KILDARE finished with a flourish to dismiss Longford in the opening round of the Leinster under 21 football championship at Newbridge yesterday.

The sides were level on nine occasions and the game was only decided when Kildare hit four unanswered scores during the closing three minutes.

Longford took an early lead when midfielders Brendan Donoghue and Jim Tully each pointed.

The sides were deadlocked four times during the first half which ended with Kildare leading by 0-7 to 0-6.

Both sides wasted many scoring chances during the second half before Philip Brady gave Longford a short lived advantage in the 40th minute.

With John Whelan playing well at midfield Kildare took the initiative but Longford again recovered. Then John Deegan scored the first of Kildare's four late points which settled the contest.