Dreadful day for Leinster sides in All-Ireland qualifiers

Journey's end.

It was a bad day for Leinster football, this afternoon, as Meath, Wexford and Louth were all knocked out of the qualifiers. Tyrone were grateful to Peter Harte for a second-half goal that, ultimately, gave them a 1-10 to 0-11 victory over the Royals. Euphemistically speaking, the first-half was a slow burner. Both sides shared seven points, with Meath leading their hosts by a point. Harte's goal sparked Tyrone in the second 35 and they looked comfortable in the closing stages. Ger Mulhair gave Tipperary a terrific boost in the opening minutes of their encounter with Louth. He rattled home a goal after three minutes and Tipp never looked back. Conor Sweeney and Colin O’Riordan added goals for the Premier County and they cruised to a 3-21 to 0-7 romp.

Wexford beat Down, last week, in the qualifiers but could not repeat the dose against Derry. Eoin Bradley and Enda Lynn were proving a handful for Wexford but it was an up-and-under that was their undoing. A high ball caused Wexford goalie Brian Malone a lot of trouble and it looks as though the goal will be credited against his name. In the end, Derry pulled away for a breezy 1-16 to 0-10 win.