Armagh pinch win over Kildare

Kildare 1-10 Armagh 1-12

Kieran McGeeney watched his Kildare team lose to his native county Armagh in an entertaining NFL Division 2 tie at Newbridge.

McGeeney's men established a 1-7 to 0-8 half-time lead, thanks to an Eamonn Callaghan goal, but Armagh, with Ronan Clarke on song up front, turned things around to finish as two-point winners.

The first half was packed full of attacking football and quality scores.

The sides were level on three occasions and no more than two points separated them throughout the opening 35 minutes.

Wing forward Callaghan's goal, 28 minutes in, had a real touch of good fortune about it.

Just as he was about to be closed down, Callaghan got his point attempt away but the ball dipped away from Armagh goalkeeper Philip McEvoy and squeezed into the right hand corner of the net.

A subsequent point from Mikey Conway, after a lay-off from substitute Robert Kelly, stretched the Lilywhites' lead to 1-7 to 0-7 before Steven McDonnell replied with a free in injury-time.

Kildare will have been kicking themselves though, as they failed to make full use of a first half wind.

Clarke and free-taker Aaron Kernan led the Armagh scoring in the opening half and the Orchard men went back in front, just after the break, when Aidan O'Rourke sent a penalty to the right corner of the net.

O'Rourke stepped up to take the penalty, beating goalkeeper Shane McCormack, after his brother Martin had been fouled.

Johnny Doyle replied for the home side but points from Kevin O'Rourke, Clarke (with his fourth of the afternoon) and Kernan's third successful free moved Armagh 1-12 to 1-8 ahead.

However, the scores dried up for the Ulster champions as they failed to raise a white flag over the closing 16 minutes.

Kildare grasped back control of possession for a thrilling finale.

Alan Smith watched a goal effort bounce back off the post.

And then, real drama followed in injury-time, when Conway had his left-footed penalty attempt saved by McEvoy and he agonisingly hit the post when following up on the rebound