Kerry 2-15 Kildare 0-15
JAMES O’DONOGHUE SHOT a stunning 1-5 as Kerry secured back to back Allianz Football League wins to ignite their bid for a knock-out spot.
The AllStar forward was a class apart in Newbridge, shooting scores off either foot and helping the Kingdom build on their Round 4 win over Tyrone.
His goal arrived in the 54th minute and effectively killed off Kildare who trailed by nine and went on to record their fourth loss in five outings.
The Lilies had hinted at a bright afternoon when they moved three clear thanks to points from Paddy Brophy, Eoghan O’Flaherty and Cathal McNally.
But Kerry were back level at 0-4 apiece by the 15th minute and the sides were deadlocked twice more before the Kingdom pulled clear.
Kildare couldn’t handle Stephen O’Brien and O’Donoghue in the Kerry forward line.
O’Brien put Kerry 0-7 to 0-6 ahead and they moved significantly clear when Paul Geaney netted after 26 minutes.
Geaney fisted in from close range and capitalised on a clever chipped pass across goals from O’Donoghue.
Kerry were six clear after half an hour and took a deserved 1-10 to 1-9 lead into the interval.
But Kerry essentially secured victory with a strong third quarter that was lit up by the excellence of O’Donoghue.
He added 1-2 to his haul in the opening 20 minutes of the second-half to put them 2-14 to 0-11 up and in the clear.
Scorers for Kerry: James O’Donoghue 1-5 (0-1f), Paul Geaney 1-1, Daithi Casey 0-3, Stephen O’Brien, Bryan Sheehan (2f) 0-2 each, Paul Murphy, Jonathan Lyne 0-1 each.
Scorers for Kildare: Paddy Brophy 0-3, Eoghan O’Flaherty (1f), Sean Hurley, Darroch Mulhall 0-2 each, Cathal McNally, Paul Cribbin, Padraig Fogarty, Kevin Murnaghan, Mikey Conway, Tomas O’Connor 0-1 each.
KERRY: Brian Kelly; Marc O Se, Mark Griffin, Shane Enright; Peter Crowley, Fionn Fitzgerald, Paul Murphy; Anthony Maher, David Moran; Donnchadh Walsh, Bryan Sheehan, Daithi Casey; Stephen O’Brien, Paul Geaney, James O’Donoghue.Subs: Kieran O’Leary for Walsh 44, Jonathan Lyne for Casey 50, Barry John Keane for Geaney 56, Johnny Buckley for Sheehan 59, Darran O’Sullivan for O’Brien 63, Aidan O’Mahony for Enright 68.
KILDARE: Shane Connolly; Mick O’Grady, Mick Foley, Kevin Murnaghan; Paul Cribbin, Fergal Conway, Keith Cribbin; Tommy Moolick, Gary White; Cathal McNally, Eoghan O’Flaherty, Sean Hurley; Darroch Mulhall, Tomas O’Connor, Paddy Brophy.Subs: Padraig Fogarty for P Cribbin h/t, David Hyland for K Cribbin h/t, James Gately for McNally 47, Padraig O’Neill for Fogarty 50, Mikey Conway for White 54, Hugh McGrillen for O’Flaherty 54.
Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan).
