Swashbuckling Kildare got the Brian Flanagan era off to a flying start with a comprehensive dismantling of Fermanagh at St Conleth’s Park.
Kildare revelled in the open spaces provided by the rule enhancements, making hay from Ross Bogue’s kick-outs to dominate possession in the first half. With Bogue forced to go long, the Erne men were under all sorts of pressure against a lively, fluid Kildare outfit who peppered the first half with some wonderful scores having opened their account through full-back Mick O’Grady inside two minutes.
Debutants Ryan Sinkey and Colm Dalton, from Flanagan’s All-Ireland under 20 winning team, scored two points apiece as Kildare, without even attempting a two-pointer from outside the arc, tore their visitors’ defence to shreds in notching up 13 first half points.
The value of the two-pointer was illustrated in the few minutes before half-time however as Fermanagh finally gained some traction, this time off Kildare goalie Didier Cordonnier’s kick-outs, and Darragh McGurn notched three points, including an orange flag, as they closed the gap to six points by the interval.
Kildare settled again early in the second half but conceded a calamitous goal on 47 minutes when Kevin Feely’s attempted pass across his own goal was gobbled up by Shane McGullion, who finished past Cordonnier. That narrowed the gap briefly to five points.
The home side recovered though and finished the stronger with Niall Kelly and Alex Beirne (free) landing two pointers and when Dalton led a break towards goal and offloaded for Kirwan to finish to the net on the hour, there was no way back for Fermanagh.
Feely played on from a forward mark to help set up a second goal for 20-year-old Sinkey and David Hyland rounded off a fine evening for the Lilywhites with their third two-pointer as they ran out 15-point winners.
Scorers – Kildare: D Kirwan 1-6 (2f); R Sinkey 1-2, A Beirne 0-4 (2f, 1 2pf); N Kelly 0-3 (1 2p), C Dalton, C Bolton, D Hyland (2p) 0-2 each; M O’Grady, R Houlihan, B McLoughlin 0-1 each. Fermanagh: D McGurn (1 2p), G Jones (3f) 0-3 each; S McGullion 1-0; R Bogue 0-2 (1 45), D McCusker, F O’Brien (f), C Love, U Kelm 0-1 each.
Kildare: D Cordonnier 6; H O’Neill 6, M O’Grady 7, B Byrne 8; D Hyland 7, J McGrath 7, R Houlihan 7; K Feely 7, C Bolton 8; B McLoughlin 7, A Beirne 7, C Dalton 8; R Sinkey 8, D Kirwan 9, N Kelly 6. Subs: K Flynn 7 for Houlihan 50, A Masterson 6 for Kelly 53, C Hagney for McLoughlin 61, D O’Donoghue for O’Neill 61, D Swords for Bolton 66.
Fermanagh: R Bogue 6; L Cullen 6, A Jones 5, J McDade 6; J Cassidy 6, D McCusker 6, D Owens 5; R McCaffrey 6, D McGurn 7; S McGullion 6, F O’Brien 6, P Breen 6; Josh Largo Elis 6, G Jones 6, C Love 6. Subs: U Kelm 6 for A Jones 29, Jack Largo Elis 6 for Owens h-t, R Lyons 6 for Breen 52, C Cullen for McDade 56, O Murphy for McGurn 66.
Referee: B Judge (Sligo)