Kildare finished strongly at Croke Park to beat Meath by 2-17 to 1-12.

The All-Whites have a reputation for improved second-half showings and they did it again today, outscoring their opponents by 0-12 to 0-3 after the break. For their part, the Royal County contributed enormously to a riveting encounter that remained very much in the melting pot going into the last quarter.

Johnny Doyle (0-8), Eoghan O'Flaherty (0-5) and James Kavanagh (1-1) did most damage for Kieran McGeeney's irresistible charges.

The result means that all four provincial championship winners - and all eight provincial finalists - are out of contention, as Kildare progress to meet Down at the semi-final stage.

The Leinster champions led by 1-9 to 2-5 at the end of an incredible, action-packed first half. Cian Ward supplied their goal from the penalty spot after 14 minutes, while James Kavanagh and Alan Smith netted for the Lilywhites in the 29th and 35th(+) minutes respectively.

Both teams kicked some sublime points during an outstanding opening 38 minutes. Kildare were left reeling by the loss of Dermot Earley followed by the concession of 1-3 without reply inside the opening 15 minutes, but they kept their cool to twice come back into contention with goals when they needed them most.

The rain started to fall minutes before throw-in and the luckless Lilies suffered a bitter blow when their talismanic midfielder Earley was forced out of the action after injuring his knee in the first minute. After a two-minute delay, the big man gingerly hobbled out of the fray, replaced by Hugh Lynch.

Referee Marty Duffy awarded Meath a free in front of the posts for something that happened off the ball and Ward gratefully opened the scoring from an unmissable position. Shane O'Rourke followed up with a point from play after unsure defending by Hugh McGrillen (who really came into the game thereafter) but the Kildare full back made amends immediately when recovering well to deny O'Rourke a goal chance.

It was three on the trot for the Royals when Joe Sheridan connected well with Chris O'Connor's delivery to fist a fine point. Ward added a Meath goal from the penalty spot in the 14th minute…

Sheridan's shot had rebounded back into play off the crossbar and Brian Meade gathered possession under pressure. The penalty was awarded as the midfielder was toppled and Ward drilled his low shot straight at Kildare 'keeper Shane McCormack, who fumbled the ball inches over the line when he should have executed a save.

Johnny Doyle (free) and Eoghan O'Flaherty got the Lilywhites up and running with a couple of points before the Kildare captain inexplicably missed a sitter of a free from 13 metres out straight in front of the posts. But James Kavanagh kept his composure to stroke over a delightful free from the hands off his weaker left foot from a tight angle in the 20th minute: 1-3 to 0-3.

Unopposed, Doyle redeemed himself by curling over a nice 22nd-minute point from play to make it a two-point game but Meath corner back O'Connor kicked an excellent point off the outside of his right foot to bring an end to their eleven-minute drought: 1-4 to 0-4 after 25 minutes.

A minute later, St Colmcilles clubman Graham Reilly landed a magnificent point to give the Delaney Cup holders a double-scores advantage. The reply from Padraig O'Neill was every bit as spectacular: the centre forward dissected the posts with an exceptional strike from long range.

On 29 minutes, Kildare were right back in it after a clinical goal from Kavanagh - a score that would light up any match. The No.10 beat Eoghan Harrington to the ball, turned inside, sold Brendan Murphy a dummy and planted the ball in the back of the empty net.

But Meath never lie down and they replied with a sumptuous Sheridan point from play and another Ward tap-over from under the crossbar - this free awarded for a late tackle on Reilly. Sheridan was on fire and his third point - Meath's third in as many minutes - made it a three-point game again: 1-8 to 1-5 with two minutes left in the first half.

Three additional minutes were added at the end of a rip-roaring opening period and Reilly added another Meath point in the second of these after Murphy had done brilliantly to deny Kildare a possible goal opportunity.

Quite unbelievably, with the short whistle looming, the Short Grass County pounced for their second three-pointer: O'Neill burst through a non-existent Meath defence and presented Alan Smith with a simple tap in. The Kildare full forward had worked hard with no reward until then but the game was back in the balance when he palmed the ball to the net to make it a one-point match at the turnaround.

Kieran McGeeney had introduced Mick Foley before the break to play at full back on the dangerous Sheridan. Could Kildare curb Meath's powerful forward division in the second half? The answer would be an unflappable 'Yes'.

Kavanagh missed a scoreable free from the hands two minutes after the restart but then made a fabulous fetch to set up O'Neill for a deft left-foot finish. Kildare had been playing catch-up throughout and finally moved ahead for the first time in the 43rd minute (2-7 to 0-9) when Doyle registered on the run after a strong clearance out of defence and more priceless spadework from the ever-dangerous Kavanagh.

After O'Rourke had reinvigorated the Royals with yet another sublime point from distance, Kildare centre back Emmet Bolton stole forward to finish a super team move with an exquisite point. O'Flaherty doubled the difference when he stroked over a free from the ground (moved forward after backchat) and the exciting youngster followed up instantly with a great point from play - 2-10 to 1-10 after 48 minutes.

With 20 minutes to go, all the momentum was with Kildare, so Meath made a double substitution, bringing in Cormac McGuinness and Jamie Queeney in place of the ineffective pair Anthony Moyles and Ward. The Green & Golds were hanging on and Gary O'Brien had to haul Doyle down as the Allenwood man bore down on goal. Doyle got up to tap the free over from in front of the posts.

Meade had gone off with a blood injury and he re-emerged wearing the No.31 shirt to slot over an excellent point from play in the 58th minute. Within seconds, Queeney curled over a twelfth Meath point to bring the margin down to just two points. Suddenly, Kildare's advantage looked fragile.

Doyle steadied the winners with a simple free from in front of goal after Meath full back Kevin Reilly was harshly censured and legendary sharpshooter Doyle followed up with a superb point from play to leave his side leading by 2-13 to 1-12 with seven minutes left on the clock.

O'Flaherty (free) and Doyle added to the maelstrom of Kildare scores and pent-up Seamus Kenny was sent off in injury time before O'Flaherty and Doyle emphatically slammed the door in Meath's face with two more brilliant late scores.

Kildare: S McCormack; P Kelly, H McGrillen, A MacLochlainn; M O'Flaherty, E Bolton (0-1), B Flanagan; D Flynn, D Earley; J Kavanagh (1-1), P O'Neill (0-2), E O'Flaherty (0-5); J Doyle (0-8), A Smith (1-0), E Callaghan. Subs: H Lynch, M Foley, R Sweeney, G White, D Lyons.

Meath: B Murphy; C O'Connor (0-1), K Reilly, E Harrington; A Moyles, G O'Brien, C King; N Crawford, B Meade (0-1); S Kenny, J Sheridan (0-3), G Reilly (0-2); C Ward (1-2), S O'Rourke (0-2), S Bray. Subs: C McGuinness, J Queeney (0-1). Tweet

Most Read Stories