The first half of Dublin and Kildare's Division 1 opener at Croke Park ended with some midfield scuffles involving players from both sides.
The row had been sparked by Kildare sub Niall Kelly pushing Dublin's Jonny Cooper in the back - it was an incident for which Kelly was booked by referee Conor Lane. There had been plenty of niggle between the sides in the opening 35 minutes. It was not going to take much more to set them off - Kelly's shove was it.
When the cameras returned to the studio for eir Sport's half-time coverage, James Horan had a point to make about Jonny Cooper. Though the question was initially directed at Senan Connell, a fellow club man of Cooper, Horan interjected.
The former Mayo manager felt Cooper hit the deck a little too easily following the push from Kelly. It's something he believes is becoming a habit of the Dublin defender and one to which referees will become wise.
Jonny Cooper, for me, he's a pest. If you look at him, there's a couple of occasions in the first half, where Kildare lads were through and the ball had gone dead and Jonny Cooper was in there.
Then when Jonny gets a little bit of a push from Niall Kelly, he falls like a sack of potatoes. For me, he's sailing too close to the wind and refs are going to pick up on the way he's carrying on.
He's been sent off in big games before, if he continues that he could cost his team when it really counts.
After a competitive first half showing last night, Kildare failed to bring the fight after the break as Dublin eventually won by seven points.
"Jonny Copper is a pest" - James Horan says the Dublin defender is 'sailing close to the wind' at Croke Park. Unsurprisingly, his club mate Senan Connell doesn't agree #MatchNightLive #AllianzLeagues pic.twitter.com/rv5nB16fbW
— eir Sport (@eirSport) January 27, 2018
