Burke’s Kildare verdict: ‘Outfought, outhunted, outbattled and outworked’

Roscommon aim to bounce back and sink Cork!

All-Ireland SFC series

(Group 3, Round 3)

Kildare 1-16

Roscommon 1-15

< SEAMUS DUKE

It wasn’t quite GUBU – but a frustrated and annoyed Davy Burke coined his own ‘OOOO’ acronym to describe Roscommon’s below-par performance against Kildare last Sunday which left the Rossies facing an away All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final, rather than a home one.

“Outfought, outhunted, outbattled and outworked” was the Roscommon manager’s assessment of his side’s display. “We just didn’t get off the bus today”.

Since I started going to Roscommon matches many, many moons ago, our senior football team has always struggled when expectations are high, and that failing struck again last Sunday in Tullamore. This time it was Kildare who deservedly took the spoils of victory after a pulsating match that was only settled with the second last kick of the game, a magnificent ‘mark’ from Kevin Feely from almost out on the stand side sideline.

It was a heartbreaking (and very disappointing) defeat, but when Roscommon players, management and supporters look back on the action, there will surely be a consensus that Kildare were the better side and that too many Roscommon players weren’t at their best on the day.

It was unusual to see Roscommon turning over the ball so many times. When good possession was secured, their shooting left a lot to be desired. Some of the 11 wides recorded were very scoreable opportunities. In addition, some of the players declined to take on a shot at the target when in a good position.

This was a very uncharacteristic performance from Roscommon but they will have a chance to put it right against Cork this weekend. It’s just a pity that the team have to travel for an away fixture. They will need to produce a much better display if they are to progress.

Unsurprisingly, Davy Burke was a very frustrated figure at the final whistle.

“It’s very disappointing. We came to win the game and didn’t do it – simple as that. It was very uncharacteristic stuff, wasn’t it? Our shooting efficiency was poor and, defensively we were poor, so a good Kildare side exposed us. There are no excuses”.

Kildare, who were much the better side early on, led Roscommon by 1-4 to 0-2 after 15 minutes. Alex Beirne scored a stunning goal in the 11th minute. Darragh Kirwan did the initial spadework and Kevin Flynn flicked the ball into the path of Beirne who volleyed soccer-style past Conor Carroll. Roscommon were handed a lifeline by Kildare ill-discipline before half-time. Goalscorer

Beirne and Ryan Houlihan both received black cards within four minutes, and Davy Burke’s men took full advantage, scoring 1-4 before the break.

The goal came in the 28th minute when Diarmuid Murtagh played in Roscommon’s best player, Enda Smith, the Boyle man finishing expertly. Points from the two Murtagh brothers and Cian McKeon helped the Rossies into a 1-6 to 1-4 halftime lead.

The second half was a pulsating affair with both sides enjoying periods of dominance. Roscommon kept their noses in front in the third quarter but points from Neil Flynn and Ben McCormack levelled the scores at 1-10 apiece by the 48th minute.

The teams were level five times after that. Enda Smith, Ben O’Carroll and Cian McKeon (mark) were all on target for Roscommon. Then when Ben McCormack and Kevin Feely

(another mark) put Kildare ahead inside the final minute of normal time, it looked like it would be their day. However, another magnificent point from the outstanding Enda Smith levelled the scores in the second minute of injury-time.

There was time for more drama as Daniel Flynn kicked high into the Roscommon full-back line and Kevin Feely effected a magnificent high catch. He put over the resulting ‘mark’ from a very difficult angle to win it for Glenn Ryan’s men.

Over the past few weeks the Kildare management was under pressure after some poor displays, while Roscommon were hot favourites to finish at least second in the group. How quickly fortunes change in football. Now Davy Burke and his players are under pressure and face a very difficult assignment in Cork as they seek to save their season.