| All square for Down and Kildare
 The
Lilywhites will look back on this league clash and ask themselves just
how they managed to pick up just one point in a game they really should
have had wrapped up well before the final whistle.
A pointed free by Aidan Carr three minutes into added time gave Down a
draw they hardly deserved in a game where ball control was at a minimum
after horrendous rainfall in Newcastle.
Despite the poor conditions though the supporters who braved the elements
were treated to an exciting first-half.
In a ding-dong battle Murt Donnelly’s goal for the Leinster men
a minute before half-time gave them a 1-9 to 0-8 lead.
Down goalkeeper Mickey McVeigh was unluckily beaten when his fantastic
save from a Padraig O’Neill shot spilled to Donnelly and the Kildare
man made no mistake from just a few yards out.
Rather than build on their lead though Kildare stuttered in the second-half
kicking wide after wide and missing some guilt-edged scoring possibilities
from frees.
Two points from Danny Hughes and one apiece from James McGovern and Aiden
Carr saw Down battle their way back into the contest.
However when Emmett Belton pointed in the last minute of normal time it
seemed John Crofton would be celebrating a win for his side to add to
last week’s scalp of Armagh but Down had other ideas and Carr’s
late free means both sides enjoyed a share of the spoils.
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