KILDARE SCORED AN emphatic victory over Laois in the Leinster SFC over the weekend, and their performance appears to have captured the imagination of GAA pundit Pat Spillane.
The Kerry great has been impressed by their application which has brought them to the semi-final stages of the Leinster championship, and likens their style of play to that of his home county.
Kildare manager Cian O’Neill won an All-Ireland with the Kingdom in 2014 as the team trainer, which is where Spillane has identified the link between the two counties.
Speaking on RTE’s The Sunday Game last night, Spillane pointed to some of Kildare’s attributes which remind him of Kerry’s approach to playing football:
“I remember someone asking me last year, “if you were ever to be a county manager — outside of the top three or four teams, which county in Ireland would you love to manage?”
“I’d love to manage Kildare. I think they have great athleticism, great pace and great physique but what they really have is brilliant forwards.
He added:
“Cian O’Neill was down in Kerry for a couple of years. He has them playing a Kerry-style of football — attacking-wise, kicking the ball, first time ball. They were absolutely superb again today.
“They’re promoted to Division 1 and I’m really looking forward to themselves and Meath (in the Leinster semi-final) which should be a high-scoring shootout.
“They both gave us two excellent performances today.”
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