Tyrone 0-16 Kildare 1-11:Tyrone nearly came unstuck at the hands of an old foe in a new guise this afternoon, when former Armagh captain Kieran McGeeney almost masterminded a heroic Kildare win over the All-Ireland champions at Croke Park.
The Lilywhites set a frenetic early pace before giving Mickey Harte’s men a hell of a chasing in the second half but ultimately the champions had too many men used to the big occasion on the pitch and there were some big points produced late on to ensure a semi-final meeting with Cork.
It was frantic from the off and punctuated by all too readily by the referee’s whistle. One such occasion allowed Kildare captain John Doyle to open the scoring in the third minute and he doubled the advantage in the ninth, this time from play.
Kildare were playing Tyrone at their own game, hounding them out of possession, with Dermot Earley and Flynn particularly poised and powerful in midfield.
Like his Kidlare counterpart, it was Tyrone captain Brian Dooher who finally got his side off the mark before Stephen O’Neill levelled the scores.
There were signs Tyrone were getting a grip on things but nobody got a hold of James Kavanagh as he charged through the Red Hand defence to set up Ronan Sweeney, who calmly picked his spot in the bottom corner.
Davy Harte and O’Neill kept Tyrone in touch but the Lilywhites refused to relent and struck back through Eamonn Callaghan, Kavanagh and Smith.
O’Neill’s third followed before Doyle ensured a four-point lead at the break with a booming effort from the sideline.
Doyle got Kildare’s next three points but the first of them arrived in the 50th minute, by which time Tyrone had ruthlessly closed the gap and marched into the lead.
O’Neill began the revival with one from play and another free followed after Owen Mulligan announced himself with two points in quick succession.
Kildare were chasing shadows when Mulligan pushed Tyrone into the lead before Martin Penrose drilled over a left-footed point.
A Doyle free after Conor Gormley was yellow carded for a foul on Sweeney changed all that. It prompted a Kildare revival, which in turn gave rise to some panic in the Tyrone defence
Ryan McMenamin was penalised for travelling and Doyle did the honours before a superb effort with his back to goal sent his side into the lead.
In Doyle, Kildare have a man who stands up when needed. Unfortunately for him, Tyrone have a number of those players.
One of them, Cavanagh, fielded expertly moments later to feed another, Dooher, who drew the sides level.
The most ruthless of them all, though, is O’Neill, who dragged his side to a two-point win with his sixth and seventh points, though Kildare will rue some wasteful efforts towards the end.