Monaghan fall for first time
Kildare 1-14 Monaghan 1-11
Monaghan fell to their first defeat in National Football League Division 2 as Kildare prevailed at Clones to overtake the hosts at the top of the table.
Kieran McGeeney's Kildare side, wearing green jerseys to avoid a colour clash, had the stronger finish as late points from Ronan Sweeney, Karl Ennis and Alan Smith saw them over the finish line.
The Lilywhites were 1-9 to 1-4 ahead at half-time, with McGeeney admitting afterwards that his charges 'should have been further ahead at half-time.'
It was all Kildare in the opening 10 minutes as points from Eamonn Callaghan, Mark Scanlon and the ever reliable Johnny Doyle sent them into a 0-4 to 0-0 lead.
Monaghan manager Seamus McEnaney has been quite vocal about how the new disciplinary rulings are negating the style of some physical teams like Monaghan.
And they did seem to be standing off challenges in the opening quarter as Kildare took the game to them.
Strong running and assured kicking from the visitors moved them 0-7 to
0-1 clear before Monaghan won a penalty when Dick Clerkin was fouled.
Tommy Freeman stepped up to strike home from the 13-metre line, tucking his penalty away to the bottom left corner.
But Kildare responded brilliantly with points from Callaghan and Padraig O'Neill and a goal from Ronan Sweeney.
An injury to Paul Finlay, who fell badly when collecting a high ball, produced a long delay but Monaghan collected two more points in injury-time, closing the gap to five points.
Although James Kavanagh stemmed the tide by landing the opening point of the second half for Kildare, Monaghan were clearly back in the game.
A run of points from Rory Woods and Freeman, who took his tally to 1-4, made it a two-point game and Kildare were beginning to struggle having lost team captain Doyle to a yellow card.
It was level pegging at 1-11 apiece when Darren Hughes, who had moved from the full-back line into the half-backs, fired two spectacular points through the uprights.
Nonetheless, Kildare recaptured some of their best form in the closing five minutes to re-establish their dominance.
Sweeney and Ennis both pointed and then Smith, who had replaced Doyle, had the final say.
