Dublin Derry and Meath all made it two from two this weekend whilst Cork got their first league victory of the year away to Kildare.
Meath 4-08 Clare 0-16 @ Pairc Tailteann
The Royal County sustained their charge for promotion with a four-point win over the Banner County in Navan.
Goals were again key for Colm O’Rourke’s outfit, and they led 3-03 to 0-07 at the break thanks to three-pointers from Donal Lenihan and Jordan Morris.
Royals’ ‘forward Shane Walsh sustained an unfortunate game-ending injury on 13 minutes and from there the Banner got on top to close the early gap their hosts put together.
Meath had a four-point lead with 25 minutes remaining until several points and a Jason Scully goal all but sealed victory for the home side.
Points from Podge Collins, Emmett McMahon, Darragh Bohannon and Mark McInerney late in the fixture lessened the damage for Clare but their opponent’s goal-scoring power proved too much.
Kildare 0-07 Cork 2-14 @ St. Conleth’s Park
Cork are up and running in the second division after a strong 13-point win over the Lilywhites.
The Rebels were solid in defence and prevented Kildare from making much of an impact at their end of the pitch for the totality.
The Munster side led 1-08 to 0-02 at half-time and though Kildare improved their return in the second half, Alex Beirne’s sending off saw their chances of contending with the Rebels dwindle.
Cathal O’Mahony put the icing on the cake for the travelling side with his late goal. The substitute’s total of 1-01 was matched by teammates Stephen Sherlock and Brian Hurley (0-04 each) in a match that saw Cork establish themselves as promotion contenders.
Louth 1-11 Derry 2-11 @ Pairc Mhuire
Derry overcame a determined Louth by a goal in Ardee as they maintain their push to secure Division One football next year.
Louth kept Derry at bay in the opening half and the sides entered half-time on even terms at 1-6 apiece.
The Wee County then pushed on in the second period and scores from Sam Mulroy, Craig Lennon and Tom Jackson saw them into a two-point lead. However, Derry would come back into affairs through and net a second goal through Niall Toner on 58 minutes.
That was enough for the Dr McKenna Cup holders to go on and seal a second victory and inflict a second league defeat on Mickey Harte’s men.
Limerick 1-11 Dublin 2-17 @ The Gaelic Grounds
Dublin secured their second win in their quest to earn promotion back to the top-flight with a 23 point triumph over the newly promoted Limerick.
The Dubs got off to a flying start in Limerick and went into half-time with a 13-point lead over the Treaty County.
Limerick started the second half brighter as Hugh Bourke netted a goal and points from the likes of Adrian Enright, James Naughton and Bourke brought the deficit to seven with 50 minutes on the clock.
The Sky Blues would soon get going again though and contributions from Ross McGarry (0-04 in total) Con O’Callaghan (0-04) and Dean Rock (1-05) saw the visitors to a comfortable victory.
