This was a quintessential lesson by Carlow on how to let your opponents off the hook when they are well and truly on the rack with a man short. An explosive second-half display by the underdogs who had suddenly come to believe in themselves sent shock waves through Kildare's following, but it all came to nothing because Carlow couldn't finish the job on the big stage.

Carlow's confidence was boosted by a shock goal which was fly-kicked into the net by the inspiring Willie Quinlan seven minutes into the second half.

Minutes later the situation worsened for the Leinster title holders when Willie McCreery, the engine of the Kildare team according to Mick O'Dwyer, was dismissed for an alleged offence spotted by the linesman on the Cusack stand side.

Derry referee Michael Convery instantly red-carded McCreery after listening to his official's account of the incident.

It had been easy for Kildare up until that point. They led by 0-11 to 0-6 at half time without finding it necessary to click into top gear. Eight first half wides - they hit 14 against 5 overall - the results of careless finishing, almost indicated a degree of apathy. Kildare's McCreery and Ronan Sweeney had claimed almost every ball that fell into midfield. If they didn't gain possession, Dermot Early was back to forage with them.

Denied of a midfield foothold, Carlow looked a sorry sight, but that was all to change with in the second half when they had the advantage of the breeze. A good move started by Alan Bowe and almost finished by Johnny Kavanagh but somehow blocked away for a 45 was the obvious prelude to Carlow's awakening. Bowe placed the 45 dangerously close to Christy Byrne's line, and the ball came off a post before falling into the path of Quinlan, who drilled home.

Suddenly Carlow found the space that was Kildare's sole right in the first half. Mark Carpenter, Johnny Nevin, Bowe and Sean Kavanagh were now making the biggest impacts, so much so that the rampant Carlow men had the deficit down to a single point 17 minutes into the second half.

"The game was there for the taking at that point " said a dejected Carlow manager Pat Rowe afterwards. "The chance was there for us but we let them off the hook. When you give ball away in attacks the way we did, a team like Kildare are going to punish you on the counter.

"They (Kildare) didn't do anything spectacular. They just did basic things like getting the ball forward to their front men, but they picked off the points." Kildare manager O'Dwyer spoke of his relief at the outcome, and praised the resilience of his men. "I was worried when they pegged us back to a point. I said: `this is going to be a test for us' and I was delighted in a way to have a test. That's what we came here for today - to have a right test. "Carlow were fit and well organised. This came as no surprise considering you have clubs in Carlow able to compete with the best in Leinster." Kildare ultimately reacted to Carlow's surge by showing the advantage of experience. They never showed signs of panic despite being presented with many reasons to do so. Apart from the loss of McCreery ("I never saw the bloody thing," said O'Dwyer of the incident), the Leinster title holders then suffered the loss of Glen Ryan, their inspirational captain, who was stretchered off 24 minutes into the second half with a severe ankle injury. He was taken straight to hospital. Niall Buckley, who displayed neat touches when introduced around the same time as Martin Lynch, impressed as the Leinster champions responded to their unexpected difficulties.

Buckley and Lynch made a huge difference and O'Dwyer praised the performances of newcomers Kenny Duane Ronan Sweeney and Mick Wright (a second-half substitute). Buckley's astute play was notable when the pressure was on his side. He was unlucky not to hit the net when a defender got in the way of his shot, easily taken low by Paudge McGrath. "The goal", said O'Dwyer, "gave them a great boost. I thought at that stage they had a right good chance to go on from there, but in fairness to our lads they knuckled down and took their points. We tried harder and worked harder and that was the difference between the teams."