Kildare sealed their place in the final by virtue of a 2-21 to 1-13 victory over Meath at Newbridge tonight.

With Gerry Keegan and Niall Kenny calling the shots, the winners pulled away in the second half after being pushed to the limit by a determined Royal County side during the opening half hour.

The hosts led by 1-10 to 1-6 at the end of an entertaining first period. After a tentative opening from both teams, the victors moved into a double scores lead after ten minutes, 0-4 to 0-2, but the Royals roared back impressively.

Kilmessan's Sean Doyle lit up the match on 14 minutes with a brilliant goal over his shoulder into the top corner - a bullet! - and the same player added a point to put Meath ahead for the first time, 1-3 to 0-5.

Kildare had drawn level with five minutes left before the break and Kenny hit the net to propel them into a 1-8 to 1-5 lead. Evan Dempsey and the on-song Keegan notched their last two points before the short whistle.

Roaming full forward Keegan reeled off four unanswered points in the first six minutes after the restart to put the home side in complete control.

Willie McGrath replied for Meath but Kildare came back with three more points in succession and a second goal to finish the game as a contest: double scores, 2-18 to 1-9, with little over ten minutes left to play.

Cillian Farrell's side came back with three successive points but were unable to get back into the game as the Lilywhites booked their place in the provincial final. Tweet

Most Read Stories