Tyrone 0-7 Kildare 1-4: Kieran McGeeney got his National League challenge off to an encouraging start as Kildare boss, but he needed a last-minute goal from Padraig Mullarkey to snatch a point from the visit to Tyrone.
It was no more than the Lilywhites deserved, for though they registered only five scores over the 74 dogged minutes, they created several goal chances that went abegging, thanks largely to superb defending from Conor Gormley.
A niggly game played on a heavy Healy Park sod saw referee Vincent Neary flash his yellow card 13 times, with eight Kildare players booked, to Tyrone's five. "I'm happy, it might not have been a classic contest, but at the end of the day the fellows were here to get a result," said McGeeney.
It was his decision to switch full forward Dermot Earley to midfield late in the first half that swung the game in favour of the Leinster men. "Dermot played well. But unfortunately there just wasn't any ball going into him in the full-forward line," said McGeeney. "We were losing the breaking balls more than the high catches around the middle of the park, and we picked up more break balls in the second half."
Kevin Hughes, Colm McCullagh (three) and Enda McGinley had put Tyrone in a commanding position at 0-5 to 0-1, but the momentum swung in the Leinster side's favour late in the half, with John Doyle, from a 45, and Mullarkey, when he should have had a goal, narrowing the gap to 0-5 to 0-3 at the break.
Nonetheless Tyrone looked destined to take full points when they eased into a 0-7 to 0-4 lead through Raymond Mulgrew and Tommy McGuigan late in the game. But Kildare finally got their reward in the 69th minute when Mullarkey punched substitute Alan Smith's right-wing cross to the net past John Devine.
Tyrone manager Mickey Harte admitted he was disappointed to concede a goal so late, and believes his side could suffer the consequences later in the season.
"Disappointing was definitely one word to describe it, and maybe it was something more than that. But that's life. If you don't put yourself out of the reach of the opposition, one score can take them back in, and if you give people that kind of lifeline, then they're going to take it, and Kildare took it," he said.
TYRONE: J Devine; PJ Quinn, C Gormley, M Swift; D Harte, D Carlin, P Jordan; K Hughes (0-1), E McGinley (0-1); C Cavanagh, R Mulgrew (0-1), R Mellon; C McCullagh (0-3, two frees), T McGuigan (0-1), S O'Neill. Subs: O Mulligan for Mellon (53 mins), D McCaul for Quinn (61 mins), N Gormley for Cavanagh (63 mins).
KILDARE: T Corley; E Bolton, A McLoughlin, M O'Flaherty; A Rainbow, K O'Neill, G White; P Mullarkey (1-1), K Brennan; J Doyle (0-3, one fere, one 45), M Conway, J Kavanagh; R Sweeney, D Earley, K Donnelly. Subs: A Smith for Sweeney (53 mins), D Flynn for Donnelly (60 mins).
Referee: V Neary(Mayo).
