THE GODS had a little fun at Croke Park yesterday but it didn't extend to the spectators. The rain had held off throughout the Nicky Rackard Cup only to come down in buckets just as Sligo captain Damien Burke lifted the cup.
As a result, Kildare and Fermanagh struggled to keep their feet on the greasy surface and by the 10th minute Fermanagh's wide tally had reached double figures. Throw in John Doyle's penalty miss, and the fact that it would be a full 25 minutes before we witnessed the first score, and you can understand the frustration of the two managers.
"I would have to be honest, and both sets of players would be the first to admit it, and say the first half was poor," said Kildare boss Kieran McGeeney in his first big game at headquarters as a manager. "In terms of the shooting, Fermanagh had 10 wides, we had five, three shots hit the post, four dropped short and then there was the missed penalty. So overall I wouldn't have been happy.
"But as a manager I'm happy with the result and the football we played in the second half.
"There was a probably a wee bit of nerves in the camp, we haven't been this far in the competition for a long time and the build-up to the game was more than we are used to.
"And in fairness to Fermanagh they put you under pressure when you go to shoot and they are getting the tackles in.
"But it just wasn't to be their day. Maybe if they had put over two or three early points we might have had a different game."
As for Fermanagh, the niggling suspicion that the defeat to Armagh six days previously would take its toll came to fruition with four of the starting six forwards replaced by the end of the game.
"Maybe there was a bit of stuff lingering from last week and the replay with Armagh certainly took a lot out of everyone up here. Everyone knows what an Ulster title meant to the county, we hadn't won one in 26 years," said Fermanagh manager Malachy O'Rourke.
"We had worked hard on our shooting but we were a wee bit rushed early on and then a bit of panic set in but those things happen.
"It's a tough learning experience but hopefully we can come back stronger next year."
