GAELIC FOOTBALL:KILDARE OR Down? Nobody would have thought that would be a late August conundrum. Who to talk to about this strange coupling in an All-Ireland semi-final? It has to be Paul Grimley. As last year was winding down the Armagh native shook Kieran McGeeney's hand and wished him good luck as he parted ways to work with Monaghan.
That means Grimley has now brought his expertise to Armagh, Cavan, Kildare and Monaghan which has ended in rancour and disappointment.
But for an insight into matters beneath the surface in Kildare, and an Ulster viewpoint on Down’s surprise progress, we sought the highly-respected coach’s opinion.
Grimley, unsurprisingly, favours Kildare having spent two seasons putting them through their paces, but the question that needs asking is which team is best equipped to beat Cork next month? “Kildare for two reasons: they have the size and physicality to combat Cork and they have a good record against Munster teams – although Cork beat them two years ago in the quarter-finals. They were leading comfortably but Kildare got back into the game,” said Grimley.
The best point Grimley made was the cathartic effect teams experience when they finally start winning games they had previously been losing. “I think the biggest single thing with Kildare over the last couple of years, since Kieran’s been involved, is you can see the mental strength coming through and improving all the time, ” he said.
“People might say, well, what does that mean? It is critical because in recent games they have had poor starts. Off the pace for the 15 minutes and it is easy to think they are punching above their weight but they have stuck at it and turned the games around. They have turned their season around really.
“How do you get to an All-Ireland final? Well, first you have to get over the line. I think the fact they got to the Leinster final last year, and put up a good enough performance against Tyrone. All the time they are learning what is required to get to the next stage. Now they are there. You have to be knocking on the door, playing consistently at that level, to break through.”
Down beat Kerry, though. Granted, Tomás Ó Sé and Paul Galvin were suspended but they overran the champions. “Down have never had a problem with Kerry,” said Grimley.
“On Sunday I would say Down will be a wee bit more stressed, there will be more pressure on them to deliver. Who knows how they will react. This is the first time these boys are in an All-Ireland semi-final. The only man who has been in a semi-final is their manager, James. First-time experiences are a big test, dealing with that is as important as the match itself. Tactics are great but look at Dublin last Sunday.
“The Dublin players will have to get used to this over the next 10 months. They will be held up as an example of how not to close out a game. With five minutes to go Dublin were in an All-Ireland final. They probably believed themselves they were in the final. But panic set in and they gave away three, four silly frees. The next thing they are not in the All-Ireland final. A lot of it is about composure. When you have the ball, keeping the ball. When you don’t have the ball, being organised and not panicking, not giving away silly frees because in the matches that are tight free-kicks will win them.”
