Kilmessan moved closer to the business end of the Ted Murtagh SHC with a decisive win over 14-man Kildalkey at Trim

Kilmessan 2-17
Kildalkey 2-10

Kilmessan - held by Boardsmill last time out - made most of the running here. However they held a slender lead, 2-9 to 2-8, midway through the second-half when Kildalkey full-back Stephen Forde was dismissed on receipt of his second yellow card in a short space of time.

Darren Reilly - who scored nine points in the draw with Boardsmill - pointed the subsequent free awarded for a clumsy foul on Ger O'Neill.

Points from Tony Fox and Francis Doran completed Kildalkey's tally and bookened a Reilly 65. Kilmessan closed in on their second win from three outings six unanswered points. Stephen Clynch marked his cameo appearance with a hat-trick of scores to complete the scoring.

Reilly's second point from play in the 58th minute was one of the scores of the game with Ger O'Neill providing the assist with a smart sideline cut.

Kilmessan looked the more likely to win throughout as they responded positively when pressured. Kildalkey were in contention after the second of Derek Doran's two goals, but their hopes of a second win ended with Forde's departure.

After a slow start the pace of the opening half quickened as the half-hour progressed. Kilmessan held the upper hand while better individual scoring performances belonged to Kildalkey.

Padraig Geoghegan scored three points from full-forward while wearing the number 9 jersey and also opened the scoring six minutes in.

The first quarter was nearly over when Sean Doyle goaled to get Kilmessan off the mark and in front for the first time, 1-0 to 0-2. There they remained for the rest of the half.

Within two minutes Danny Maguire kicked his side's second goal. When Danny Reilly landed his and Kilmessan's first score from a free it was 2-3 to 0-3 after 22 minutes.

Two goals inside six minutes rallied Kildalkey. A Reilly point from distance was Kilmessan's response to Doran's first goal.

Paul Grimes' point was Kilmessan's answer to Doran second goal and left the team in white and blue ahead by 2-6 to 2-4 at the break.

Points from Sean Corrigan and Derek Doran levelled matters the second time within two minutes of the restart. An exciting finale seemed to be in the offing as there was nothing more than a point in it over the remainder of the third quarter.

Crucially Kildalkey never managed to regain the lead they enjoyed for eight first quarter minutes before numerical disadvantage left the task of winning here beyond them.

Kilmessan - Mark Brennan; Paddy McGovern, Shane Brennan, Pauric Maguire; Richie Donnelly, Peter Farrell, Tony Horan; Darren Reilly (0-7, 4fs, 1 65), Martin Horan; Paul Grimes (0-1), Eoin Marsh, Sean Doyle (1-2); Danny Maguire (1-1), Kevin Keena (0-3), Pauric Burke. Subs - Anton O'Neill for McGoven (ht), Ger O'Neill for Grimes (41), Stephen Clynch (0-3) for Doyle (53), Nicky Horan for Burke (56).

Kildalkey - Conor Flynn; David Conneely, Stephen Forde, Daire Lahart; David Harmon (0-3 fs), Maurice Keogh, Mairtin Doran; Sean Corrigan (0-1), Padraig Geoghegan (0-3); Mark Healy, Francis Doran (0-1), Tony Fox (0-1); Sean Heavey, Martin Healy, Derek Doran (2-1). Subs - Nick Fitzgerald for Martin Healy (41), Matt Rickard for Mark Healy (50).

Referee - Fergus Smith (Blackhall Gaels) Tweet

Most Read Stories