KILBRIDE followed up the first shock of the SFC when the Blues toppled Palatine when they too pushed the Bennekerry crew closer to elimination with a super show in Dr. Cullen Park on Saturday.

It was sweet revenge for their ' 09 failure to Palatine, but this time there was little doubt as to the superior team as the black-clad Kilbride held the initiative for most of the journey.

Palatine were not helped by the 39th minute dismissal of John Reid seconds after he had punched a point; the immediate collision with James Foley forcing the red card with the Kilbride defender seeing yellow in the same incident.

Reid had closed the margin to a mere point at that stage, but the game was well beyond their control by the time Niall Reid was shown the line after another meeting with a Kilbride opponent.

The game opened on a distinct Kilbride note, they going 1-2 up by the sixth minute. Stephen Curry boxed the first point and No. 20 Jack Donoghue fired a low shot inside the right post two minutes later rewarding some excellent work by John Farrell, himself and Seamus Gray who 60 seconds later lobbed over a free.

Palatine reacted swiftly and a neatly touched-on ball by David Kehoe saw Brian Kelly beat the advancing Derry O'Toole in the air.

The remaining 22 minutes of the half saw Kilbride outscore the favourites 6-4 with two Gray frees seeing Kilbride break 1-8 to 1-4 at the interval.The atmosphere was charged with doubts as to the outcome. Gray and Kelly exchanged scores before Kehoe increased the temperature with a fine goal after good play by Niall, John and David Reid six minutes into the half to reduce the margin to just two scores.

The battle raged at midfield where an energetic Joe Waters and Darragh Foley were having the better of the tussle, but still Palatine advanced with John Reid pointing to heighten the tension, maintained after Colin O'Toole and Kelly (free) traded points by the 48th minute.

Without warning Kilbride grabbed hold of the remaining 19 minutes holding Palatine scoreless while helping themselves to 1-3 to win convincingly; Palatine decimated by a resolute defence and losing the Reid brothers.

The clinching score was a John Farrell goal in the 52nd minute after Waters thundered down the right and Stephen Curry delivered a cross into the square where Farrell was on hand to turn it to the net.

Stephen Curry could have opted for a goal-shot when he pointed two minutes later and with Kilbride on a high Jason Carroll pointed with his first touch before Darragh Foley ended Palatine's misery in the 62nd minute from a free.

It was an enthralling contest, mainly due to the closeness of the scoring for three-quarters of the game and the surprise of the result which puts the Bennekerry team in a predicament if they fail to beat Rathvilly on Friday, and they field without two Reids.

Kilbride - who will face KildavinClonegal on Saturday without Gray because of a hamstring injury - traded their best form since becoming senior and avenged last year's defeat in spades. They have found a new level and played with an authority which sees them join the upper tier.

James Foley, O'Toole, Mark Curry and Eoin Nolan led the defence with aplomb while Waters and Darragh Foley were commanding in the middle with Gray, Donoghue and Stephen Curry found higher gears as the game wore on.

Palatine never played with the panache which dismissed Eire Og in the league final - that second half display a mere memory. Brian Farrell Dermot McDonald and Joe Byrne worked hard at the back while David Reid, John Reid and Brian Kelly were the pick of the rest but again the team heavily reliant on top-scoring Kelly.

- PAUL DONAGHY At Dr. Cullen Park