Kildare 1-15 – 1-11 Monaghan
Kildare advanced to the quarter finals of the All-Ireland football championship after a four point victory over Monaghan at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides were in action last weekend, but it was Kildare who looked by far the hungrier side throughout, even allowing for a poor start which saw Monaghan race into a three point lead after 20 minutes.
Kildare recovered and were in front by a point (0-6 – 0-5) at the break, despite the fact that scorer in chief, Johnny Doyle, was having an off day in front of the posts.
The Lilywhites, for whom James Kavanagh was particularly influential, regained the initiative after the interval and opened up an eight point lead when Ronan Sweeney fisted to the net after 52 minutes to put the game beyond reasonable doubt.
John Doyle increased the gap to nine shortly after, but to their credit, Monaghan finished strongly and Hugh McElroy finished to the net late on to give the final scoreline a respectable look.
