Kildare facing drop after loss to determined Royals

KILDARE are staring relegation in the face after yesterday’s defeat by Leinster rivals Meath has left them rooted on their own at the bottom of the Division 2 table.

With six minutes of regular time left in their crunch clash with Meath at Navan, they looked set to earn their first points of the season as they led by 0-9 to 0-8.

However, for the second successive Sunday, Meath staged a powerful late match-winning rally and unanswered points from Cathal Hickey, Mathew Costello and substitutes Ruairi Kinsella and Aaron Lynch sealed the 0-12 to 0-9 win.

Compounding Kildare’s misery, Darragh Kirwan, Ben McCormack and Barry Kelly were all benched with injuries.

Meanwhile, Derry strengthened their position at the top of Division 1 with a 310 to 1-11 win over an injury ravaged Galway team in Pearse Stadium, who counted their twin strike force of Damien Comer and Shane Walsh among their absentees. And they were sorely missed as the wasteful home side converted just 12 out of 28 chances.

They were still in the game at half-time when they trailed by just two points (1-7 to 1-5), but the game’s defining moment arrived six minutes into the second half when referee Derek O’Mahony adjudged Diarmuid Baker had been denied a goalscoring chance, awarding a penalty which Shane McGuigan converted.

Paul Cassidy added another goal 15 minutes from the end.

Monaghan’s 10-season run in Division 1 is in major jeopardy after suffering a crushing defeat to Roscommon at Dr Hyde Park yesterday.

A man-of-the-match performance from Enda Smith and a goal early in the second half from Shane Cunnane saw Roscommon cruise to a 1-16 to 0-7 win.