Derry and Dublin look set to fight it out for top spot in the second division as Meath and Cork suffered setbacks. Kildare just overcame Clare while Louth recorded a third straight win over Limerick.
Derry 2-15 Meath 1-7 @ Owenbeg
Derry look ever more the favorites for promotion after they defeated Meath by the convincing scoreline of 2-15 to 1-7 on Saturday. Rory Gallagher’s side produced their best performance of the season so far to beat the Royals, who had been unbeaten before that result.
Meath were blown away by the Oak Leafs’ fast start and the Royals trailed by ten points at half-time. The visitors managed to net a goal with 20 minutes left but a series of points from Derry’s Paul Cassidy, Benny Heron and Oisin McWilliams ensured the Ulster Champions earned another league win.
Louth 1-15 Limerick 1-13 @ Pairc Mhuire
Louth soared to their first victory in the second division after a tightly fought out contest with Limerick. These sides battled for Division Three glory last season and would each have fancied their chances going into the game.
The Wee County were victorious by a slim margin thanks in no small part to the consistent scoring of Sam Mulroy (0-6) while Limerick were limited to much more distributed scoring.
The game was tied 1-6 to 0-9 at the break but Louth were able to open a six point gap in the second half. Brian Donovan’s goal for the Treaty County before the hour made things a lot more interesting and Limerick tallied a couple more points but couldn’t break their determined hosts.
Clare 0-15 Kildare 0-16 @ Cusack Park
Kildare staged a magnificent comeback to collect their first second tier win out West. The Lilywhites trailed their hosts by four points at half time and fell further behind in the second period.
The visitors looked destined to fall to a third straight defeat after Ben McCormack received a second yellow card on 50 minutes as they trailed by six points.
But Kildare were down but not out and took advantage of lethargic play from the Banner. Neil and Daniel Flynn were introduced to great impact and in the 70th minute Clare ‘keeper Stephen Ryan was black-carded. The pressure was on Clare and a foul in the fifth minute of added time allowed Neil Flynn to score a free to complete Kildare’s comeback win.
Cork 2-10 Dublin 0-18 @ Páirc Uí Chaoimh
Dublin scraped past the Rebels to enjoy a third win of their league campaign in what was a real battle of a game.
The men from the capital led by a point at half-time though Cork may have felt that they were the better side. Things changed in the second half however, Ian Maguire was handed a second yellow and the Dubs notched several points through Dean Rock, Con O’Callaghan and Daire Newcombe.
The game swung again after Lee Gannon was sent off for the Blues and the home side soon levelled the game. Jack McCaffrey’s introduction would see the visitors emerge victorious though, the pacey forward helped provide two scores and pointed before the end to see it out.
