1. A landmark night for Kildare football
During Kieran McGeeney’s tenure as Kildare manager, the Lilywhites enjoyed annual trips to the last eight stage between 2008 and 2012. They came within a crossbar of reaching the 2010 All-Ireland decider but despite achieving that progression and consistency, they never managed to land a knockout blow against a heavyweight.
Last night was a landmark win for Kildare over a top six side who had been within seconds of defeating the All-Ireland champions a few weeks ago. It’s an enormously impressive feat by manager Jason Ryan after the turmoil that saw them begin 2015 by being relegated to Division 3 and getting rocked by Dublin.
2. Cork stunned and head for the exit door
We’ve been waiting for a seismic result in the 2015 football summer and Semple Stadium was the setting for it last night. It’s easy to apply hindsight and attribute this loss to Cork’s Munster final hangover. Yet it’s hard to fathom the descent of a team who had produced the verve and intensity that left them a Fionn Fitzgerald wonder kick away from being Munster champions three weeks ago.
Cork last night looked a team that had poured everything into the provincial stage and had nothing left in the locker for the national arena. They started slowly, took the ball into contact too frequently, kicked poorly in to attack and turned over possession too cheaply.
A brief fightback in the closing quarter helped shave the deficit yet on the sideline and on the pitch, Cork were drained of confidence. For the first time since 2004, the county will not be part of the August quarter-final scene. There were echoes of that dispiriting exit 11 years ago against Fermanagh in this latest reversal.
3. Kildare’s young talents come of age
Kildare have been stripped of so many big names from the McGeeney era in recent times through retirement, ruinous injuries and the lure of a professional sporting life in Australia. Jason Ryan has coped and rebuilded while his faith was rewarded last night by their young talents coming of age.
Two prime examples were Niall Kelly and Paul Cribbin. For Kelly trying to stay fit has been a quandary but in full flight last night, he was excellent to watch. He picked off classy points in the first-half and showcased his elusive running style when getting through to smack home a game-changing goal shortly after the break.
Cribbin started well around midfield and once Alan O’Connor was forced off, he began to boss proceedings. A dynamic runner, he also snapped over a pair of points and gave the kind of authoritative display that will make Kildare supporters thankful he came home from AFL life with Collingwood.
4. Player losses see Cork suffer
A Cork team trying to bounce back from the disappointment of Killarney seven days previously needed a good positive start. Instead they saw two of their key on-field leaders both sidelined in the opening 20 minutes.
James Loughrey handled James O’Donoghue capably last Saturday but a black card ended his Thurles night prematurely. Alan O’Connor left in greater distress with a suspected cruciate, a huge personal setback for a self-employed player who had answered his county’s call in a time of need in April.
The loss of that duo hit Cork hard as Kildare wiped them out in midfield and patiently recycled the ball before probing to find forwards free close to goal. Allied to the fact that experienced players like Patrick Kelly and Daniel Goulding spent the night on the bench, Cork’s lack of leadership meant they were in trouble.
5. Kildare take flight in qualifiers again
Kildare’s remarkable ability to rejuvenate themselves on the qualifier stage has been borne out once more in 2015. They trooped off the Croke Park pitch in a downbeat fashion last month after taking a 19-point hiding off Dublin.
But they got the show back on the road against Offaly and then dismissed Longford with ease. Last night was a step up but they rose to the challenge in style.
Suddenly the complexion of their season has changed. They will be underdogs next weekend against Kerry but securing an All-Ireland quarter-final place means 2015 can already be chalked down as a season of progress.
6. Cork’s football future
The nature of this loss throws up plenty questions over Cork’s football future. Brian Cuthbert’s two-year term ended last night, whether there is the appetite for his tenure to continue remains unclear and he opted not to discuss with the waiting media afterwards.
Some of Cork’s players may also call time on their careers, particularly some of the pillars of the triumphant 2010 team. Donncha O’Connor (34) and Patrick Kelly (30) showed in Killarney that they can still pack an attacking punch but both have been hit badly by injuries.
They already have an All-Ireland medal to their name and it’s an uphill task to grab a second one. Alan O’Connor’s year ended in horrible fashion with that first-half knee injury while there’s others who may now question whether to keep going in 2016.
