LONDON AND KERRY picked up very important victories today in the Christy Ring Cup.
The Exiles, thanks to a hat-trick from Martin Duggan, were 3-16 to 0-19 winners against 14-man Kildare in Newbridge in their first-round replay, while the Kingdom held on to beat Meath by 1-23 to 2-18 in Round 2A in Tralee.
After the sides played out a draw last weekend in Rusilip, London and Kildare were locking horns again for the right to take on Derry in Round 2A next Saturday.
An All-Ireland Intermediate medal winner with Clare in 2011, Martin Duggan netted twice in the first-half to give London a 2-8 to 0-9 lead at the break.
Although the Lilywhites — for whom Paul Divilly was shown a straight red card midway through the second-half — managed to cut the deficit to two points with six minutes of normal time remaining, Duggan — who finished with a personal tally of 3-3 — found the net again to seal the win for the visitors.
Kildare will aim to keep their Christy Ring Cup hopes alive next weekend when they face Mayo in Round 2B.
Meanwhile, Kerry had to dig deep to secure a two-point win over Meath, having trailed by 1-13 to 1-9 at half-time.
Colm Harty found the net for Kerry with less than a minute on the clock but Jack Regan goaled for the Royals from a penalty to help them into that four-point lead.
The Kingdom rallied in the second-half and struck eight unanswered points to move into a 1-23 to 1-18 lead.
Willie McGrath’s late goal for Meath made it a nervy finish for Kerry but they prevailed to put back-to-back Christy Ring Cup wins together, having beaten Down seven days ago.
In Round 2B, Down rebounded from that defeat to Kerry last weekend by recording a comfortable 1-19 to 0-13 win over Wicklow at Ballycran.
Elsewhere, Roscommon were 1-24 to 0-17 winners against Monaghan in Athleague in Round 2A of the Nicky Rackard Cup. In Carrickmore, Armagh defeated Tyrone by 3-17 to 0-20.
In Round 2B, Donegal were comprehensive 4-21 to 1-9 winners against Longford at Pearse Park. Fingal also had it easy against Louth in Dowdallshill, running out 1-21 to 2-8 winners.
In Round 2 of the Lory Meagher Cup, Fermanagh had a 2-16 to 3-10 win against Lancashire and Leitrim overcame Warwickshire on a 1-18 to 1-15 scoreline. Both games were played at Páirc na hÉireann in Birmingham.
Results
Christy Ring Cup
Round 1 (replay)
Kildare 0-19 London 3-16
Round 2A
Kerry 1-23 Meath 2-18
Round 2B
Down 1-19 Wicklow 0-13
Nicky Rackard Cup
Round 2A
Roscommon 1-24 Monaghan 0-17
Tyrone 0-20 Armagh 3-17
Round 2B
Longford 1-9 Donegal 4-21
Louth 2-8 Fingal 1-21
Lory Meagher Cup
Round 2
Lancashire 3-10 Fermanagh 2-16
Warwickshire 1-15 Leitrim 1-18
