Champions Carlow make it through to next round

Carlow 1-16 Kildare 1-13

Reigning Christy Ring Cup champions Carlow fended off a strong final quarter rally by Kildare to book a spot in the semi-finals thanks to a three-point win in Newbridge.

Paudie Kehoe was in outstanding form for the eventual winners with seven points as Kevin Ryan's charges set up a semi-final outing on June 6.

Carlow were most impressive in the opening stages as they quickly got into top gear, romping into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead after 21 minutes with Kehoe slotting over half of those early scores.

Despite playing into the elements, the visitors looked very comfortable early on with a 10th-minute pointed free from David Harney the only score for Andy Comerford's men at that stage.

But led by Harney, Kildare bounced back into contention with the Clane man taking his side's second score with 14 minutes to go before the interval.

Indeed Kildare outscored their opponents by five points to three over the remainder of the opening half, with Tony Murphy, Mark Moloney and Harney on target for the Lilywhites.

Murphy was one of Kildare's outstanding performers, with a total of five points (all from play), including three before the interval with Carlow holding a 0-9 to 0-7 break lead.

Points from Craig Doyle, Damien Roberts and Paudie Kehoe extended Carlow's lead to five points within three minutes of the restart as the visitors piled on all of the early pressure.

Goal chances fell to both sides with Kehoe denied a certain goal by a superb save from Kildare goalkeeper Paul Dermody.

At the opposite end Kildare continued to threaten but Carlow's defence stood firm.

However, the duck was eventually broken with a powerful 46th-minute effort from Harney after a mistake by Frank Foley with the deficit now cut to two points at 0-12 to 1-7.

The sides traded points on two occasions but thanks to a brace of Adrian McAndrew scores, just a point separated the teams with 15 minutes remaining.

Nevertheless, Craig Doyle's 57th-minute goal saw Carlow reaffirm their dominance and although Murphy continued to pile on the pressure, a long range Doyle strike deep in injury-time was the insurance score as Carlow took the verdict.