Allianz Hurling League Roinn 2A results

Kerry 2-31 0-14 Meath

Westmeath 1-16 1-18 Down

Kildare 2-14 0-20 Carlow

Down and Kerry are in the driving seat in Division 2A of the Allianz Hurling league with six points from their four games so far, following wins over Westmeath and Meath respectively this afternoon.

The two victories were achieved in very different ways, with Down grinding out a surprise win in Mullingar while Kerry put Meath to the sword in Tralee.

Shane Conway opened the scoring at Austin Stack Park after two minutes and the Lixnaw man duly pounced on the resultant puckout, intercepting and finding Shane Nolan, who duly blasted the ball to the net for a goal that set the tone.

All across the forward line, Kerry were in sensational form, moving 1-14 to 0-2 ahead by the 25 minute mark and then adding a second goal through Michael Leane in first half stoppage time to make it 2-16 to 0-6. Conway added three more points immediately after half-time and from then on the contest settled into a score-for-score battle, with 12 Kerry players on the scoresheet by the end.

Eoghan Sands found the Westmeath net after just two minutes at TEG Cusack Park, but the Lake County settled from there and led by the bare minimum at half-time, 0-12 to 1-8. Both sides missed a penalty in the opening 35 minutes, Paul Sheehan sending one wide for Down while Jack Gillen had an effort late in the half saved by Stephen Keith.

Westmeath were the dominant side but they were to rue 10 first half wides, even though a close-range goal from McNicholas in the 42nd minute and points from Killian Doyle, Joey Boyle (his third) and Gillen (a free) pushed them five points clear.

Down never lost touch however and five unanswered points from the sticks of Sheehan (two, one free) Oisín McManus (two frees) and Eoghan Sands at the end turned a three-point deficit into a memorable victory.

Westmeath can still sneak into the league final, but they need to beat Kildare on the last day and hope that Kerry win in Down.

Kildare will still be looking nervously over their shoulders after Chris Nolan’s sideline cut in the fifth minute of stoppage time salvaged a 2-14 to 0-20 draw for Carlow at St. Conleth’s Park.

Nolan (0-4) and Kevin McDonald (0-10f) were the leading scorers for the visiting side, who led by 0-12 to 0-7 at half-time but then looked to be in trouble when goals from Brian Byrne and Gerry Keegan pushed Kildare two points up going into the closing minutes.

Allianz Hurling League Roinn 2B results

London 3-16 1-9 Wicklow

Donegal 0-15 0-23 Derry

Mayo 0-19 4-13 Sligo

Derry continue to be the front runners in Division 2B, as they travelled to Letterkenny and eventually secured an eight-point win over Donegal in a contest that is quite likely to be a preview of the league final in this Division.

Cormac O’Doherty struck nine points for the Oak Leaf County, who led by 0-10 to 0-7 at half time but then stepped up the tempo after the break to wear down a Donegal side that was short a number of key players.

Sligo, who lost narrowly to both Donegal and Derry in the early rounds, are still technically in the running after their 4-13 to 0-19 win over Mayo in Ballina this afternoon.

This was probably Mayo’s best performance of the year so far, but the story of the game was all about what happened in front of the posts, with goals from Gerard O’Kelly Lynch (two), Eoin Comerford and Tony O’Kelly Lynch doing the damage, while at the other end a number of excellent saves from Jimmy Gordon proved crucial.

At McGovern Park in Ruislip, Fiachra O’Keeffe’s goal helped a wind-assisted London side to a 1-13 to 1-4 lead over Wicklow at half-time, and the lead was preserved at that level until Cian Lordan’s goal around the hour mark allowed the Exiles to relax and enjoy their second home win of this campaign.

Allianz Hurling League Roinn 3A results

Armagh 1-19 2-17 Roscommon

Monaghan 1-11 3-14 Tyrone

Warwickshire 3-13 1-19 Louth

The big game of the day in Division 3A was at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh where the home side needed to beat Roscommon to give themselves a chance at reaching a league final, but they were undone by a late goal from Mickey Joe Egan that clinched a 2-17 to 1-19 win for the Connacht county.

The sides were deadlocked at 0-10 apiece at half time as the game developed into a shootout between Armagh’s Fionntán Donnelly and Roscommon’s Cathal Dolan.

Brendan Mulry’s stunning 53rd minute goal looked to have swung the pendulum in Roscommon’s favour, then Dean Gaffney replied in kind for Armagh to help move them three points clear, before Egan struck late.

Tyrone will meet the Rossies in this year final after kicking on in the second half against Monaghan at Inniskeen. Tiernan Murphy’s goal was all that separated the sides after a tense and tight first half but it was a different story in the second half when Ciarán Lagan and Damien Casey (a penalty) added further Tyrone goals, while Monaghan’s only green flag was a long range shot from Fergal Rafter that dropped to the net just before the hour mark, by which time they were chasing a double-figure deficit.

Warwickshire and Louth both picked up their first point of the season at Páirc na hÉireann, John Collins finding the net for the home side in the seventh minute of stoppage time to level the game at 3-13 to 1-19. Kelvin McGee’s goal helped Warwickshire towards a commanding 2-9 to 0-5 lead at half-time before Louth fought back to level. Points from Conor Deane and Sean Crosby looked like they would seal the win before the game’s dramatic finale, which keeps the matter of relegation alive for another week.

Allianz Hurling League Roinn 3B results

Fermanagh 2-22 0-9 Lancashire

Longford 1-15 1-14 Leitrim

Conor McShea and Eoin Cleary’s goals early in the second half ensured that Fermanagh cruised to victory against Lancashire in Darver, though there was a cost to the win for Joe Baldwin’s side as key attacker Danny Teague went off with what looked like a significant injury for the league leaders.

Meanwhile at Glennon brothers Pearse Park, Longford gave their chances of reaching the league final a huge boost when they edged out Leitrim, 1-15 to 1-14.

Cathal Mullane’s goal for the home side was the difference at half-time but that was cancelled out when Diarmuid Kelleher found the net 11 minutes into the second-half. The contest was nip and tuck until Reuben Murray sent over a last-ditch point to snatch Longford’s second win of the season and condemn Leitrim to their first defeat.