Allianz Football League Division 2

FERMANAGH 0-8 KILDARE 0-6

By Ger McNally at Brewster Park

Fermanagh picked up their first win of the season after a dour game in Brewster Park this evening.

The home side scored four points in the opening 12 minutes but only four more in the remainder of the game but that was still enough to beat a Kildare side who only scored one point from play over the course of the game.

Kildare were slow to the pitch of the game and their sloppiness in the early stages cost them dearly as the home side scored the first three points of the game inside the opening eight minutes.

A couple of Adam Tyrell frees opened the Kildare account before Eoin Donnelly landed the fourth point of the game for the home side.

Fergal Conway kicked Kildare's only point from play in the 13th but their general play didn't improve in the remainder of the half.

There was only one further score in the first half, a Sean Quigley free, and the home side led 0-5 to 0-3 at the break.

Kildare took better care of the ball in the second half and reduced their sloppy turnovers but their slow use of possession played into Fermanagh's hands.

A Neil Flynn free and a point from an offensive mark by Conway got Kildare back on level terms for the first time with 20 minutes to play but they were the last white flags they raised.

The home side missed many chances from distance and kicked 11 wides during the game and they also created the only real goal scoring chance of the game but Ultan Kelm was denied by Mark Donnellan in the 53rd minute.

Ryan Jones was the Fermanagh hero with points in the 59th minute and then injury time to complete the win. A poor night for Kildare was completed late on when Ben McCormack was shown a red card.

It's a result that is major setback for Kildare's promotion chances but puts unbeaten Fermanagh level at the top of the division with Donegal ahead of Sunday's games.

Scorers for Fermanagh: S Quigley 0-3fs, R Lyons 0-2, C Jones 0-1, E Donnelly 0-1f, R Jones 0-1

Scorers for Kildare: N Flynn 0-2fs, F Conway 0-2 (1mark), A Tyrell 0-2fs

Fermanagh: Thomas Treacy; Johnny Cassidy, Lee Cullen, Kane Connor, Ultan Kelm, James McMahon, Ciaran Corrigan; Eoin Donnelly, Ryan Jones; Ryan Lyons, Declan McCusker, Aidan Breen, Daniel McTeague, Conall Jones, Sean Quigley. Subs: Tom Clarke for Donnelly, 20; Paul McCusker for Teague, 38; Eamon McHugh for Connor, 41; Shane McCullion for Clarke, 46; Kevin O'Donnell for P McCusker, 59.

Kildare: Mark Donnellan; Mark Dempsey, Mick O'Grady, David Hyland, James Murray, Eoin Doyle, Keith Cribbin; Kevin Feely, Aaron Masterson; David Slattery, Fergal Conway, Conor Hartley, Adam Tyrrell, Ben McCormack, Neil Flynn. Subs: Cian O'Donoghue for Tyrrell, h/t; Jimmy Hyland for Hartley, h/t; Tommy Moolick for Cribbin, 59; Fionn Dowling for Conway, 59; Padraig Nash for Slattery, 65.

Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan).