MOORE MAKING MOST OF CLUB RUN
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MOOREFIELD’S presence in this Sunday’s Leinster final serves as yet another reminder that a county’s loss tends to be a club’s gain.
The age-old honour of having one of its number wear the county shirt holds true, but at a time where the club tends to get squeezed by its inter-county master it has also become diluted.
Moorefield have seen their number of county players go from nine in 2016 to zero this year, a statistic all the more staggering given that Kildare manager Cian O’Neill is a club member.
Team captain Daryl Flynn is one of that missing nine, having called time on his 13-year county career 12 months ago and he concedes that having total access to their players helped Moorefield regain their Kildare crown.
‘Yeah it probably does help,’ admits Flynn.
‘Last year we had nine in with the county, and we were beaten in the final.
‘It helps that we’ve had a full squad, we’ve had 30 lads training all year since January right up to now. Next year, it might be different with the county, but we’ll worry about that then.’
That seems a given, with a number of the Moorefield team expected to be drafted into the Kildare panel when the club’s interest in this year’s club championship concludes.
At the top of that county wishlist is likely to be former Kerry minor star Éanna O’Connor — son of three-time All-Ireland winning Kingdom winning boss Jack — whose form has been key in securing a final date with St Loman’s.
O’ Connor kicked 1-5 — 1-3 from play — in Moorefield’s one-point squeeze over Portlaoise and followed that up with eight points in his team’s semi-final win over Rathnew.
He was included in Kildare’s extended panel this year but did not make the Championship cut, yet Flynn is convinced that his team-mate has what it takes to play at the very highest level.
‘He’s improving all the time. He’s a fascinating footballer to watch and he’s taking to the frees like a duck to water. ‘He’s been playing well for us, scoring all year from play and frees and he’s a great man even for getting some of the younger lads into the game as well,’ said Flynn.
Above all, it is O’Connor’s mental strength which has impressed, not least last time out when his older brother, Cian, was shown a straight red card against Rathnew.
‘After Cian got sent off and after watching his brother walk to the line, his next play was a ‘45.
‘When I was sent off in the county final, the next play again was also a ’45 and he kicked both of them, even with the pressure on him. They were vital scores for us,’ insists Flynn.
If that underlines O’Connor’s strength of character, it also reveals a disciplinary flaw in his team.
Their county final victory over Celbridge was achieved despite losing two players in the first half — David Whyte along with Flynn both seeing straight red.
Flynn, though, prefers to dwell on the positives and points to how the club defied the odds to win both the final and, when hit by that double suspension as a result, refused to bow in the Leinster quarter-final against Portlaoise.
‘With ten minutes to go we were three points down against Portlaoise, David and I were in the stands and Ronan Sweeney, Eddie Heavey and Adam Tyrrell, three of our more experienced forwards, were all substituted.
‘So they were off the field and we were three points down in a Leinster semi-final against Portlaoise away but the younger lads really stepped up to the plate. Lads came in, stood up to be counted, and drove on.’
And it is that hard-nosed ruthless edge which Flynn hopes will provide the team with the cutting edge that has all not always been there in the past.
This is their fifth time representing Kildare in Leinster since making the breakthrough to win the provincial title in 2006, yet it is their first time back in the final.
‘It’s 11 years now since we got to a Leinster final and for the teams we’ve had, it’s a poor show from us. We’ve had to really knuckle down this year and we came under the radar a bit.
‘I don’t think we’re favourites, it’s 50-50. Loman’s have a great side as well. They came from seven points down in the Leinster semi-final, and it’s a great achievement.
‘In their county final as well, they were down; they seem to start slow and kick on. We’re possibly the opposite, we get goals early and start well but then let teams back into it so it’ll be a close game.’