Derry made it five from five with a late winner over Dublin, Cork and Louth both recorded impressive wins while Limerick battled back to earn their first points over Meath on Shannonside.
Derry 1-11 Dublin 0-13, Celtic Park
A Brendan Rodgers point five minutes into injury time secured Derry a late win over Dublin to make it five wins from five in the second tier.
It was a game of two halves as Dublin bossed the opening exchanges in Celtic Park, Cormac Costello and Paul Cassidy exchanged a point each early on, but three points in a row had Dublin 0-4 to 0-1 ahead by the first quarter. Shane McGuigan pointed to half the deficit, but two points from Brian Fenton and a John Small effort had the Dubs ahead 0-7 to 0-2 at the break.
Tom Lahiff got Dublin on the board early in the second half, before Ethan Doherty and Niall Loughlin got on the board for Derry, Niall Toner rippled the Dublin net after 45 minutes and down by two it was game back on.
That goal looked to have knocked the Dubs’ confidence as Doherty and Cassidy levelled the tie after 55 minutes. Ciaran Kilkenny and Oisn McWilliam exchanged scores as we entered the final ten minutes, Colm Basquel and Ciaran Kilkenny made it advantage Dublin in the 63rd minute, Derry roared back into the tie two frees from Shane McGuigan and a Lachlan Murray point made it a one point lead for the hosts just two minutes before the end of regulation time.
Costello pointed over the blackspot with a free a minute into added time, but it was Rodgers who sent the place into pandemonium as his late point secured the win, Michael Fitzsimons shown his marching orders just beforehand for a second yellow.
Clare 1-8 Cork 3-10, Cusack Park
Two second half goals propelled Cork to their third win in the League as they overcame Munster neighbours Clare in Ennis.
It was a hard fought opening half one that Clare came out on top in to lead 1-4 to 1-3 at the break, Sean Powter cancelled out Emmet McMahon’s early point with a cool finish to the net, Daniel O’Mahony saw a black card as Clare had a penalty, Keelan Sexton rifling home for a one point lead after 13 minutes.
A Brian Hurley free followed by a Chris Og Jones point had them ahead by one before Darragh Bohannon levelled. Hurley put the Rebels ahead once more with a free but late points by Eoin Cleary and Sexton had Clare ahead at the break.
Cork started much the better in the second half, Eoghan McSweeney levelled matters before Og Jones added a second minutes later, Matthew Taylor saw the Clare net bulge for the second time as his goal made it 2-5 to 1-4 after 43 minutes.
Two Cleary points brought Clare back within two, but Cork hot a purple patch midway through the half, Ruairi Deane, McSweeney and Hurley all adding points before Og Jones added another without reply as Powter netted their third and his second goal, as Cork pulled away by nine points after the hour mark.
McMahon ended a 20 minute wait for a Clare score with a free just before the end of play, John O’Rourke added another late point for Cork as Cleary’s added a consolation point late on, Clare looking in danger of being relegated.
Louth 2-11 Kildare 0-12, Ardee
Louth kept up their recent good run of form as they handled relegation threatened Kildare their fourth loss of the competition.
It was a perfect start for The Wee County as Niall Sharkey pointed early on before Tommy Durnin hit the back of the net, it was nip and tuck between the two as Kildare started to get their scores two Neil Flynn points and a Darragh Kirwan point still left a goal between the, as Sam Mulroy converted a free.
At times it was hard to tell just who would have the advantage going into the break, Jack Sargent pointed after the half hour mark as Kildare made it a one point game but a mark by Daire McConnon and a goal in added time by Conor Grimes saw Mickey Harte’s men five points to the good at the break.
Kirwan and Paddy Woodgate got early points for the Lilywhites as they mounted a comeback, but Ryan Burns notched another score for Louth. Into the final ten minutes of normal time Durnin pointed shortly after McConnon added a free to have the lead at five, Barry Coffey and Daniel Flynn made it a three point game as neared the end, but Louth stayed composed and points by Craig Lennon and Bevan Duffy sealed the win.
Limerick 0-17 Meath 2-11, TUS Gaelic Grounds
Limerick picked up their first points of the league as Brian Donovan pointed at the end of normal time to complete their second half comeback.
The Treaty men controlled the opening half in the Gaelic Grounds, it too until the 16th minute when Iain Corbett pointed before we got a clear indication of who would dictate play as both exchanged scores early on, Corbett levelled but a Cian Sheehan point and three James Naughton efforts had Limerick ahead by four.
Jack Flynn and Jordan Morris halved the deficit as we ticked over the half hour mark, but Cillian Fahy and Cathal Downes finished strong to seal a four point winning margin at the break.
Meath came out fighting in the second half as Matthew Costello hit 1-1 within a minute and after Jordan Morris pointed three minutes later, they were ahead by a point. Donovan and Downes helped put the scoreboard back in their favour, Diarmuid Moriaty added two points for Meath either side of Aidan Enright and James Naugton pointing as Limerick remained ahead by a single point.
Donal Linehan hit the hammer blow for Limerick as his goal put the Royals two ahead just before the hour mark, Paul Maher and Davy Lyons replied for Limerick and again the sides were level as we neared the finish, Morris felt he had won the tie for Meath with his 68th minute point, but just before we headed for injury time Donovan took aim and sealed a draw for Limerick.
Diarmuid Kearney
Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.