Kildare believe they can build on Joe McDonagh fairytale by putting it up to Dublin, says Paul Dolan
Their campaign began with a defeat at home to a Kerry outfit who were ultimately relegated to the Christy Ring Cup.
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But on the back of last Sunday's stunning Joe McDonagh Cup final triumph, the Lilywhites are now set to face Dublin for a place in the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals.
Dolan starred at Croke Park as an odds-defying victory over Laois saw Brian Dowling's men promoted to the Leinster Championship for 2026.
But they will get a first taste of hurling at the top level by hosting the Dubs today in Newbridge.
For a group of players who rightly extended their celebration of such a monumental achievement into Monday night, there has been minimal preparation time for a meeting with a team that will be fresh off a three-week break.
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Dolan said: 'There's a lot of outside noise relating to it, kind of in regards to the structure of the Championship and are we being put into a one-sided game.
'The six-day turnaround is what it is but we're not going to go making excuses.
'We're going to approach it the same way we approach every game.
'None of the current panel have played at senior inter-county level against a tier-one county in Championship hurling and we're getting that opportunity on Saturday. We're just relishing the challenge.'
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Until seven weeks ago, Kildare had never won a game at Joe McDonagh level.
The defeat to Kerry was their ninth in as many games in the second-tier competition.
GAA fans 'loved seeing and hearing' the late Micheal O Muircheartaigh as he features in RTE documentary Hell for Leather
Asked how they managed to bounce back so impressively, Dolan explained: 'The week turnaround probably helped us because there was no time to dwell on that Kerry loss.
'We were absolutely gutted. I've never felt as bad in a dressing room.
I heard Brian saying the same, that he never felt as bad in a dressing room and he's had obviously heartbreak with Kilkenny.
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'Just getting to Hawkfield on the Tuesday night, we said we weren't happy with the way our work-rate was in that Kerry game.
'We just moved on to Westmeath, who are an unbelievable team who have competed in the Leinster Championship in recent years.
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Paul Dolan is eyeing a scalp against Dublin today
Credit: Sportsfile
'But we had no reason to fear them. You have to have belief at this level if you want to go and win matches. We just went into that Westmeath game and gave them a good rattle.
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'They came back at us and we kind of thought, 'Oh Jesus, déjà vu!'
But we were delighted to win that game and that kickstarted the whole run.'
FAMILIAR FOE
Kildare and Dublin have become familiar with one another on the challenge match circuit.
Indeed, the teams have already met this year in non-competitive fixtures in DCU and Abbotstown.
And while this is uncharted territory for Dowling's men, Dolan is adamant that they will not suffer from an inferiority complex.
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The Éire Óg Corra Choill ace said: 'When I would have been Under-14, 15, 16 or minor, our crop of players would have been going to UL to play Limerick or Páirc Uí Chaoimh to play Cork and things like this.
'We definitely played challenge matches against Dublin at Under-20s.
You might not have been playing the strongest team they had available but it gave us belief.
'We were always told every single time before we played them that geography is not an excuse and that's one that stuck with me.'
Dolan's brother James is also a member of the Kildare panel.
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And their historic Joe McDonagh triumph spared his father, a Tipperary man, the predicament of seeing his sons in opposition to his native county on the other side of the draw.
Dolan laughed: 'We were slagging him, asking who he'd support.
But no, I think he'd have had a Kildare jersey on if it came about.'
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