Kieran McGeeney's return to Armagh, with his Kildare charges, ended in a sobering defeat for the former All-Ireland winning captain with the Orchard county winning by a comfortable seven points.
In a slow-burning first half, Armagh had points to show by Steven McDonnell and Stefan Forker, which were eventually cancelled out by Kildare replies from James Kavanagh and Gary White, but Armagh pulled away to lead by 0-7 to 0-2 at the break, with McDonnell, Forker and the Kernans Aaron and Paul contributing also. Kildare improved after the break but still only managed three points and lost 0-12 to 0-5.
Elsewhere, Laois won a high-scoring encounter with Westmeath by 0-24 to 3-8 to increase relegation fears for the Lake county. Standout player was MJ Tierney for the O'Moore men, scoring 0-13, on a day when Westmeath goals by Martin Flanagan and Paul Greville kept the home side in touch throughout but yet never looking potential winners.
Finally, Tipperary put a big dent in Meath's promotion hopes with a two-point win at Semple Stadium. In a game littered with poor play, Tipperary's better use of the ball enabled them to surmount the handicap of having the less threatening forwards, with Meath frequently guilty of squandering hard-won possession.
The turning point was a penalty and goal 15 minutes from time, after Meath had battled back from 0-6 to 0-1 at one stage to trial by just a point. Barry Grogan's goal put Tipp four ahead once more and although Meath closed the gap before full-time, they had given themselves too much to do.