Warning to parents: explicit language may be necessary in recalling Kildare's stunning victory in Newbridge on Saturday evening.

From disturbingly bad to bloody awesome, this ended with Kildare playing at their most beautiful. A fearless, ragged glory. Yet so raucously partisan was the 13,000 crowd that it's hard to contemplate how they could have ended with anything less.

When Mick O'Dwyer calls it a classic than you know it must be special. Donegal kicked butt for the first quarter hour but Kildare took it and kicked back. And who better than the old wizard to sort out that demon known as the six-day curse.

"Ah, sure we were coasting all the way," he smiles. "But it was some game of football, wasn't it? To give them eight points at the start and come back to win is a marvellous victory from my point of view.

"And to be able to lift ourselves from last Sunday, in a miracle short time, well that's great for the young players on the team, to give them the morale boost that they need. But those older boys, the Earleys, the Lynchs and the Buckleys, they were needed out there. They all started to play and came up trumps."

True, Dermot Earley, Niall Buckley and Martin Lynch all showed their genius, even if it was slightly flawed. Their dismal start allowed Donegal to jump into a 1-5 to no score lead after the first 15 minutes.

The way they finished though, all was forgiven. Buckley and Earley soon set midfield alight, and Lynch provided the goal 13 minutes into the second half that put Kildare's fightback into overdrive. John Doyle too was inspired in chipping over the frees that would cost Donegal much of their advantage.

It was 16 minutes into the game when Eddie McCormack finally shot over Kildare's first point. Even at that stage, the patience among the Kildare supporters was running low. Then came five unanswered points, however, and suddenly Donegal had a major contest on their hands.

Having gone into the break just a point behind, it then took only two minutes of the second half for Kildare to draw level. Doyle was once again the man with a point from play and so the scores were level at 1-7 to 0-10.

Still, the sides were locked at 1-16 each going into the four minutes of added time. Cue one more magical attack for the home team, as Padraig Brennan floats a ball across the goal to Earley, who flicks back to corner back Ken Doyle and bang - Kildare sneak it.

"It was great to survive," said O'Dwyer, "because it could have gone either way. And they tell us Kildare have no bottle? Well I think we'll have just enough games behind us now if we get through. But the GAA must still sit down on this, because it's wrong to let one team rest for four or five weeks and get the other to play after six days. That's something we can think about next year anyway."

Donegal must also get some of the praise for the way they regained their lead. Brendan Devenney was at his most lethal, , driving home the opening goal after 13 minutes following a great solo run, and producing the second-half score that restored their advantage after Kildare first drew level.

Old-timers Tony Boyle and Noel Hegarty were also providing endless inspiration yet it wasn't to be. They finished the more disorganised, and Eamon Doherty was lucky to stay on the field after flattening John Doyle, all of which left manager Mickey Moran a little stone-faced.

"We lost that in the last 15 minutes of the first half, but in fairness the lads came back again. As a manager I'm gutted for the players, because everybody gave their heart and soul out there. But it will be interesting to see the replay because I thought two of the points were wide, and definitely Buckley's point."

Actually, a quick look at the replay of Buckley's high-flying point 10 minutes into the second half suggests that it was indeed good. The umpire standing by the left post - the one with the better view - signalled the point but the other umpire seemed to misinterpret.

Donegal folk may disagree, but hey, it was a good day to die.

Not bad then for a Saturday evening qualifier. And if this isn't championship fare then why were so many of the Kildare supporters waiting around for autographs long after the end? Roll on round three.

Championship Qualifier, Live Tonight, Sold Out!