Kildare 0-12 Armagh 0-10:It's a worrying day for the sportswriter when he's tempted to steal from himself. Exactly a year after watching Kildare beat Armagh - in a similarly tight and tense game that ended in exactly the same score - a little selfplagiarism would do nicely here, and few people would probably notice.

There would have to be a different headline though, courtesy of John Doyle. He hit 0-11 of Kildare's 0-12 total - eight of which were frees - in what was a brilliant display of consistent kicking, underlining the importance of such a role in the process.

But that's not to say Kildare wouldn't have won without him.

Just like a year ago, Kildare were generally fitter and more organised than Armagh, who - it must be emphasised - were fielding a novice team by their usual standards.

With seven Crossmaglen players on club duty and various other big names missing through injury, Armagh were largely unrecognisable from their championship outfit, and at times seemed unrecognisable to each other, as if on a blind date.

It was impossible to keep tabs on the number of times they gave the ball away, sometimes kicking directly into the arms of Kildare players as if they expected it.

At one point in the second half, Martin O'Rourke did just that - twice, in quick succession - in full view of manager Joe Kernan. After groaning loudly Kernan promptly pulled him ashore.

"We lost that match," said Kernan afterwards. "We gave the ball away too much, missed too many chances. Did a lot of stupid things on the pitch that lost us the match.

"With so many young lads in there it's hard to be mature in a situation like that, but we had chances to win, no doubt about it. So we're really disappointed that we didn't win. It's always more disappointing to lose a match you know you could have won. And those two points could well cost us later on."

Steven McDonnell did his best to keep Armagh in touch, but outside of Peader Toal and Malachy Mackin, he was getting precious little support. Unfortunately, Kevin Dyas' debut at senior level won't be recalled in glowing terms, and like young full back Kieran Toner, he was replaced well before the end.

Armagh didn't help themselves by allowing Kildare to race into a four-point lead, during which Padraig O'Neill became Kildare's only other scorer of the afternoon.

Armagh eventually settled and did well to level it at 0-5 apiece at the break, but then Kildare took off again early in the second half - with six unanswered points from Doyle's left and right boot - and that advantage was enough to see them home.

"I've just said to the boys there that we're no different now to this point last year," said manager John Crofton - and that's definitely true.

"Two points in the bag, that's all. It's still going to be a very difficult league, but then I expect it to be super preparation for the championship as well.

"And if you were as close to the line as I was there, the hits in that game were huge. The one thing you know when you play Armagh is that you'll have physical contact, and they definitely produced that. Clean hits now, but just physically they are still something to behold. And when we play Meath or whoever in the championship we won't get hit any harder than that."

It was a tough contest for sure, although the football wasn't always pretty. Dermot Earley made one searing run from midfield in the first half and should have finished it with the ball in the net, and that was only goal chance over the 70 minutes.

But then defensively both teams were solid, with Kildare full back David Lyons composed throughout, and young Mark Hogarty doing equally well at centre back.

Up front, newcomers Tomás O'Connor and Murt Donnelly couldn't impact the scoreboard, yet Crofton was still happy with their contribution: "John Doyle was superb, for sure. He took a break after the club championship, but he's a natural athlete, and as fresh now as they come. But I also think he got an awful lot of support, with some of the scores laid on for him. And what I'll be looking for now is to get 11 points from some of the others guys, if John is doing it every time.

"But I thought all the younger crew did well, dug in. David Lyons, Mark Hogarty, and Mark Scanlon all played very well - and Tomás O'Connor is clearly a natural footballer. I have great faith in them all."

Doyle was the class act, though, and if this form continues he can single-handedly ensure that Kildare test every team in the weeks ahead: "We said we'd try to start well," he said, "and we did that.

"But then we let them back into it as well. So it's very early days yet and we're certainly not getting carried away. We just stayed focused on starting both halves well."

Still, it could easily have been a different result had Armagh been a little more prudent with their possession. McDonnell briefly put them a point up at the start of the second half, but it was Doyle's sharp shooting - coupled with Armagh's own inaccuracies - that ultimately decided it.

"Of course, we'll be under pressure the next few weeks," added Kernan. "But that's what the league is all about and that's what panels are for. Even with the club players back there's no guarantee. I know we were just as disappointed this time last year, but at least today was a more gutsy performance.

"There was no heart last year. At least the boys worked hard today. They just worked stupidly as well."

KILDARE: E Murphy; E Callaghan, D Lyons, A McLoughlin; M Scanlon, M Hogarty, A Rainbow; K Brennan, D Earley; D McCormack, J Doyle (0-11, eight frees), K Donnelly; P O'Neill (0-1), T O'Connor, M Donnelly. Subs: M Conway for McCormack (56 mins).

ARMAGH: C McKinney; A Mallon, K Toner, E McNulty; P McCreesh, C McKeever, T McClelland; G Swift (0-1), C Vernon; P Toal (0-3, two frees), K Dyas, M O'Rourke; S McDonnell (0-6, five frees), M Mackin, P Forker. Subs: M O'Rourke for Forker (33 mins), B Donaghy for Dyas, P Keenan for O'Rourke, F Moriarty for Toner (all 53 mins).

Referee: E Murtagh (Longford).