Monaghan 1-11 1-15 Kildare

Kieran McGeeney with Seamus McEnaney after the final whistle

Monaghan exited from the All-Ireland SFC as Kildare clinched a deserved victory in the qualifier at Croke Park.

The Farney men were flattered by their 0-4 to 0-1 lead as Kildare shot several poor wides but the Lilywhites fought back to lead 0-6 to 0-5 at half-time.

As Kildare found their range, they moved 0-12 to 0-7 ahead before Ronan Sweeney notched the clinching goal.

As Kildare eased up, a late Monaghan rally included a Hugh McElroy goal but the Lilywhites had done enough.

Monaghan manager Seamus McEnaney refused to be drawn on his future after the defeat but there will be strong speculation that the Farney boss will now step down after six years in charge.

McEnaney made three changes from last weekend's Ulster Final hammering by Tyrone as goalkeeper Padraig McBennett, Dessie Mone and Ciaran Hanratty replaced Shane Duffy, injured JP Mone and Stephen Gollogly.

Initially, the signs appeared promising for the Farney men as Tommy Freeman and Hanratty kicked them two points ahead by the second minute.

Dreadful shooting by the Lilywhites or more accurately a woefully inaccurate John Doyle kept Kildare scoreless until the 12th minute when the impressive James Kavanagh finally opened their account.

As Doyle continued to misfire despite his team's midfield dominance, Monaghan forged a flattering three-point lead after Conor McManus and Eoin Lennon points.

Monaghan stayed three ahead at 0-5 to 0-2 as Kildare continued to rack up the wides but Kieran McGeeney's side hit four unanswered points before the break to lead - although the margin was scarcely representative of their first-half superiority.

606: DEBATE It was never a four-point game, Kildare were good for a few more. Bad game though Rebelbhoy

Sub Eoin O'Flaherty had scored Kildare's third point while superb duo James Kavanagh and Eamon O'Callaghan kicked the Lilywhites level before Doyle's free gave them the lead in first-half injury-time.

Kildare had also wasted a glorious goal chance after a mix-up in the Monaghan defence between McBennett and Dessie Mone with Padraig O'Neill contriving to scramble the ball wide.

Monaghan switched the struggling Paul Finlay to midfield at the start of the second half but Kildare's possession was finally translating into scores as Kavanagh (two) and O'Flaherty extend the lead to four.

Finlay registered Monaghan's first point in 19 minutes but Kildare responded with three more superb long-range scores from Ronan Sweeney, Kavanagh and Alan Smith.

The contest was effectively over by the 51st minute after sub Sweeney palmed to the net after brilliant work by Doyle and the unselfish Kavanagh, who found the unmarked goalscorer in the square.

Kildare's lead was nine points (1-14 to 0-8) when Emmet Bolton pointed in the 58th minute.

The Lilywhites' concentration wavered in the closing stages as Monaghan outscored them 1-3 to 0-1.

Hugh McElroy's 68th minute goal left five between the teams and it was further reduced when Paul Finlay pointed at the start of injury-time.

McEnaney and his Monaghan players felt that more than two minutes of injury-time should have been signalled but they were clutching at straws as Kildare were of the order of 10 points better on the day.

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Kildare: S McCormack, P Kelly, H McGrillen, A MacLochlainn, M O'Flaherty, E Bolton (0-1), B Flanagan, D Flynn (0-1), D Earley, J Kavanagh (0-5), K Donnelly, P O'Neill, J Doyle (0-2), A Smith (0-1), E Callaghan (0-2). Subs: E O'Flaherty (0-2) for Donnelly, R Sweeney (1-1) for O'Neill, G White for Earley, K Cribben for Bolton, D Whyte for M O'Flaherty.

Monaghan: P McBennett, D McArdle, D Mone, C Walshe, D Freeman (0-1), D Hughes (0-1), G McQuaid, O Lennon (0-1), D Clerkin, K Hughes (0-1), P Finlay (0-3), C Hanratty (0-1), R Woods, C McManus (0-1, f), T Freeman (0-1). Subs: S Gollogly (0-1) for Hanratty, F Caulfield for Clerkin, H McElroy (1-0) for Walshe, M McElroy for McManus

Referee: J White (Donegal).