SF Qualifier: Lilywhites ease past Ernemen

July 07, 2018

Fermanagh's Paul McCusker with Johnny Byrne of Kildare

Kildare are the seventh team into the Super 8s after a routine 3-20 to 0-18 defeat of Fermanagh in Navan.

The Lilywhites take their place in the same section as Kerry and Galway and will open their round-robin account against either Monaghan or Laois at Croke Park next Sunday afternoon.

It was done and dusted by half time as Cian O'Neill's side led by eleven points, 1-13 to 0-5. The winners had slotted three of the first four points and were out the gate once the brilliant Daniel Flynn fetched and finished to the net in the eighth minute.

Daniel and Neil Flynn replied to a Seamus Quigley point and Declan McCusker pulled another one back before Tommy Moolick and Neil Flynn made it 1-7 o 0-3.

A run of points from Kevin Flynn, Neil Flynn (free) and Kevin Feely had the Lilywhites effectively home and hosed after half an hour.

Quigley (free) and Ruairi Corrigan gave the Ernemen a good start to the second half and Tomas Corrigan cancelled out a Daniel Flynn effort as the northerners tried to come out of their shell and make a match of it. However, after Peter Kelly pointed, Neil Flynn palmed the ball to the net in the 42nd minute at the end of a sensational Kildare team move - 2-15 to 0-8.

Fergal Conway became the sixth of Kildare's starting forwards to register as the gap remained at 13 with 20 minutes left and impressive impact substitute Chris Healy fired their 18th point at the midway stage of the second half. With the game over, substitute Sean Quigley (2), Tomas Corrigan and Barry Mulrone mustered consolation scores for the losers, who closed within ten with as many minutes to play.

A sixth Seamus Quigley point (free) presented the beaten Ulster semi-finalists with their fifth in succession and it was patently too, little too late for Rory Gallagher's men as Quigley hammered over another free on 65 minutes. Healy got the Lilywhites back on the scoreboard and Ryan Jones replied as a one-sided contest petered out towards its inevitable conclusion.

Brophy fisted another point and Healy netted as the death as Mayo's conquerors advanced at their absolute ease.

Kildare - M Donnellan; P Kelly (0-1), D Hyland, M O'Grady; J Byrne, E Doyle, K Flynn (0-2); K Feely (0-1), T Moolick (0-1); F Conway (0-1), P Cribbin (0-1), K Cribbin (0-1); N Flynn (1-5, 0-3f), D Flynn (1-3), P Brophy (0-2). Subs: F Dowling for T Moolick, C Healy (1-2) for K Feely, N Kelly for P Cribbin, D Slattery for K Cribbin, E Callaghan for D Flynn, M Hyland for N Flynn.

Fermanagh - P Cadden; M Jones, C Cullen, L Cullen; B Mulrone (0-1), D McCusker (0-1), A Breen; E Donnelly, R Jones (0-2); T Clarke, C Jones, J McMahon (0-1); R Corrigan (0-1), Seamus Quigley (0-7, 6f), D Teague. Subs: K Connor for D Teague, T Corrigan (0-2) for A Breen, R Lyons for C Jones, T Clarke for P McCusker, Sean Quigley (0-3) for R Corrigan, C McGee for B Mulrone.

Referee - C Lane.


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