National Football League: Kildare defeat Dublin, Kerry ease past Monaghan, Mayo see off Armagh

Dublin's struggles continued in Newbridge.

Kildare 1-12 Dublin 0-12

Kildare secured their first win over Dublin in Newbridge in 27 years, with a hard-fought three-point victory that deals a significant blow to the Sky Blues' survival hopes.

The capital side have now lost four games in the National League, and will likely need to win all three of their remaining games if they are to retain their top-flight status.

The match began along a similar track to Dublin's three previous games. Dessie Farrell's charges could not sustain a threat up front, barring individual flashes.

Kildare picked off their scores efficiently, with Daniel Flynn producing some moments of magic with three first-half scores.

The visitors did have a golden opportunity in the second minute, but Brian Fenton's shot was well saved by Aaron O'Neill, and Tom Lahiff was able to seize the rebound and fist over the bar.

Nonetheless, the Lilywhites managed to build a 0-8 to 0-4 lead at half-time.

Dublin looked to fight back after the restart, with Sean Bugler leading the charge.

However, the home side landed the killer blow in the 47th minute. Daniel Flynn fed Jack Sargant, whose goal effort hit the bar. However, Jimmy Hyland was the quickest to react, and he fisted the ball to the net.

A string of Dean Rock frees did bring Dublin back into contention, but Aaron O'Neill held his nerve with a long-range placed balls to keep Kildare out of reach. A late Lee Gannon score did bring Dublin back within three, but they were unable to work a goal.

Kildare: Aaron O'Neill (0-1, 0-1f); Mick O'Grady, Shea Ryan, Ryan Houlihan; Tony Archbold, James Murray, Daragh Ryan; Aaron Masterson, Kevin Flynn (0-1); Con Kavanagh, Ben McCormack (0-1), Paul Cribbin; Paddy Woodgate (0-1, 0-1f), Daniel Flynn (0-3), Jimmy Hyland (1-4, 0-2f, 0-1m).

Subs: Jack Sargent for Con Kavanagh (32), Kevin O'Callaghan for Ben McCormack (39-HT), Brian McLoughlin for Paddy Woodgate (54), Kevin Feely for Aaron Masterson (57), Kevin O'Callaghan for Jack Sargent (63), David Hyland for Darragh Ryan (68)

Dublin: Evan Comerford; Michael Fitzsimons, David Byrne, Lee Gannon (0-1); Sean MacMahon, John Small, Jonny Cooper; Brian Fenton, Brian Howard; Niall Scully, Seán Bugler (0-4), Tom Lahiff (0-1); Ross McGarry, Ciaran Kilkenny (0-2), Dean Rock (0-3, 0-3f).

Subs: Robbie McDaid for Tom Lahiff (23-32 temp), Aaron Byrne for Ross McGarry (48), Robbie McDaid for Jonny Cooper (54), Lorcan O'Dell for Niall Scully (68), Alex Wright for Brian Howard (70).

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Monaghan 1-12 Kerry 3-14

A late Monaghan scoring spree, featuring a Conor McManus goal, was not enough for Monaghan to avoid defeat to a rampant Kerry in Inniskeen.

David Clifford twice found the net, while Seán O'Shea also raised a green flag, as the Kingdom took a step

Mayo 0-15 Armagh 1-10

Mayo recovered from the concession of an early Jason Duffy goal to hand Armagh their first defeat of the campaign.

Armagh led 1-10 to 0-10 late in the second half, but Mayo managed to level proceedings heading into injury-time.

The Westerners claimed victory with points from Jordan Flynn and Paddy Durcan.

Division 2

Derry continued their promotion push with a fourth consecutive victory, as they defeated Clare, 2-13 to 0-10.

Goals from Benny Heron and Gareth McKinless helped the Oak Leaf County claim the two points on offer, with Shane McGuigan kicking three points.

Division 3

There were wins for Fermanagh and Louth on Sunday afternoon. The Erne County defeated Longford, 3-11 to 1-10, while the Wee County edged Westmeath, with Mickey Harte's side prevailing 1-15 to 1-13.

Division 4

London's winning start in the fourth tier came to an end, as Wexford prevailed in Ruislip, 0-11 to 1-6.

Cavan continued their bid to return to the third tier with a 0-19 to 1-12 victory over Carlow. Meanwhile, Leitrim overcame Waterford, 2-17 to 1-13.