Ciaran out to Kill Cork's hopes

IT may seem a bit early in the season to be talking about “top of the table clashes”, but nonetheless that is exactly what we have this Friday night as Shamrock Rovers travel to Turner’s Cross to take on Cork City.

Both teams drew thei opening games of the season and are now on a run of three consecutive wins, leaving them joint top with ten points from twelve. The teams are even tied on goal difference however the Hoops are ahead by a nose by virtue of goals scored.

Ahead of Friday night’s game at Turner’s Cross, Extratime.ie caught up with Shamrock Rovers striker Ciarán Kilduff and first asked the Kildare man if he was perhaps surprised by just how strongly the Tallaght side have started.

“I think we set out to win the league, and we started with that kind of form. Personally it’s gone well too with my performances and that, but the team is playing well as a unit and we’re picking up some good wins and some vital points along the way. I think the Derry game and the manner we got the point out of it maybe turned the corner for us and since then we’ve been on a bit of a run.

“So I don’t think we surprised ourselves. We may have surprised a few other teams in the leagues or a few pundits, but we’re just doing what we knew we could. We knew pre-season that we had the best squad in the country so we’re doing what we’re capable of.”

Like most clubs, Shamrock Rovers were busy in the off-season as they added players like Ryan Brennan (from Drogheda United), Kieran ‘Marty’ Waters (from Bray Wanderers), Conor Kenna (from St Patrick’s Athletic) and Simon Madden (from Derry City). With so much change it might have been natural to expect some time would be required to gel – but this has not been the case for the Hoops.

“I think it’s going well. Those lads are all quality players, they can all come in and fit in seamlessly. I’m hearing Simon Madden being compared to Dani Alves, so he’s obviously hit the ground running as well.

“It’s going great. All the lads that have come in have done well, so long may it continue.”

Having enjoyed a prolific loan spell on Leeside last season, Kilduff is asked, and probably not for the first or last time this week, about Friday night’s game.

“I heard there was a big crowd expected, 6,000 or so…I knew I had a big impact down there but I didn’t know it was that big!” the league’s joint top scorer jokes.

“But ya, it’s going to be a great night. The people of Cork get out and watch the team, and they do get behind them when things are going well. We’ll obviously bring our own supporters who have been great too, and it’s heating up nicely. I know it’s early days, but it is a top of the table clash. It’s only four games in, but it’s those games that you want to be part of.

“I know we’re going down to win and nothing else will be the case and I imagine that will be their thinking on it too!

“It should be great. I know it’s not on the telly, but the way the league is going so far, the best games tend not to be on the telly. ‘When RTE are away, the teams will play.’

While he might have fond memories of playing in Cork, the former UCD striker has little time for sentiment and is focused at the job at hand on Friday night.

“I made friends for life down there, on and off the pitch. I know a lot of lads in their dressing room and a lot of people behind the scenes, and they were good to me. They got me back on track in terms of playing regularly and the way I wanted to play and I got a lot of confidence out of it.

“I’ve a lot of respect for them, and I’ve a lot of friends down there, but on Friday it’s not going to be a weekend for seeing my friends. We’ve got to go down there and do a job and push on and we’ve got another game on Monday as well so they’re coming thick and fast.

“It’s all business… it’s all hands on deck for Friday night.”

Kilduff arguably played some of the best football of his career during a four month loan spell that saw him score eleven league goals for the Rebel Army. Though there was much speculation surrounding his future in the off-season, he explains to us that a move away from Tallaght was never on the radar.

“All I know is that I’m a Rovers player. I did really enjoy my time in Cork. I never became a free agent so I was never able to weigh up my options on where I would have been for this season. I had another year left on the contract and that is was why I remained a Shamrock Rovers player. I talked it out with Trevor Croly and the board and all and they were adamant I wasn’t going to be going anywhere.

“So I was happy to be on board and I put my best foot forward always.”

Kilduff quickly became a fan’s favourite on Leeside, but when pushed on whether he would ever consider a return to Cork City, the striker wouldn’t be drawn.

 “I am only 25, I still have years left in the league. I wouldn’t rule out playing for any team in the league. I also played at UCD for a stage and I wouldn’t rule that out because I still have to get my HDip done somewhere.

“On a serious note, I did enjoy my time in Cork and I am very grateful to them and as I said I still have many years left in the league so I wouldn’t rule any team out.”

Having initially joined Shamrock Rovers as an under 16 player, Kilduff progressed to the under 21s before making his first team debut in May 2007 – aged 18. After a successful loan spell at Kildare County in 2008, he helped UCD win the First Division title in 2009 before returning to Shamrock Rovers at the end of the 2010 season.

Having spent so long with the Hoops, Kilduff is finally getting a run of games in the first team. Now that he has his place in the team, he is focused on helping his side win the title for the first time since 2011.

“I’m not blaming anybody else, but I felt like I never got the opportunity that I deserved at Rovers. I felt for some reason whether it was pure luck or something, I was never getting a consistent run of games. You could never afford to have a mediocre or an average day because the competition was so stiff.

“When I went to Cork, Cork showed faith in me and now Rovers are showing faith in me again and you do respond to that, any player will. And it is hard at Rovers – currently I’m in the team, and there are other lads there who are waiting for their opportunity. I know what that’s like too, I’ve been around the block and I’ve been here long enough to know that.

“I have always been a Rovers player since I started playing in the league. I did obviously need to get away last year and I learned a lot. I feel now that I’m getting my chance thankfully and hopefully we’re doing well and it continues for me and I can stay in the team and we can get our title back.”

Kilduff has certainly been repaying the faith in him with his own personal performances as he was involved in goals in each of the four league games so far – a late equaliser against Derry, a brace against Athlone and assists against Bohemians and Sligo Rovers.

It is that type of form that saw Kilduff named as the Extratime.ie Player of the Month for March, but when we told the striker of our decision, he was quick to point to how strong the squad was and how everyone is pulling in the same direction as they try to mount a title push.

“Ah look it, I feel like I’ve just started from where I left off last year. I felt that I finished the season strongly.

“I’m delighted. It’s all about the team for me so, so far so good. I feel like I’m in good health and I feel fit. As do all the lads in the team.

“It’s been great, we’ve got the likes of Ryan Brennan and if we just look at the strikers that are there waiting for my position – we’ve got Karl Sheppard, Dean Kelly and Eamon Zayed. They’re all quality players. It’s the competition that makes the team stronger and those players have a big role to play too.

“So it’s not about me, I’ve had a good month and that but it could be up to someone else next month to have a big month. If we wanna win the league it’s going to take the whole team to pull together and the whole squad.

“We know what we’re doing and obviously I’m delighted with how I’ve started and with how the team has started.”