Kildare didn’t give a damn about the Fermanagh blanket.
They cut straight through it, they ripped it up and now they’re coasting towards the Super 8s.
Oh how things have changed for Kildare football. Less than one month ago, Cian O’Neill was skating on thin ice after his side had been trounced out of Leinster by Carlow.
After 12 defeats on the bounce, the county were forced into some soul-searching. They’ve evidently found the goods they craved and now Cian O’Neill is the county’s saviour.
After successive gritty defeats of Derry and Longford respectively, they didn’t let the Newbridge or Nowhere saga overshadow their third round clash with Mayo where they showed tremendous passion and composure to topple the perennial contenders in front of a giddy Newbridge crowd.
On Saturday, they resumed business as usual.
In truth, it was all too easy for Cian O’Neill’s Lilywhites in Tailteann Park.
Kildare had a lot to prove coming into this one. They had to show that last weekend’s triumph wasn’t just powered by emotion and that they had a plan ‘B’ to unlock the screened defence that defeated them earlier in the year.
They passed that test with flying colours.
They’re headed to the Super 8s now and they’ll have plenty of confidence behind them when that comes around. In truth, the men in white were never tested in a game where Fermanagh played into their opponents hands with their rigid, one-dimensional system.
Fermanagh were shooting themselves in the foot from the word go by not pushing up on Mark Donnellan’s kick outs and by virtue of that, they effectively gifted Kildare a free-pass to possession from every single one of their restarts.
They then retreated and beckoned Kildare forward onto them. The Leinster men didn’t need a second invitation as they showed up the limitations of these defensive systems with a powerful display of direct running and refined, accurate long-range shooting.
Check out the half-time highlights between Fermanagh and Kildare here! pic.twitter.com/WNJ0L3a4u0
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 7, 2018
Keith and Paul Cribbin kicked a few early settlers before big Daniel Flynn showed his power and panache to net a beautiful early goal. The depressing reality was that, given Fermanagh’s reluctance to attack, this game appeared dead in the water as early as then, the tenth minute, when they held a 1-4 to 0-2 lead.
Kildare kept their foot on the throttle and it was all too easy for them to do that. They were afforded all too much time and space in the middle as Kevin Feely, the Cribbins and Paddy Brophy picked their way past the Erne men.
Once the ball came in the way of Neil and Daniel Flynn’s way on the inside line, the Ulster goose was cooked.
Indeed, this second half Neil Flynn goal summed the game up. Kildare attacking in numbers, Fermanagh with no answer, Flynn finished it well.
Fantastic team play by Kildare, resulting in a Neill Flynn goal! pic.twitter.com/pjQpRkzNJ9
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 7, 2018
They went on to win by nine, on a scoreline of 3-20 to 0-17. In truth, it could have been so much more.
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