Derry booked their promotion for the first time since 2015 they are headed for the top flight, Dublin are almost there but Louth could shock them next weekend, Limerick and Clare are both headed for Division 3 after being relegated.
Meath 1-11 Dublin 2-17, Páirc Tailteann
Dublin have one foot in the league final and with it promotion to Div 1 after a strong showing against Meath.
Points from Brian Fenton, Killian O’Gara and Cormac Costello had the Dubs looking strong early on, Diarmuid Moriarty got Meath a score after seven minutes, but again Dublin hit their stride, Lee Gannon, Con O’Callaghan and two Costello points giving them a six point margin in the 17th minute.
Jack Flynn got a much needed score for the Royals as they were up against it by this stage, another lifeline came when Matthew Costello goaled less than a minute later and now Dublin were ahead by just two points.
But Dublin ended the half with a flurry of scores, Ciarán Kilkenny and Brian Fenton added points before O’Gara fired to the back of the Meath net before a late point from his boot left the score 1-11 to 1-0 at the break.
It was a competitive opening to the second half with Meath notching two points to Dublin’s one, O’Gara was next to grab a score as he was having an exhibition, Moriarty cancelled it out but Meath were behind by six points at this stage.
Fenton and three O’Callaghan points furthered the lead before Costello added a free before the hour mark as the Dubs lead was now 15 points, Cathal Hickey and Donal Lenihan added points for Meath but they could have had a goal only for David O’Hanlon to save well.
Again it was a competitive end to the tie but Costello added a late goal to make it an 11 point margin for the Dubs in this all leinster affair.
Derry 0-14 Clare 0-4, Owenbeg
Derry have booked their return to Division One for the first time since 2015 after they eased past Clare, sending them down to Div 3 as a result.
In a dominant showing from the off they had a nine point winning margin by the break, as Clare failed to register a score until the second half, attack after attack proved fruitful for Derry.
As the second half got underway the Derry scoring continued Pearse Lillis got the banner on the board after 42 minutes but Rory Gallagher’s side had built a massive lead and had the tie pretty much wrapped up by the time Lillis notched the first Clare score.
Louth 1-10 Cork 0-10, DEFY Pairc Mhuire
Louth have a big chance next weekend of being promoted to Division 1, toppling Cork they meet Dublin in a huge decider.
Ryan Burns’ goal in the opening half would serve as the deciding score, however at the time it had dragged them back into a half where Cork were leading by a point at the break.
A spell of luck for Burns as he had a penalty initially saved before hitting home the rebound, Cork could have been further ahead only for James Califf twice saving from Chris Óg Jones for what looked like certain goal scoring opportunities.
Daniel O’Mahony received his marching orders just before half time, this was a big boost for Louth as it revived them in the second half, points from Craig Lennon and Daire McConnon brought them level after 56 minutes, before Ciarán Downey pointed on the hour mark for the lead.
Tommy Durnin and a wonderful free from Downey capped off a stunning second hand fightback from The Wee County to stun the Rebels, as they failed to register a score in the final 20 plus minutes of the game.
Limerick 2-7 Kildare 3-10, TUS Gaelic Grounds
Kildare secured their salvation in Division Two as a late Darragh Kirwan goal ensured the win over a resilient Limerick side.
It was all Kildare in the opening half, building an early four point lead before James Naughton pulled Limerick right back with two points, Kevin Flynn hit the net in the 20th minute and despite Colm McSweeney and Cillian Fahy adding points for the Treaty men, the Lilywhites had a five point margin at the break.
Kildare looked on top until Naughton hit the back of the net and made it a three point game but seconds later his side were picking the ball out of their net as Jack Robinson fired home Kildare’s second goal.
Limerick battled hard and Fahy’s goal just before the end of normal time gave them a huge lifeline of taking something from the tie, with the score 2-9 to 2-6, they fought hard in added time but after an exchange of points in added time, Kirwan’s goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time sealed their faith for relegation to Div 3.
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.