A 65th minute point by Jack McKevitt with the last kick of the game sent Kildare into a second successive Under 20 All-Ireland final after a pulsating clash at Parnell Park.
Kildare recovered from a sluggish start when they conceded the first 1-03 of the game, failing to score themselves until the 25th minute.
The game swung on the 20th minute injury to Kildare midfielder Fionn Cooke.
The long stoppage to give treatment to Cooke’s injured shoulder allowed Kildare to regroup and the game took on a very different shape after that.
Jason Morgan’s eighth minute goal had given Conor Laverty’s Down side the ideal start but after the stoppage in play, Kildare suddenly began to find a way through the well organised Down defence.
Man of the match Shane Farrell kicked two points along with scores from Sean Hanafin and Oisin O’Sullivan closed the gap to 1–04 to 0-04 by half time.
After Oisin Savage kicked the first point after the restart, Kildare were given a huge boost when O’Sullivan retrieved Adam Fanning’s wayward shot and found the net in the 35th minute. O'Sullivan injured himself in the process and had to leave the field.
Kildare kept pushing forward and three points in a row gave them the lead for the first time heading into the the final ten minutes.
However, no sooner had Niall Dolan put them two clear with a magnificent free from the right wing than Down broke clear and manufactured their second goal of the game through Morgan.
Fanning and Eoin Cully scored to put Kildare back into the lead but when Tom McCarroll levelled the game in the 59th minute it looked like extra time would be needed to decide the winner.
But in the five minutes of added time, Kildare were calm and composed on the ball and worked the space well for wing back McKevitt who kicked a magical score to set up an All-Ireland decider against Sligo next Saturday in Breffni Park.
Kildare: Cormac Barker; Harry O’Neill, Tomás Von Engelbrechten, Ryan Burke; James Harris, James McGrath, Jack McKevitt (0-01); Fionn Cooke, Shane Farrell (0-04, 2f); Ryan Sinkey, Callum Bolton, Colm Dalton; Adam Fanning (0-01), Niall Dolan (0-01, 1f), Oisin O’Sullivan (1-01).
Subs: Sean Hanafin (0-01) for Cooke, 20; Ethan Moutaine for Harris, 30+1; Eoin Cully (0-02) for O O’Sullivan, 35; Killian Browne for Sinkey, 48.
Down: Oisin Treacy (0-01, 1 '45); Fiachra McEvoy, Patrick McCarthy, Finn Murdock; Thomas Hardy, James Kelly, Cormac Greene; Odhran Murdock (0-01), Tom McCarroll (0-01); Oran Cunningham, Jamie Doran, Harry Magill; Oisin Savage (0-02, 2f), Jason Morgan (2-01, 1m), Callum Rogers.
Subs: Cian Cunningham for H Magill, 36; Ryan Magill for McEvoy, 48; Niall Toner for Doran, 58; Senan Carr for McCarroll, 60+3.
Referee: Thomas Murphy (Galway).
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