Offaly, Kildare and Meath were victorious in today's Leinster MHC first round ties.

A dominant first half display laid the foundations for Offaly's 1-16 to 1-8 victory over Carlow at Dr. Cullen Park. Joe Errity's charges made full use of wind advantage to take a commanding 1-13 to 0-3 lead into the break.

Chris Nolan got a goal back for Carlow midway through the second half to make it 1-6 to 1-13, while the Barrowsiders also had a goal disallowed late on, as Offaly held on for the win.

Carlow will now face Kildare in two weeks' time after the Lilywhites registered an excellent 3-11 to 1-13 win over Westmeath in their tier three clash at Newbridge.

Johnny Greville's Westmeath led by 1-3 to 0-3 in the early stages, but they were rocked back on their heels by the concession of two goals as Kildare went on to lead by 2-7 to 1-6 at half-time.

A third Kildare goal just after the restart proved decisive for the hosts who went on to win by four points.

In the other tier three encounter, Meath trumped Wicklow on a 3-15 to 3-9 scoreline. Tweet

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