scouting the county as well, making sure we have the best panel available for next year. We’re down today, but we’ll lift the heads and come again.”
J Reilly 1-4 (0-2fs, 1tp), C Keogh 2-0, E Lyons 0-3 (1tp), C Cowzer 1-0, G Kelly 0-2(tp), C Doran, P Ryan, L Tennyson (’45) 0-1 each.
C Moynihan 1-2 (1tp), D Keane 0-3(fs), M Ó Sé 1-0, K Fitzgerald (tpf), M Somers (tp) 0-2 each, L MacGearailt, D Murphy, M Corridon, D Lane 0-1 each.
: J Crotty; E Markey, R Crawford, L Mescal; F Lawlor, J Doran, L Shanahan; C Doran, P Ryan; L Tennyson, A Tobin, E Lyons; J Reilly, G Kelly, C Keogh.
: J Flood for Tobin (41), A Bergin for Tennyson (52), F Martin for Lawlor (58), C Cowzer for Reilly (59), G Clare for Keogh (59).
: S Sargent; J Ziober, J Breen, C Clifford; D Murphy, C Stack, M Corridon; M Ó Sé, J Collins; L MacGearailt, D Keane, D Laide; D Lane, F O’Dowd, C O’Donoghue.
: M Somers for Collins, inj (15), S Clifford for Laide (39), C Moynihan for O’Dowd (39), K Fitzgerald for O’Donoghue (49), T Kennelly for Lane (58).
: J Regan (Cork).
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