Mayo 1-16 Kildare 1-10

A strong second half display saw Mayo march into a Christy Ring Cup semi-final thanks to a six-point win over Kildare at Athleague.

In ideal weather conditions, the westerners bounced back strongly after succumbing to a 1-7 to 0-7 interval deficit when Paul Divilly bagged a 21st minute goal for Kildare.

Divilly's determination coupled with the excellent accuracy of
free-taker David Harney carried Andy Comerford's charges well in the first half, with Harney slotting over five points.

Dual star Keith Higgins and his brother Pearse helped to keep Mayo in touch in the midfield sector, with Derek McDonnell also slotting over some vital points.

An eager Mayo side emerged on the restart as the introduction of
Tooreen clubman Cathal Freeman turned the tide in favour of the
eventual winners.

Freeman bagged five points in the second half with Kildare's scoring chances kept to the minimum.

Mayo edged into a 0-13 to 1-9 lead at the end of the third quarter
with Kildare's scores coming from the sticks of Donal and Mark
Maloney.

However, the Lilywhites were outscored by 1-6 to 0-1 in the final
quarter with Kildare's only score coming from Adrian McAndrew who was later subsituted.

A stirring closing quarter saw Freeman and Higgins punish the Kildare defence and a 67th minute goal from David Dowling opened up a five-point gap.

Kilkenny native Dowling kicked his three-pointer to the net with
defender Conor Ryan also on target for Mayo as they booked their passage to the semi-finals.