Slattery makes his mark as second half goals keep Kildare on course for league promotion

Down 0-10

Allianz NFL Division 2 round five

David Slattery may have only entered the fray at the midway stage and left it with five minutes left on the clock, but the Confey man made all the difference up in Newry as his two goals set Kildare up for a hard earned victory over Down in Newry.

Man of the match Kevin Feely was every bit as instrumental, kicking five points from frees and registering four marks in one of the most comprehensive midfield displays imaginable as the Athy man shouldered the burden of Neill Flynn's absence to take over place kicking duties and leave his stamp all over this tie. It's another step on the ladder to promotion, and one more win over their next two games will assure the Lilywhites of back to back promotions and place in Division 1.

Down's tactics were pretty clear from the offset; filter everyone back when not in possession and hope to hit Kildare on the counterattack. Eamon Burns sent his side out to frustrate Kildare during the opening period, often playing with 14 men behind the ball when Kildare went on the attack, while they relied on Barry O'Hagan to plough a lone furrow up front and make the best of the limited supply of ball he was receiving.

There was a certain amount of intrigue attached to this style of game however. Kildare - the second highest scoring county in the country in all four leagues - were always likely to meet a defensive setup at some stage, and how they dealt with a blanket defence was going to tell a lot about this young team and where they're at.

They hadn't touched the ball by the time O'Hagan swung over Down's first point of the game just shy of the two minute mark, and the Lilywhites looked a small bit ropey in those opening exchanges. Had it not been for Mark Donnellan they would have been further behind too, as the Maynooth goalkeeper made a fine block to deny Ryan Johnston a goal from his close range effort.

Donnellan delved further into his box of tricks two minutes later when he sweetly struck a '45 straight between the uprights to open Kildare's tally. O'Hagan restored the Down lead when he curled over a superb effort from out on the right wing despite fierce pressure from David Hyland, but that was their last score for the next 17 minutes as Kildare owned the ball for a period after that.

Kevin Feely set up their only point from play in the opening half by superbly claiming a mark from a Down kickout before offloading to Tommy Moolick, allowing the Leixlip man to slot over from 35 metres out. Feely, who had been practicing frees in preparation for this game all week, landed two fine efforts in the first half as he kept Kildare ticking only nicely.

Darragh O'Hanlon's pointed free on the half hour mark signalled an end to Down's barren spell, but there was no further scoring for the remainder of the half as Kildare entered the dressing rooms with a slender 0-4 to 0-3 advantage.

While Cian O'Neill kept Kildare in the dressing room for a prolonged period, they wasted no time in making an impact upon the resumption as they plundered a goal and a point inside 90 seconds. Feely switched onto his right foot to bomb over a 40 metre free into the stiff breeze, before David Slattery - on as a half-time substitute bagged a goal with his first touch of the ball.

It was a brilliant move that created the goal as Paul Cribbin claimed a Down kickout before working the ball inside to his clubmate Daniel Flynn. The full-forward then scooped it across to Feely who in turn found Slattery and there was little doubt in the end result as he showed his prowess on front of goal by coolly slotting past Michael Cunningham.

Down wrestled themselves back into the game thanks to a couple of expertly taken long range points from Caolan Mooney, but Feely replied by switching onto his left foot to curl over his fourth free of the night. The hard-working Kevin McKernan then responded for Down with a well-taken point, but Slattery put real daylight between the teams when he dispatched his second goal of the night in the 49th minute. This time it was all about the movement of the Confey clubman as he peeled off the back of his man to find space and take a handpass from Niall Kelly before adjusting his feet to skew a smart finish off the outside of his right foot into the bottom corner of Cunningham's net.

From that point onwards it was a case of game management as far as Kildare were concerned, and they were superb in that facet of the tie. Down managed to pluck away at Kildare's lead to a certain extent, but they never made any real headway as the visitors pretty much gave as good as they got.

O'Hanlon knocked over three frees for the hosts and Jerome Johnston added a point, but Paul Cribbin, Tommy Moolick and Ollie Lyons all raised white flags at the opposite end to keep Kildare firmly in the driving seat.

Down finished with 13 men after Darren O'Hagan left the field through injury after Eamon Burns had used all his available substitutes, while Jerome Johnston was also sent to the line after picking up a black card. It mattered little to the outcome of the game however, and Kildare can now look forward to a meeting with Clare in eight days time that will define their season.

Scorers for Down: D O'Hanlon 0-4f, B O'Hagan and C Mooney 0-2 each, J Johnston and K McKernan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kildare: D Slattery 2-0, K Feely 0-5f, T Moolick, P Cribbin, O Lyons and M Donnellan('45) 0-1 each.

Down

M Cunnigham; R McAleenan, B McArdle, D O'Hagan; D O'Hanlon, C McGovern, C Mooney; A Carr, P Turley(C McGee 70mins); K McKernan, C Maginn(M Poland 65mins), J Murphy; S Miller(S Dorman 70mins), B O'Hagan, R Johnston(A Davidson 53mins(J Johnston BC 63mins).

Kildare

M Donnellan; M O'Grady, D Hyland, O Lyons; J Byrne, E Doyle(L Healy 74mins), K Cribbin; T Moolick(E Heavey 67mins), K Feely; F Conway(S Ryan 70mins), N Kelly, P Cribbin; C McNally(D Slattery ht(E Callaghan 65mins), D Flynn, C Hartley(F Dowling 52mins).