Nowlan Park, home of the Kilkenny Cats is the unlikely venue for Saturday’s Round 2 All-Ireland Football Series (Group 3) — a home game for The Lilies but due to the redevelopment of the newly named Cedral St Conleth’s Park, this, we are told, is the preferred choice of stadium for the game.
Nowlan Park.
The mind rambles back to the last time The Lilies lined out at senior level in one of the iconic hurling venues in the country.
The year?
2002.
The occasion?
Leinster SFC semi-final (replay).
A game Kildare won, after extra-time, by a single point (3-9 to 1-14) in somewhat controversial circumstances, The Faithful County having been reduced to 14 after Sean Grennan was sent off as early as the 22 minute of the opening half.
Kildare were managed that day by Mick O’Dwyer, while Padraig Nolan was in charge of Offaly.
That same day Ireland played Spain in the World Cup with a place in the quarter-final up for grabs, a game Spain advanced 3-2 after a penalty shoot-out, the game having ended 1-1 with Robbie Keane on the mark for Ireland.
But back in Nowlan Park 2002 as Kildare advanced to the final and a date with Saturday’s opponents Dublin.
Among the Kildare team (see full line-out below) that day were Glenn Ryan (sub), Anthony Rainbow, Johnny Doyle, Dermot Earley and Brian Lacey.
Glenn as manager; Doyle, Rainbow and Earley making up the management ‘dream team’ while Lacey’s main role is on the stats side of affairs these days.
Incidentally Offaly’s Ciaran McManus received the RTÉ Man of the Match Award that evening, an inscribed glass ball. Walking into the dressing room area behind McManus after the presentation the Offaly midfielder nearly took the hinges off the door banging it so hard, quickly followed by a noise similar to a glass ball hitting the end wall of the dressing room!
I smiled … and kept walking.
But back to today and so much has changed since that day, now 21 years on, nothing more so than the game of football.
Not alone has the format of the championship changed, but so too has the style of play, that is if ‘style’ is the appropriate description that goes for football in 2023.
For every decent game played these days we now get a multitude of forgettable clashes.
Kildare’s last outing, two weeks ago, against Sligo, being a case in point.
No need to regurgitate all that happened that day, suffice to say that a major improvement will be required if The Lilies are to get anything out of Saturday’s latest clash.
It is only a few short weeks ago these sides met in Croker, a game few in Lilywhiteland expected to win. But in fairness, it turned out a game Kildare left behind and while there were just two points separating them in the end, really it was an opportunity lost by The Lilies.
Dublin opened their All-Ireland Series 2023 last weekend against Roscommon, a game that ended in a draw and one that either side could so easily have won.
So what does that mean for Kildare?
Well it certainly shows that Dublin are far from invincible, while also emphasising that Roscommon are no mean team either under Davy Burke.
The Rossies dominated the opening half, holding possession for long periods, frustrating The Dubs as the game went on.
Why Dublin sat back in that opening half was hard to fathom and while they pushed up in the second half, got the vital goal (from a turn-over) but then allowed Roscommon back in it again.
Will Kildare learn from that?
Hopefully, they should but last Sunday’s draw, and Kildare and Sligo’s draw the previous week certainly adds intrigue to this Group and how it will eventually pan out.
A number of the Kildare U20s have joined the Kildare squad and while it would be a big, big ask of any of them if they were to see action on Saturday, nevertheless it is good to see them in the squad.
Over the past number of weeks we have used the word ‘vital’ on many occasions, in both hurling and football when describing what is at stake.
Over used, on occasions probably but Saturday is certainly a vital one. At the end of the day in this group, scoring difference will surely decided who progresses and whose season ends — and all that entails —with three teams progressing.
Kildare would have been in the driving seat had they got over Sligo but that is now water under the bridge.
Big ask on Saturday?
Being realistic, if you can’t beat Sligo, can you expect to beat Dublin?
The honest answer is no.
But then again Kildare have shown as recently as the last time these sides met, that they are more than capable of competing with Dessie Farrell’s side.
However it will take a monumental improvement from two weeks ago if anything is to be achieved but with The Lilies topsy-turvey form of 2023, nothing can be ruled in — or out.
Which Kildare side will turn up on Saturday?
Who knows.
But if the right one emerges, the one we all want to turn up, then who knows, Nowlan Park might yet prove to be a happy hunting ground just like it was back in 2002.
Kildare team v Offaly, Leinster SFC semi-final (replay) Nowlan Park, Kilkenny 2002:
Enda Murphy; Brian Lacey, Padraig Mullarkey, Ken Doyle; Tom Harris, Damian Hendy, Anthony Rainbow; Killian Brennan, Dermot Earley 1-0; Eddie McCormack 1-1, Johnny Doyle 0-3 (3 frees), Ronan Sweeney 1-1; Padraig Brennan, Martin Lynch 0-1, Tadhg Fennin 0-2. Subs: Ronan Quinn for Mullarkey (28), Karl O’Dwyer for K Brennan (h-t), Glenn Ryan for Harris (47), Pauric Hurley for P Brennan (48), Kenny Duane for McCormack (64), Patrick Murray 0-1 for Quinn (71), Derek McCormack for Hurley (90).