There was more riding on this one than normally expected of a first round League game and it lived up to the billing.
As fate would have it, the return of Jack O'Connor to a packed St Conleth's Park after his two-year residency abruptly finished up last September coincided with the arrival of Glenn Ryan as the hoped-for born and bred Kildare saviour, and with a stellar backroom team with him.
In the end, the sides shared the spoils but it was the Lilywhites who left Newbridge with their heads held high following Jimmy Hyland's ice-cool injury time free to level it up.
