Earley’s return a bonus for Lilywhites

Kildare finally got amongst the goals, conceded two more and Johnny Doyle showed he is still a key cog in the Kildare machine as they pushed themselves into promotion contention with a hard-fought victory over Derry at St Conleth’s Park yesterday.

But perhaps the most significant story was the introduction of Dermot Earley as a 68th minute substitute to a tumultuous cheer.

The Sarsfields man has been absent for 19 months since suffering a serious cruciate knee ligament injury in the 2010 All-Ireland quarter-final.