LEINSTER SF FIRST ROUND/Kildare 0-12 Louth 0-11: While Louth manager Pat Carr had legitimate reason for feeling hard done by because of the referee's sounding of the final whistle just when an equalising point seemed imminent at Navan yesterday, Kildare corner back Brian Lacey had most reason to feel hurt. He sustained a head wound from an umbrella flung at him from the stand as the teams left the pitch.
Afterwards the player was interviewed by gardaí, but the real talking point after a roller-coaster match concerned the appallingly wayward scoring attempts by the Louth attack. They chalked up a damaging total of 20 wides, seven in the first half and 13 in the second.
Charlie McCreevy was among the Kildare supporters to feel relief at their big let-off. Containment had become a serious priority for Mick O'Dwyer's team as Louth took control in the second half. The opportunities to build victory flowed for the revitalised Louth men, but they frustrated themselves and only contrived to prove that possession alone does not win matches.
The reality was Kildare were at Louth's mercy for most of that second half. Mick O'Dwyer heard the wake-up call and after introducing Dermot Earley, continued to spring old reliables off the bench. Glen Ryan and Padraig Brennan were summoned to the cause; but Louth's territorial advantages were overwhelming. The concern among Kildare supporters in the 9,000 crowd was duly reflected when Earley was greeted with the loudest cheer of the day.
It took a sensational save on the line by Enda Murphy from the menacing Mark Stanfield to keep the Louth tidal wave at bay. Louth, in fact, created the only two goal chances in the game - and missed both. A worthy shot by Martin Farrelly, the Louth captain, was somehow taken off the line in the first half by Lacey.
O'Dwyer tried to put on a brave face afterwards, saying: "I always felt we were going to win, even when they got on level terms with us in the closing minutes."
The match had only begun to flow against Kildare in the second half after they had produced a composed and at times very slick first-half display to lead by 0-8 to 0-6 at half-time.
But a number of astute positional switches in the Louth attack, the magnificent half-back play of Peter McGinnity and John Neary, together with the improved midfield influence of Ken Reilly and Martin Farrelly, led to a flood of opportunities for the off-song Louth forwards.
Veteran Seamus O'Hanlon was introduced into the Louth attack to effect. The Kildare defence, so calm early on, were suddenly forced into error but Christy Grimes, Ollie McDonnell and Mark Stanfield obliged the Kildare cover when failing to produce accuracy at vital times.
Twice in the third quarter, Kildare snatched four-point leads, but the Louth challenge would not go away. The pressure exerted on the Kildare backs grew more acute, but Louth's erratic shooting continued to frustrate.
Even after Padraig Brennan had darted in from the right to restore Kildare's lead with a last-gasp winner, Louth opportunities went abegging.
In the event, perhaps manager Pat Carr should not feel too strongly about Galway referee Des Joyce's timing of the final whistle. What had gone before suggested to many that Louth would not have achieved the equaliser in a month of Sundays.
"As long as I am watching football, I never saw a ref blow for full time with a team clearly in a scoring situation," he said.
HOW THEY LINED OUT
KILDARE: 1 E Murphy; 2 B Lacey, 3 P Mullarkey, 4 K Doyle; 5 T Harris, 6 D Hendy, 7 A Rainbow; 8 K Brennan, 9 R Sweeney; 10 D McCormack, 11 K O'Dwyer, 12 J Doyle; 13 T Fennin, 14 M Lynch, 15 S McKenzie-Smith. Subs: E McCormack for D McCormack (half time); D Earley for Sweeney (44 mins); P Brennan for Doyle (65); G Ryan for Harris (68). Booked: K Brennan, D McCormack, K Doyle.
LOUTH: 1 S Reynolds; 2 A Page, 3 A Hoey, 4 D Brennan; 5 S Gerrard, 6 P McGinnity, 7 J Neary; 8 K Reilly, 9 M Farrelly; 24 D Reilly, 11 C Grimes, 12 M Stanfield; 13 O McDonnell, 14 C O'Hanlon, 15 J P Rooney. Sub: S O'Hanlon for C O'Hanlon (44 mins). Booked: S O'Hanlon, M Farrelly.
