John Heslin put the disappointment of his early black card in Westmeath's All-Ireland SFC Qualifier defeat to Clare a fortnight ago behind him by scoring 1-10 for St Loman's as they opened their county SFC campaign with a high-scoring victory over The Downs at TEG Cusack Park last night.

With former Galway, Mayo and Leitrim manager John O'Mahony taking charge of them in the championship for the first time, The Downs endured a torrid first half, at the end of which they trailed by 1-6 to 3-11. But they improved after the restart to lose by just seven points, 4-14 to 4-21, in the end.

In Moate, Garrycastle made light of veteran Dessie Dolan's absence as they saw off defending champions Mullingar Shamrocks on a 1-14 to 0-9 scoreline. An Alex Gardiner penalty with the last kick of the game sealed an impressive win for the league champions.

In the opening game at Hogan Park, the Glennon brothers, David and Denis, rolled back the years as Tyrrellspass defeated a disappointing Athlone side by 0-19 to 2-8. With county players Ger Egan and Jamie Gonoud ruled out with long-term injuries, the Glennons stepped up to the plate by posting 0-7 between them, while young free-taker Tommy Ryan top-scored with 0-8.

Meanwhile, last year's intermediate champions Shandonagh marked their SFC debut with a stunning 5-18 to 2-10 victory over Castledaly.

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