Kildare-Offaly was not on the TV but Brendan Coffey (@coffeybrendan on Twitter) of the Kildare Nationalist very kindly forwarded the stats from the game. So as a precursor to the Kildare-Dublin game please find the first “guest post” here on the blog
Overall
| Team | Possessions | Shots | Shot Rate | Scores | Success Rate |
| Kildare | 41 | 33 | 80% | 19 | 58% |
| Offaly | 34 | 25 | 74% | 13 | 52% |
| 2012 avg | 35.28 | 27.02 | 76.6% | 13.96 | 51.67% |
With ten minutes to go Kildare were cruising, eight points clear and their focus switched to a Leinster semi-final. Then they gifted Offaly 1-2 – the goal from a penalty as well as a point from a free – and suddenly Offaly were within striking distance.
It was a worrying slip for Kildare. They allowed Offaly to get a shot away on each of their last five attacks. That took Offaly’s shot rate up from 68% to 74% while their success rate improved slightly from 50% to 52%.
Kildare’s dominance is evident by the 41 attacks they mounted during the game while their strength at midfield gave them a stranglehold on the game from the very beginning.
Shots from Play
| Team | Shots | Scores | Success Rate |
| Kildare | 26 | 15 | 58% |
| Offaly | 17 | 8 | 47% |
| 2012 team avgs | 20.14 | 9.36 | 46.5% |
Although both sides were above average from play, Kildare will be unhappy with their return. Seanie Johnston’s second half cameo didn’t do much to help them as he kicked three wides from play – all of them from very close range.
Kildare struggled when Offaly isolated Niall McNamee up front – who scored some sublime points from play – but when Offaly were slow in their build-up play, it allowed Kildare time to get numbers back and make it difficult for them to even create a shooting chance. On the plus side for Kildare, they had a good spread of scorers and the three half-forwards contributed 0-12 from play. Eoghan O’Flaherty and Paul Cribbin were both four from five while Niall Kelly hit four from six. Combined their return from play was 75% – the kind of return we’re not used to seeing from Kildare.
Although Offaly scored the only goal of the game, Kildare created the best goal chances. Alan Mulhall made an excellent stop from Eoghan O’Flaherty in the first half and he spread himself well to deny Tomas O’Connor in the second. O’Connor’s display will be a big worry for Kildare though. His handling was poor and as well as missing the two shots on goal that he had, he looked uncomfortable taking them. O’Connor needs a support player off his shoulder and as the game wore on he the confidence just seemed to seep out of him. At one stage he gave a hand-pass to the in-rushing Fionn Dowling which almost clocked Dowling in the face.
As they prepare for Dublin – and the attacking onslaught they’ll face – Kildare will need better concentration at the back and more penetration up front. Against the in-form team of 2013, they’ll have their work cut out.
Shots from deadballs
| Player | Shots | Scores | Success Rate |
| J Doyle (Kildare) | 6 | 4 | 67% |
| K Casey (Offaly) | 4 | 3 | 75% |
| A Mulhall (Offaly) | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| B Carroll (Offaly) | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| D Holden (Offaly) | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| J Brickland (Offaly) | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2012 team avgs | 6.88 | 4.6 | 66.9% |
Kickouts
Offaly were content to kick the ball long on all but four occasions in the game but they probably accepted beforehand that it was better to lose possession there than risk anything closer to goal. Kildare’s midfield pairing of Daniel and Daryl Flynn really went to town on the Offaly kickout, winning more than half (13 of 24) of the ball Alan Mulhall kicked there.
Kildare had a much more varied approach on their own kickout as Mark Donnellan went short eight times while Kildare won the vast majority (74%) of their own ball (14 of 19). However the Lilies struggled to convert all that possession into scores. While they were adept at creating chances going forward from midfield – of the 14 kickouts they won from Donnellan, 9 led to shots on goal – they managed just four points from all that primary possession.
Players with >= 2 shots from play
| Shots | Scores | Success Rate | |
| N Kelly (Kildare) | 6 | 4 | 67% |
| P Cribben (Kildare) | 5 | 4 | 80% |
| E O’Flaherty (Kildare) | 5 | 4 | 80% |
| N McNamee (Offaly) | 5 | 4 | 80% |
| S Johnston (Kildare) | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| K Casey (Offaly) | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| J Doyle (Kildare) | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| A McNamee (Offaly) | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| T O’Connor (Kildare) | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| P Cunningham (Offaly) | 2 | 0 | 0% |
dontfoul 