Kevin Feely was the hero for Kildare on Sunday. The Athy man kicked the winning score from a mark to give his side a 1-16 to 1-15 victory over Roscommon and secure a home preliminary quarter-final.
Feely kicked four points in the game, three from marks and one from a free. The decisive kick was one he'd been preparing for all week.
"Funnily enough, what was going through my head is that I'd been working on this exact kick through the week," Feely told RTÉ Radio 1 after the game.
"I was just picturing a situation where that might happen.
"Luckily enough, it ended up being in that position and I was confident that I had the work done that if I got my technique right, it would come right for me. That usually never happens but this time it came good in the end.
"It was probably [about] leaving no stone unturned. It would be the same type of practise I'd be doing in the lead-up to most games. It rarely ends up coming to that situation. This was one of those rare times that what you're practising ends up happening."
18 June 2023; Kildare manager Glenn Ryan celebrates Kevin Feely's winning point near the end of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3 match between Roscommon and Kildare at Glenisk O'Connor Park in Tullamore, Offaly. Photo by Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
The win ensured that Kildare finished second in Group 3, behind Dublin and ahead of Roscommon. In their previous group stage games, Kildare had drawn with Sligo and lost heavily to the Dubs.
"We had to show some resilience which has probably been lacking in a bit of our play earlier in the year," said Feely.
"We really, really put a test to ourselves today to see can we back up what we're doing in training with the type of performance who we think we are.
"Hopefully, that reflected in some way on the pitch today. We have a bit of resilience, we have pride in the jersey and we want to get the absolute most out of ourselves in every single game."
On Monday morning, Kildare were drawn to face Monaghan in the preliminary quarter-finals. Those are games which will take place on June 24/25.
Kevin Feely wins it for Kildare in the final seconds to secure a home preliminary quarter-final next week
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