Kildare 2-17 Meath 1-12:Kildare finished the stronger of the two sides to come out on top against Meath in the last All-Ireland quarter-final of the weekend and will now take on Down in the semi-finals on August 29th.
The Lilywhites outscored the Leinster champions by 0-12 to 0-03 with a powerful second half display to ensure all four provincial winners failed to make the last four of the Championship.
Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney typically played down the result and believes there is still work to be done.
“I wouldn’t say we’re where we need to be but this a wise team and they showed good character out there today,” said McGeeney.
“It wasn’t a case of a better second half because we had chances in the early stages but it’s always nice to finish strong and get the result.
“The lads were able to bounce back and we’ve got stronger as the championship progressed and through the qualifiers.
“I still think we have some way to go, we’re far from the finished article and I’m sure Down will be confident. I guess Dublin will be too,” he adedd.”
Kildare lost their inspirational midfielder, Dermot Earley, to a knee injury in the opening minutes, the likes of John Doyle stepped up to the plate, scoring nine points.
Meath raced into an early 1-03 to 0-00 lead after 14 minutes, but they recovered to score two crucial first half goals, including Alan Smith’s effort on the stroke of half-time that left them just a point in arrears at the break, 1-09 to 2-05.
Kildare’s start was poor. Within a minute, their talisman Earley - an injury concern all week - was forced off when he twisted the same knee that has caused him problems all year with Hugh Lynch coming onto into midfield in his place.
Meath’s full-forward line compounded the misery with Cian Ward, Shane O’Rourke and Joe Sheridan all on target.
O’Rourke had an attempted point come off the crossbar and drop for Brian Meade, who was dragged back by Andriú Mac Lochlainn and gave away a penalty.
Ward stepped up and his low shot was deflected onto the post by Shane McCormack, but the ball dribbled over the line before the Kildare goalkeeper scooped it clear but the umpire immediately raised the green flag.
Kildare didn’t panic. They have matured during the run in the qualifiers and went about pegging Meath back. A John Doyle free in the 15th minute finally got them off the mark and the Kildare attack took the lead from its captain. Another four points without reply meant Kieran McGeeney’s men had hit the target an impressive five times in a seven-minute spell.
Kildare then hit with a fine goal. A long punt into their full-forward line was cradled by James Kavanagh, who beat Eoghan Harrington to the ball. He then executed a perfect dummy solo and tapped into the empty net to level at 1-05 apiece.
Sheridan was causing massive problems for his marker, Brian Flanagan, and McGeeney took the latter off and replaced him with Michael Foley, as Emmet Bolton was handed man-marking duties on Sheridan.
Meath were then rocked by a second Kildare goal, scored by full-forward Alan Smith, who supplied the fisted finish after Pádraig O’Neill burst through the Meath defence.
The momentum had swung Kildare’s way and they kept up the pressure in the second period when Meath had no answer.
Kildare were guilty of wasteful shooting in their Round 4 Qualifier win over Monaghan, but they used possession cleverly, with Kavanagh their primary creative outlet.
Eamonn O’Brien’s side looked devoid of idea and were unable to get any ball into their forwards. Kildare had no such problems and further scores from Eoghan O’Flaherty and a Doyle score from play, gave them a six-point buffer in the closing minutes, To add to their woes, Seamus Kenny was sent off for a second yellow card.
Kildare were still not done and O’Flaherty and Doyle, his ninth of the game, heaped further misery on the Royals.