KILDARE LOOKED LIKE a team on an upward trajectory for a long part of 2017, but their season has come crashing down with consecutive defeats at Croke Park.
“Underwhelming,” is how Lilywhites boss Cian O’Neill described their campaign after they went down to Armagh in Round 4B of the qualifiers tonight.
After a season that promised so much, Kildare will be dismayed at their failure to make it to the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland series.
Having securing promotion back to Division 1 and performing credibly against Dublin in the Leinster final, they were eager to prove they belong in the top eight.
“Division 2 promotion was really fantastic for the group,” said a crestfallen O’Neill. “They performed at a consistent level over a 10 or 11 week period. But when it came to the league final we under-performed.
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“We had some great performances against Laois and Meath, then got to a Leinster final against obviously a top team – and we were disappointed that day as well.
“Then you get to this stage and it’s a match we felt we could have won – in many ways should have won – but unfortunately we didn’t. We’ll take the promotion and we’re proud of that but everyone will be disappointed.
Oisin Keniry / INPHO
Oisin Keniry / INPHO / INPHO
“We don’t care about promotion when you’re in the season. We didn’t finish the season where we wanted which was minimum, a quarter-final.”
Defeats to Clare (in the 2016 Division 3 final), Westmeath (in the 2016 Leinster semi-final), Galway (in this year’s Division 2 final), Dublin and Armagh at Croke Park means Kildare’s record at HQ under O’Neill stands at 1-5.
Their Leinster quarter-final win over Wexford in May 2016 remains their sole success at Croke Park under O’Neill.
As a county they’ve underperformed there in recent times, having won just six of their previous 21 league and championship games in the Dublin venue.
“There’s an obvious trend that can’t be denied but if you look at the matches we’ve lost, one was a league final where you’re playing a team of equal ability who will be in Division 1 next year
“One was a Leinster final – I’m just speaking of this year, where you’re playing the best team in the country of recent years. And then today, which will really rankle with us.
“We felt we were in a good space coming into it. What happened two or three years ago is irrelevant, because this is a totally new group, totally new system.
“Last year was a very, very young and inexperienced team. We had a disappointing defeat against Westmeath, another game we felt we could have won. But I don’t think it’s a Croke Park thing – that’s a faulty logic. We didn’t perform when it mattered most.”
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'We didn’t perform when it mattered most' - devastated Kildare boss Cian O'Neill
KILDARE LOOKED LIKE a team on an upward trajectory for a long part of 2017, but their season has come crashing down with consecutive defeats at Croke Park.
“Underwhelming,” is how Lilywhites boss Cian O’Neill described their campaign after they went down to Armagh in Round 4B of the qualifiers tonight.
After a season that promised so much, Kildare will be dismayed at their failure to make it to the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland series.
Having securing promotion back to Division 1 and performing credibly against Dublin in the Leinster final, they were eager to prove they belong in the top eight.
“Division 2 promotion was really fantastic for the group,” said a crestfallen O’Neill. “They performed at a consistent level over a 10 or 11 week period. But when it came to the league final we under-performed.
“We had some great performances against Laois and Meath, then got to a Leinster final against obviously a top team – and we were disappointed that day as well.
“We don’t care about promotion when you’re in the season. We didn’t finish the season where we wanted which was minimum, a quarter-final.”
Defeats to Clare (in the 2016 Division 3 final), Westmeath (in the 2016 Leinster semi-final), Galway (in this year’s Division 2 final), Dublin and Armagh at Croke Park means Kildare’s record at HQ under O’Neill stands at 1-5.
Their Leinster quarter-final win over Wexford in May 2016 remains their sole success at Croke Park under O’Neill.
As a county they’ve underperformed there in recent times, having won just six of their previous 21 league and championship games in the Dublin venue.
“There’s an obvious trend that can’t be denied but if you look at the matches we’ve lost, one was a league final where you’re playing a team of equal ability who will be in Division 1 next year
“One was a Leinster final – I’m just speaking of this year, where you’re playing the best team in the country of recent years. And then today, which will really rankle with us.
“Last year was a very, very young and inexperienced team. We had a disappointing defeat against Westmeath, another game we felt we could have won. But I don’t think it’s a Croke Park thing – that’s a faulty logic. We didn’t perform when it mattered most.”
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All-Ireland SFC Cian O'Neill poor record Kildare