Kildare too good for score-shy 14 man Cavan

Cavan 0-14 Kildare 2-13

Kildare finally broke their duck with a first league win in a fractious Division Two clash with Cavan at a stormy Kingspan/Breffni Park.

Cavan were good value for a 0-3 to 0-1 opening quarter lead only to suffer a double whammy in the space of 90 seconds which put them on the back foot.

Kildare's Eoghan O'Flaherty goaled - just after the Cavan goalkeeper Gilsenan saved Fionn Dowling's penalty - and then the Ulster team's half-back Damien O'Reilly saw red after an off-the-ball incident with Emmet Bolton in the 19th minute.

O’Flaherty’s goal steered the visitors into a flattering 1-2 to 0-3 lead but they laboured to consolidate their advantage into the teeth of the strong wind.

Kildare then had the momentum with the wind at their backs as they sought to overturn 14 man Cavan’s 0-8 to 1-4 interval lead.

After some early sparring, strapping Kildare midfielder Paul Cribbin showed the Cavan forwards how it's done, breaking through their blanket defence and splitting the posts from 44 metres in inspirational fashion.

Sadly for the Lilywhites, their forwards laboured to take a leaf out of Cribbin’s book and they struggled to shake off their opponents.

As proceedings began to become scrappy, Kildare bent but refused to break and Daniel Flynn in his return from the AFL goaled with a rocket of a shot less than a minute from the end of normal time.

Cavan: C Gilsenan; J McLoughlin, R Dunne, K Brady; R Flanagan, F Flanagan, D O'Reilly; G McKiernan (0-3), T Corr; J McEnroe, D McVeety (0-1), M Reilly (0-3, 2f, '45); C Mackey (0-1), K Clarke, N McDermott (0-6,6f).

Subs; M Argue for K Clarke (26); C Moynagh for K Brady (blood sub 36); P Smith for D McVeety (49); J Brady for C Mackey (54); M McKeever for T Corr (63); K Brady for C Moynagh (64).

Kildare: M Donnellan; O Lyons (0-1), E Bolton, M O'Grady; K Cribbin, F Conway, E Doyle; H Lynch, P Cribbin (0-2); D Flynn (1-1), E O'Flaherty (1-4, 2f), P O'Neill; F Dowling (0-1), N Kelly (0-2), E Callaghan (0-2).

Subs; G White for H Lynch (inj, 13); C Fitzpatrick for P O’Neill (28, B.C); P Fogarty for N Kelly (49); D Hyland for M O’Grady (56, B.C)

Referee: C Reilly (Meath)