KILDARE MANAGER JASON Ryan has admitted that yesterday’s extra-time defeat to Monaghan in Croke Park will be a bitter pill to swallow.
Ulster football finalists Monaghan came into the game as favourites, but Ryan pointed out that an underdog status only served to motivate his side for what proved to be a wet evening in Dublin.
The fact that Kildare’s preparation had been excellent only meant a more acute disappointment after the 2-16 to 2-14 loss.
“Yeah, it’s very hard to take,” said Ryan afterwards. “The players worked diligently and the backroom team worked diligently over the [last] two weeks.
We realised that we’d be written off going into this game and we were determined to be competitive regardless of what happened or which of the Monaghan players were going to perform or how Monaghan would play after the Donegal game.
“I was very impressed with Donegal in the Ulster final but I was also [impressed] with so many aspects of what Monaghan did and realised that on the day a bit of luck deserted them at different stages.”
Ryan pointed out that Monaghan’s long wait for a win in Croke Park added to the Ulster side’s motivation, but maintained that his Kildare team had the late chances “to get over the line” in regulation time.
After losing out in a game as thrilling as yesterday’s, the task of speaking to the players in the dressing room must have proved a difficult one?
“I might have said certain things, but whether they’re able to listen or not is another thing,” revealed Ryan. “When you lose in a game like that and it’s the end of your season, it’s hard to know.
The big thing was thanking them for their efforts. You’ve got to thank players. In this country, players playing an amateur sport deserve huge credit. They love playing the games but at the end of the day they are putting on a show for the people in their county and do everything they can to make them proud.
“Some weeks they go out and get accused of this not being right and that not being right. There’s no player for any county team who goes out not to perform.
“I’m a very, very lucky man to be working with an inter-county team and a very, very lucky man to be working with Kildare, with the quality players we have. So, the big thing was to thank them for their efforts.”
