Sure-footed win for Kildare

Kildare 1-17 Donegal 1-9

Kildare shattered Donegal’s 100% record with a comprehensive victory at St Conleth’s Park that puts them right back in the mix for promotion from Division 2.

The home side started the campaign with a heavy defeat to Down. They began their rehabilitation with a comfortable win over Tipperary and were even more impressive on this occasion, despite being short a number of regulars due to suspension and injury.

Donegal opened the scoring with a pointed free from Michael Murphy inside the opening minute but it was all downhill from there for John Joe Doherty’s men, who were bereft of any real ideas once Kildare got the upper hand.

By the time they got their next score, a fortuitous goal from Stephen Griffen in the 24th minute, Kildare had a goal and five points on the board, and Ken Donnelly, Johnny Doyle and Karl Ennis were causing mayhem in attack.

Kildare’s goal came from wing-back Gary White, who finished left-footed to the corner of the Donegal net, after some delightful foot passes from Doyle and Ennis.

And they responded well when Griffen’s speculative lob went all the way to the net, Doyle kicking two points from play and Pádraig O’Neill sending over with the outside of his right boot to give them a 1-8 to 1-2 half time lead.

One might have expected Donegal to come out with all guns blazing after the resumption but it never happened.

To give them some credit, they did create some good scoring opportunities but some of the wides they kicked were appalling, with Murphy unusually off with his radar on the few occasions in which he escaped the clutches of Damien Hendy.

Colm McFadden got no change from Hugh McGrillen and with Dermot Earley and Darryl Flynn completely in command around the middle, it was largely one-way traffic.

Earley produced the score of the game after good work from Hendy, Mark Scanlon, O’Neill and James Kavanagh, and with Flynn and Donnelly also amongst the scorers, they stretched their advantage to 10 points.

Tom Corley made up for his lapse for Griffen’s goal with a splendid point-blank save from Kevin Cassidy and Kieran McGeeney took the opportunity to give Earley and Doyle a rest.

Substitutes Willie Heffernan and Hugh Lynch even managed to get on the scoresheet in the short time in which they were on the field, and though Murphy finished with a brace, the second his first score from play deep in injury time, there was little for Donegal to be happy about on their long journey north.

Kildare: T Corley; E Bolton, D Hendy, H McGrillen; G White 1-0, M Scanlon, K Cribbin; D Flynn 0-1, D Earley 0-1; D Whyte, P O’Neill 0-2, J Doyle 0-6(2fs); K Ennis 0-2fs, J Kavanagh, K Donnelly 0-3. Subs: M Foley for Hendy, temp (50-51); W Heffernan 0-1 for Ennis (58); R Sweeney for Whyte (59); H Lynch 0-1 for Earley (62); K Brennan for Doyle (65); Foley for White (60+1)

Donegal: M Boyle; J Keaney, N McGee, K Lacey; A Thompson, F McGlynn, K Cassidy; N Gallagher, B Monaghan; F McNulty, D Walsh 0-1, S Griffen 1-0; C McFadden 0-2(1f), M Murphy 0-4(3fs), C Dunne. Subs: L McLoone 0-1 for McNulty (25); O Waide for Keaney (47); A Hanlon 0-1 for Walsh (55); B Dunnion for McGlynn (61)

Referee: M Collins (Cork)