Kildare shake off Offaly challenge

Kildare 1-16 Offaly 1-10

The Lilywhite express train chugged its way through O'Moore Park in Portlaoise this afternoon as a determined Kildare side got their just rewards with a six-point Leinster SFC first round win over Offaly.

12,356 spectators watched on as Kieran McGeeney's charges booked a quarter-final berth against Wexford on June 13.

It was certainly a positive first Championship outing for the Lilywhites but of concern will be the 13 wides they amassed, including eight in a second half which saw Offaly slip back into contention.

Kildare were in cruise control in the opening period and they fully deserved their 1-09 to 0-04 half-time lead.

2008 Under-21 player Alan Smith drew early blood with a third minute goal.

Smith and his Kildare colleagues pushed all of the right buttons in the opening stages and led by 1-07 to 0-01 at the end of the opening quarter, with Ken Casey picking off Offaly's lone score in the second minute.

Indeed Kildare had Offaly rattled right from the off and signalled their early intent with James Kavanagh slotting over the opening score after just 20 seconds.

Further scores from John Doyle (0-03), Ronan Sweeney, Kavanagh and Dermot Earley, allied to Smith's goal, ensured a comfortable nine-point buffer.

Scores were certainly at a premium for Offaly who could only manage three further points before the break.

There was a brace of pointed frees from Niall McNamee and a John Reynolds effort cut the deficit to eight points at the interval.

However a major dent was made in Kildare's lead during the third quarter as the Faithful County engineered a spirited comeback.

Kildare full-back Hugh McGrillen extended his side's lead to nine points on the restart, but Offaly outscored their opponents by six points to three in the third quarter to leave the score at 1-12 to 0-9 with 53 minutes on the clock.

Offaly substitute Niall Darby made a major impact in attack and scored a fine pointed free to round off a dominant Offaly spell and peg the difference back to six points.

Kildare needed inspiration and they got it from midfielder Earley who fisted over a wonder score three minutes later.

A brace of Doyle points quickly followed, opening up a nine-point gap with 16 minutes remaining, but Offaly kept plugging away.

The substitution of Earley, who was replaced by Killian Brennan, saw Offaly get on top in the midfield sector and after a lot of soul searching, the breaks and a bit of luck finally went the midlanders' way.

Dual player Sean Ryan notched Offaly's only goal in the 62nd minute.

The Birr man latched on to a Niall McNamee pass to drive the ball to the net.

The momentum was now with Offaly, and with full-forward John Reynolds sending over his third point of the contest the deficit was reduced to five points.

Offaly kept battling but a 65th minute point from substitute Robert Kelly settled the Lilywhites once again.

McGeeney's charges held their composure until the full-time whistle and move on to face Wexford in the quarter-finals on Saturday, June 13.

KILDARE: T Corley; M Foley, H McGrillen, D Brennan; E Bolton, B Flanagan, M Conway; D Flynn, D Earley; J Kavanagh, P O'Neill, E Callaghan; A Smith, R Sweeney, J Doyle.

Subs used: G White for Callaghan, R Kelly for O'Neill (both 57 mins), K Brennan for Earley (60), M O'Flaherty for Brennan (64), A MacLochlainn for Bolton (69).

OFFALY: A Mulhall; S Lonergan, C Evans, B Darby; M Mitchell, R Dalton, K Slattery; N Smith, C Carroll; S Ryan, N McNamee, K Casey; T Deehan, J Reynolds, W Mulhall.

Subs used: C McManus for Carroll (17 mins), S Sullivan for Mitchell (29), N Darby for W Mulhall (half-time), N Coughlan for Casey (57), G Rafferty for Lonergan (67).

Referee: Aidan Mangan (Kerry)