Down cruised to an opening victory in the Tailteann Cup this evening by seeing off Waterford on a 2-14 to 1-6 scoreline in Newry.

The host were comfortable in this one despite their poor start which saw Waterford leading when Conor Murray hit the net for them on 19 minutes.

Five minutes later, Down would hit back with their first goal and it saw Eugene Branagan setting-up Eamon Brown right in front of goal and they’d take in a 1-6 to 1-2 lead at the half.

Odhran Murdock’s superb run saw him netting the Mourne men’s second major on 50 minutes and there’d be no way back for their Munster counterparts after that.

In the TUS Gaelic Grounds, Limerick made their goals count in a 2-16 to 1-16 victory against Longford to ensure they started their campaign in winning fashion.

Cathal Downes and Brian Donovan bagged the crucial goals in either half for the Shannonsiders, with the latter’s strike putting them 2-9 to 0-10 in front with 25 minutes remaining.

Longford fought back and registered a couple of Dylan Farrell frees before a late Daniel Reynolds goal put the heat on Mark Fitzgerald’s men until the last whistle.

In Navan, Meath produced the goods in the second-half to record a 1-19 to 0-11 win over Tipperary.

Colm O’Rourke’s charges had edged a cagey first-half (0-7 to 0-4) and points from Jack O’Connor and Jordan Morris early in the restart would get them motoring.

Morris fisted over the Royals’ 10th point of the evening before championship debutant Aaron Lynch (1-3) grabbed their goal in the 43rd minute by nabbing a quick Tipp kick-out and finishing to the net.

Liam McGrath and Jack Kennedy pulled back points for the visitors but Meath saw out the job comfortably in the end, with Matthew Costello, Thomas O’Reilly and Donal Lenihan all raising white flags.

Earlier in the day, last year’s runners up Cavan were also comfortable in a 2-20 to 1-14 win against Laois at Kingspan Breffni.

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