No decision yet on U20 quarter-final after match abandoned

Westmeath and Kildare must await Leinster Council decision

Westmeath U20 football manager Kenny McKinley insists his side must keep home advantage for the re-fixture of the Leinster quarter-final clash against Kildare.

It comes after Wednesday evening’s match in Kinnegad was abandoned at half-time, the referee deciding that the pitch was unplayable after 30 minutes. There is no decision yet regarding when or where the game will be played.

Relentless rain was a major factor and Kildare midfielder TJ Nolan sustained a suspected broken leg in a horror incident near the end of the opening half.

Dublin referee Ian Howley felt deteriorating conditions were a factor in the injury. It is understood player welfare was the main reason behind the decision to abandon the match. The referee informed Westmeath manager McKinley, as he left the pitch at the break, that he was contacting Leinster Council during the interval to relay his concerns and ultimately to call off the match. Kildare were leading by 0-6 to 0-3 at the time, but Westmeath had the advantage of a strong breeze for the second half.

Despite protracted discussions after the match was abandoned, the two counties failed to reach a decision on when the game can possibly be played and it will now revert to the Leinster GAA Competitions Control Committee.

It seems unlikely that the match will take place before next Wednesday as there are major complications around senior players and dual players, with games already scheduled for Friday (U20 hurling) and Sunday (senior football). Kildare have senior players on their side.

The semi-finals are scheduled for next Wednesday, April 22, but that may now have to change given the circumstances.

McKinley said he fully expects the re-fixture to be in a Westmeath venue: “It’s a home game for us. We will be massively disappointed if that changes. We didn’t call it off; we had no bearing on that decision,” he remarked.

“The referee had his mind made up. He just explained to us why he was making it. We were unhappy because we were geared up for the game and something you get mentally tuned in for is now gone. It has only happened to me once before,” he said.

Kildare’s Niall Cronin said he didn’t feel the injury was related to the pitch and it was down to incidental contact. He said the referee and his fellow officials were very strong in their view that the pitch was unplayable.

“It causes a big headache for both counties and we talked about it for a long time afterwards, but cannot find a date. I don’t know what the solution is; Leinster Council will have to come up with a decision. We had a very constructive discussion on it; we can only inform Leinster Council of our schedules and they will have to make the call,” he said.

The referee came under fire from some quarters following his decision to abandon the game, with Kildare in particular very unhappy. However, he explained that he felt playing conditions were a factor in Kildare’s TJ Nolan sustaining such a serious injury and in the circumstances, he wasn’t prepared to continue with the match.

The referee also took officials from both counties on to the pitch during the interval and demonstrated that the ball couldn't bounce in one particular area. It was at the scoreboard end of the ground where a lot of the first half action had occurred. That main action area, 20-25 metres from goal, was cutting up, but in general the pitch seemed fine and there were no instances in which the ball got stuck in wet ground.

A Kildare official clearly demonstrated that the ball could bounce in a separate spot close to where the referee had dropped the ball. It was a bizarre ending to the Leinster U20 football quarter-final, a date for which now has to be found.