Newcomers McNally and Brophy catch the eye for Kildare

Kildare 1-13 Carlow IT 0-7

The hosts fielded a strong line-up but there were some notable selections, with Mikey Conway doing well at centre-back – aided by a screen provided by Brian Flanagan, Morgan O’Flaherty and the excellent Gary White.

Up front, newcomers Cathal McNally and Paddy Brophy earned the manager’s plaudits, with the former scoring two points from centre-forward and putting in a hard-working shift.

Brophy, who was captain of last year’s minors, entered the fray at half time and showed a tremendous appetite, getting on the scoresheet and, like McNally, will certainly gain further opportunities to impress.

The difference between the sides was stark, as the students struggled to cope with their opponents’ physical strength and turned the ball over regularly in the tackle as a result.

Kildare led 0-7 to 0-2 at half time, with McNally and Ronan Sweeney getting them off to a nice start and Ollie Lyons, Mikey Conway and Tomás O’Connor augmenting their efforts.

Rob Kelly goaled in the 52nd minute after good work by White and it was plain sailing from there.

Ben Brosnan, Jamie Farrell and the eye-catching Forde responded for Seán Dempsey’s crew but Kildare were comfortable.

Brophy, Conway, Padraig O’Neill, Brian Flanagan and McNally kept the scoreboard ticking over as the tie drifted towards an inevitable result.

Scorers for Kildare: M Conway, R Sweeney 0-3 (2fs) each, R Kelly 1-0, C McNally 0-2, O Lyons, T O’Connor, P Brophy, P O’Neill, B Flanagan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Carlow IT: B Brosnan 0-3fs, A Forde 0-2, F Conway, J Farrell 0-1 each.

KILDARE: S Connolly; O Lyons, M Foley, H McGrillen; E Bolton, M Conway, E Doyle; G White, P O’Neill; B Flanagan, C McNally, M O’Flaherty; R Kelly, T O’Connor, R Sweeney.

Subs: P Brophy for O’Connor (ht); P Kelly for Bolton (ht); W Groome for Doyle (49); P Fogarty for Sweeney (51), J Eaton for R Kelly (59).

CARLOW IT: S McNamara (Kildare); J Kinahan (Kildare), C Lawlor (Carlow); A Nolan (Wexford); A Forde (Meath), B Kinahan (Kildare), E Walsh (Galway); R Downey (Dublin), C Boyle (Laois); S Gannon (Carlow), F Conway (Kildare), D Hayden (Wicklow); M Mangan (Kerry), B Hurley (Cork), B Brosnan (Wexford).

Subs: P Crowley (Cork) for J Kinahan inj (38); J Doyle (Laois) for Mangan (46); J Farrell (Laois) for Gannon (62).

Referee: D Gough (Meath).