All-Whites lose out to Metropolitans in rousing game<\/p>\n
The excitement for fans of GAA ramps up at this time of year as the All-Ireland championships approach the semi-final stage. Fifty years ago, in August, 1960, this seasonal pattern held true with much coverage of GAA in Kildare and its adjoining counties. Although Kildare were out of the 1960 Championship stakes they were still playing competitive games right into August through such competitions as the Byrne Cup. The Leinster Leader\u2019s coverage was as extensive and as supportive of the Lilywhites as if they had been heading for an All-Ireland semi-final. Although in the O\u2019Byrne cup game reported Kildare lost to Dublin by 1-10 to 1-6, the Leader\u2019s sportswriter was enthusiastic about the loser\u2019s performance stating that it \u2018certainly was a rousing game\u2019 and those in charge of Kildare could be well satisfied.<\/p>\n
To digress for a moment, the Kildare team is referred to in August 1960 as the \u2018All Whites\u2019 and not as the \u2018Lilywhites.\u2019\u00a0 It would be an interesting study to establish when the term \u2018Lilywhites\u2019 supplanted \u2018All Whites\u2019 as the catch word for the Kildare team.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the game the Leader reporter referred to individual player\u2019s performances. He said that \u2018Curtis played a good game, the best he has ever played up to the present.\u2019 In similar vein he remarked that the other members of the back-line, Flood and McCarthy, were safe also. However he chastised them over the nature in which the conceded the Dublin goal pointing out that \u2018The goal came as a result of slapping down the ball, a habit that should not be indulged by the defence lines.\u2019 Next to come under his scrutiny was the half-back line: \u2018Carolan has greatly improved and seems to have overcome the handicap of an injured ankle.\u2019\u00a0 The Leader reporter went on to say that Coughlan fitted in well at left-back and was a back not a forward. Jim Connolly, a recruit, could do better with further trial. The centre pair, Maguire and P. Moore, was praised for holding the upper-hand and gave the forwards plenty of ball, especially in the last fifteen minutes when Kildare could have pulled the game out of the fire.\u00a0 Of the forwards Aldridge, Cummins and O\u2019Malley were hard workers.<\/p>\n
As regards the flow of the game proper, Dublin took their chances every time and mounted up the scores. They were well held during the first half and it looked rosy for Kildare when they were forward by a point. Kildare however, seemed bottled-up when they got near the Dublin and two goal chances went abegging by slow thinking and acting.<\/p>\n
The weather conditions on the day helped neither side. It was so wet on that Sunday in August that even the characteristics of the match ball were affected: \u2018The rain seldom ceased with the results that the ball towards the end became utterly unreliable.\u2019 While the Leader commentator agreed that each player \u2018did his best under the circumstances\u2019 he went on to highlight aspects of team selection and performance which would not be strange in modern sports analysis. He felt that the team management changed players too often which gave the players no chance of developing \u2018combination\u2019, a word\u00a0 used in early sports-writing to indicate team play and cohesion.\u00a0 He identified another bad habit on the part of the Kildare players which was their frequent practice, when awarded a free, to attempt to go for a goal.\u00a0 He pronounced that \u2018a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush\u2019 and advised the Kildare forwards that the \u2018securing of a goal is often problematical but a fairly accurate player should be able to secure a point when suitably placed.\u2019 However all told the Kildare performance was commendable and, presumably on the basis of a visit to the victor\u2019s dressing room, the Leader man claimed that the match winners, Dublin, had conceded that Kildare was the better team. How even the must chivalrous winner could come to that conclusion with a four point margin between teams is something of a mystery. Such questions aside, he maintained that the praise from the Metropolitans must be deserved and this praise was lavished on the \u2018All Whites\u2019 for their great display on that Sunday in August, fifty years ago.\u00a0 Series no: 188.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Liam Kenny in his column ‘Nothing New Under the Sun’ from the Leinster Leader of 5th August 2010 reflects on when the term \u2018Lilywhites\u2019 supplanted \u2018All Whites\u2019 as the catch word for the Kildare team. Our thanks to Liam. \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Liam Kenny in his column ‘Nothing New Under the Sun’ from the Leinster Leader of 5th August 2010 reflects on when the term ‘Lilywhites’ supplanted ‘All Whites’ as the catch word for the Kildare team. Our thanks to Liam.
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
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