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18 Nov 2025
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18 Nov 2025
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David Hyland of Athy during the AIB Leinster GAA Football Senior Club Championship quarter-final match between Athy and Summerhill at Cedral St Conleth's Park, Photo by Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile
Not for the first time this season Athy team captain, David Hyland, had a big smile on his feasóg, having led from the front as he, along with his county compatriot, Kevin Feely, took charge of proceedings around the middle of the field, especially in the second half, in this Leinster Club SFC Quarter-Final.
“We changed tactics a bit at half-time, tackled really hard up top in numbers and we got a good few turn-over.
David admitted that they were happy to go in half-time a point ahead, after being under considerable pressure at times, especially in the opening quarter.
“We were very happy to go in a point up, big time, but believe it or not there was a fair bit of a wind there and that probably reflected that they (Summerhill) only scored one point in the second half, the dead ball is kinda dying in air but they certainly tackled hard but that is something we expected and something we knew they would do, they are a good structured team, they tackle, they get numbers around the ball, get breaks and have a couple of lively forwards.”
The county man said that if you look at any of those games, those Leinster championship games “the opening twenty minutes or so is very cagey, they got four or five points in that purple patch and that is probably good going in the grand scheme of things but we stuck with it and came good in the second half.”
And now a semi-final to look forward to?
“Brilliant, really excited, you see the amount of people here on the pitch after the game, they are all getting a great kick out of it and it is making the winter shorter for them so, great, really excited and long may it continue.”
A very happy Athy captain added “look we will enjoy tonight, have a few pints and then begin preparation on Tuesday night for the next challenge.”
That will see Kildare take on Portarlington of Laois, on Saturday 29 November, in Cedral St Conleth's Park, Newbridge, a game timed for a 2pm throw-in.
READ NEXT: Kildare champions Athy march on in Leinster after Summerhill win
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