By Daragh Ó Conchúir
Kildare's Alan Smith says that Kildare will be treating their final Allianz Football League tie against Galway in Tuam as an All-Ireland final, as they bid to complete a notable rescue from relegation to Division 3.
The Lilywhites were propping up the Division 2 table with just two points before last Saturday night’s clash with neighbours Laois at O’Moore Park.
They are still bottom despite the dramatic win snatched by Emmet Bolton’s 70th minute goal but a defeat would have sealed their fate and now Galway, Laois and Westmeath are also in danger.
Jason Ryan’s men could win and still go down but the odds would suggest that victory would be enough to secure their second-tier status.
“Galway started off the League well and they’re back in the relegation battle with us” says Smith. “Three years ago, the two of us were fighting to go up. Now we’re fighting to stay in the division.
“We talked about two All-Ireland finals. We got a massive win against Laois but if we lose [today] that will be for nothing. It’s a massive game and we’ll have to go down to Galway with the same bite and hopefully get the win.”
“After (losing to Roscommon), going back to Hawkfield for food, there was no-one talking. There were players’ meetings and you’re getting sick of having those meetings after losing.
“It’s all about winning. When you’re winning, there’s a good buzz, good craic in the bus on the way back but we’re focussed on the next game and it’s all about Galway.”
Smith was hugely impressive last week in what was his first start of the season as he built up his fitness following a hip operation last October. He admitted that it had been frustrating sitting on the sidelines and that he was itching to get back into action.
“It was great to get back on the field. I knew I had to get the operation after last year’s championship. I struggled coming into the summer last year, I knew it had to be done.
“On a personal level, I worked hard the last few months and thought I was going well in training the last few weeks. I was happy with the performance against Laois and hopefully I can do the same against Galway.”
The Sarsfields sharpshooter, who was an All Star nominee as Kildare reached the All-Ireland semi-final in 2010, was delighted that the Lilies managed to respond well to Laois’ second-half flurry.
“We probably struggled the last couple of games coming out in the second half but (against Laois) we were winning every breaking ball, winning ball inside and scoring and went 10-5 up.
“They hit a purple patch then but we showed great character in the end with Emmet coming up. We held onto the ball really well, we didn’t panic and waited for runners off the shoulder. And Emmet, as he’s done so many times, got us out of jail.
“It’s something we haven’t been doing in the last couple of games when teams went ahead. We dropped the head and rolled over basically. We talked about that over the last few weeks, that we had to show a bit more fight.
“The last couple of minutes was brilliant. In the second half we dominated, we let them back in it but we didn’t drop the heads.
“We finished the game very strongly. People had questioned our fitness but our fitness was tremendous at the end.
“Training is going very well. We don’t think we’re playing too bad although a couple of performances weren’t up to scratch. The first two games we were ahead and left slip which was disappointing. We were probably lacking a bit of confidence the games after but we kept the head up.
“It was a massive game. We’re obviously not safe yet but Laois would love to have knocked us down. You could sense it even in the warm-up, there was a real bite and determination there.”
