Donegal, Monaghan and Wicklow were among those to win their first-round Senior Football Championship qualifiers on Saturday.
Donegal 2-13 1-06 Carlow
Donegal needed two second half goals from Rory Kavanagh and Conal Dunne to ensure their passage into the second round of SFC qualifiers, eventually overcoming Carlow by ten points at Ballybofey.
JJ Smith claimed the first goal of the match for the visitors – netting a goal in the 11th minute to give John Joe Doherty’s men a real scare.
However, the home side levelled matters through Michael Murphy just before the interval, before pulling away with the help of the two goals after the break.
Monaghan 0-13 0-12 Armagh
Extra time was required to separate an utterly forgettable clash between Monaghan and Armagh in Clones.
Aaron Kernan was prominent for the Orchard County as they went in 0-6 to 0-4 up at the break, but it was all Monaghan early on in the second half before Stefan Forker pointed with a free to leave the sides on ten points apiece on 70 minutes.
Both teams were unable to find a winner, and it was Paul Finlay and Conor McManus who helped secure the victory for Monaghan in extra time.
Meath 1-20 0-08 Waterford
Meath won a rather one-sided SFC qualifier against Waterford with little difficulty. Wayne Hennessy kicked the visitors into the lead, but the Royals hit back in style and had a ten-point lead by the half-time whistle.
Defenders Cormac McGuinness and Chris O’Connor joined team-mates the likes of Cian Ward and David Bray on the score sheet as the Leinster outfit eventually won by a margin of 15 points.
Wicklow 0-17 1-11 Fermanagh
Wicklow knocked Fermanagh out of the All-Ireland SFC despite being reduced to 13 men following the dismissals of Tony Hannon and Thomas Walsh.
Hannon had scored the majority of his side’s scores before being sent off for a second bookable offence shortly before the interval. The visitors took advantage of the red card by hitting the back of the net courtesy of James Sherry and that goal saw them ahead at the break.
Seamie Furlong, JP Dalton, Paul Earls and Walsh also scored for Wicklow in the second half, and though the latter joined Hannon in the dressing room five minutes from the end, there was not enough time for their opponent’s to snatch an unlikely result.
Louth 1-12 2-10 Tipperary
Tipperary held off a late comeback by Louth to secure their passage into the second round of qualifiers.
Barry Grogan helped John Evans’ men into a six-point lead by the break and that was increased to eight into the second half. However, Louth missed a penalty – after Tipp goalkeeper Matthew O’Donnell was sent off – though the teams were soon both down to 14 with the dismissal of Derek Crilly.
JP Rooney did slot home his second penalty opportunity, but the Louth men had left themselves too much work to do and were unable to force a draw.
Leitrim 0-10 0-13 Longford
Longford overcame a spirited Leitrim side by three points, helped largely by a better second half showing than their opponents. The men in blue forged into an early lead before Michael Foley and Gary Reynolds helped send the teams in on seven points each at the interval.
Longford were reduced to 14 men in the second half – Kevin Smith given his marching orders – before points from Padraig Berry and Brian Kavanagh secured the win.
Down 1-16 1-07 London
Down were comfortable winners over London in Newry, with The Exiles having Brian McBrearty to thank for keeping the score line at a reasonable gap.
Dan Gordon and Conor Garvey led the way for the home side who held a nine-point lead into the break, and while London came out the stronger of the two teams in the second half initially – Chris Donnellan getting their goal – points for Danny Hughes and a goal from Benny Coulter settled the affair.