The Tailteann Cup finally came to life on Saturday afternoon as Down pulled off one of the biggest results of the summer so far by eliminating Cavan, while Colm O’Rourke’s Meath found their attacking groove against Wexford and a late Colm Murphy goal secured yet another big away win for Laois.
Wexford travelled to Páirc Tailteann in high spirits after a big win over Offaly last week, but they never got off the ground in Navan. James McEntee and Jordan Morris did the bulk of the scoring with six points each in the Royals’ 2-23 to 0-12 win.
Meath struck the first eight points of the game, and Aaron Lynch’s goal pushed the lead out to double figures with just 20 minutes gone. Wexford offered a bit more resistance in the second half, registering nine of their 12 points in that period, but a second goal from Cathal Hickey and three points off the bench from Daithí McGowan put paid to their hopes.
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Down, who lost to Cavan by a total of 16 points in their last two meetings in the 2022 Tailteann Cup and the 2023 Allianz League, struck back with a vengeance and were full value for their 1-17 to 0-15 victory at Kingspan Breffni.
Conor Laverty’s men held an 0-9 to 0-7 lead at half-time, with the wind set to favour the home side after the break.
When Cavan levelled after 43 minutes, they had momentum, but Down rallied with four of the next five points and maintained a narrow lead up until the 68 th minute, when Danny Magill’s precise low finish effectively settled the game.
In the TUS Gaelic Grounds, Limerick held a narrow 0-10 to 0-9 lead after a very entertaining first half.
The Treaty men rattled off the next four points to take control through Brian Donovan, Robbie Bourke (two), and James Naughton, but then failed to score from the 46 th minute onwards.
They still looked like they might hang on, even after Brian Daly cut the gap to a point with five minutes to play, but Colm Murphy pounced on a defensive error to score the game’s only goal, with a late ’45 rounding off the scoring at 1-14 to 0-14 in favour of the midlanders.
The semi-finals will be played as a double-header at Croke Park next Sunday, June 24.
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