Kildare’s bid to bounce back up to Division Two of the Allianz Football League at the first attempt gained further credence when holding off hosts Sligo by 1-16 to 0-13 to garner back-to-back victories in Markievicz Park on Sunday afternoon.
The final score line wasn’t a true reflection of an inch-tight contest that saw only the minimum between the sides entering the final 10 minutes.
However, with the tie precariously balanced at 0-14 to 0-13, it was Kildare that upped the ante with a 1-2 final flourish, starting with 1-1 from Darragh Kirwan in the space of 30 seconds before Kevin Feely completed a memorable finish.
Kirwan’s 1-5 took his handsome tally to 2-11 in just two matches as the high-flying Lilywhites poured further misery on a Sligo side that have seen their legitimate promotion hopes dashed within seven days of the new campaign following successive losses.
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Mickey Harte’s Offaly have also started in flawless fashion, building on their opening win over Sligo to edge out neighbours Laois by 2-19 to 1-17 in Portlaoise.
Jordan Hayes’s sixth-minute goal set a blistering pace as the visitors powered 1-10 to 0-2 clear by the half-hour mark. So while a ring-rusty Laois did bound back off the ropes with a rousing 1-3 unanswered rally, including a Damon Larkin goal, there was still time for an emphatic Offaly response before the break.
Paddy Dunican’s injury-time wonder goal couldn’t have been any better timed as the Faithful cemented a 2-10 to 1-6 half-time cushion and only widened the gap as the new half developed, eventually powering 12 clear entering the final five minutes.
It would prove too much of a deficit for a never-say-die home side to repair despite finishing strongly with eight of the last nine points.
Putting their Division Three promotion hats in the ring are Clare and Fermanagh after both kick-started their campaigns on home soil.
The Munster side cantered to a comprehensive 2-17 to 0-10 victory over newcomers Leitrim in Ennis as impressive first-half two-pointers for Eoin Cleary (two) and Emmet McMahon inspired a 0-13 to 0-4 advantage before second-half goals for Ikem Ugwueru and Alan Sweeney ensured that Peter Keane’s side could boast nine different scorers from play.
Off the back of an underwhelming opening defeat to Kildare, an introspective Fermanagh finally clicked into gear in a rousing second-half thriller.
The hosts, led by 1-7 from Garvan Jones, produced a three-point turnaround to shade matters against previously neighbours Antrim by 2-16 to 3-12 ahead of a must-win promotion showdown away to Clare in a fortnight’s time.
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