Three late points seen table toppers St Josephs remain at the head of division two as they seen off St Brides. A Donal McNally goal gave the Brides an early advantage as they went in at the break 1-3 to 0-5 in front.

However with the rain pelting down the second half became a war of attrition as the Joes gradually began to get the better of things with and swept into a one point lead thanks to four unanswered points with Conall O'Hanlon amongst the scorers.

An Aaron Hoey free in the final minute looked to have salvaged a draw for the gutsy Brides but the Joes were determined to hang on to top spot and two injury time points from Craig Doherty and Alan Quigley ensured a 0-13 to 2-5 victory for the Dromiskin side.

The Fechins remain in second after a late Brian Devlin goal gave them a three point victory over the Mary's. In a tight game Darren Clarke's first half goal helped the Ardee side go in at the break 1-4 to 0-5 ahead.

The Fechins found themselves six points down with five minutes remaining but to their credit they clawed the Mary's bac to level the scores thanks to points from Ronan Holdcroft, Paul Matthews and Eoin Duffy. It looked as though both sides would have to settle for a draw until Devlin's late goal gave the Fechins a 1-11 to 1-8 victory. St Mary's remain in fourth on nine points but will be looking nervously over their shoulder with four teams on eight points.

One of those sides are Clan na Gael who have hauled themselves back into top four contention with a comprehensive 2-21 to 0-13 victory over Roche. Paul Martin was the Clans hero with two goals in the opening ten minutes to give the Clans the ideal start. Roche rallied midway through the half with three successive points but still went in at the break 2-11 to 0-9 behind.

The second half was a stroll in the park for the rejuvenated Dundalk side who eased to a fifteen point victory thanks in part to four points from Mark McGeown. Clans move up to fifth just a point behind the Mary's. Intriguingly both those sides meet next week in what should be an explosive game.

The Plunketts lost ground on the leaders after a shock home defeat to Dundalk Young Irelands. The Young Ireland's stormed into a first half lead thanks to goals from Johnny Lynch and Derek Maguire. Two Frank Taaffe points reduced the Dundalk sides lead but the Plunketts still trailed 2-7 to 0-7 at the break.

Dermot Mone scored two points to keep the Plunketts at bay in the second half and despite some late pressure the home side couldn't find a way past Fergal Sheehy in the Young Ireland's goal. The Plunketts are now four points behind the Joes in third place while the Ireland's move up to a group of four teams on eight points just a point behind the Mary's.

Meanwhile St Mochtas earned local bragging rights as they seen off their neighbours Glyde Rangers to move up to move up to sixth place on eight points. Glyde remain bottom in what is starting to look a very precarious situation for them. Eamonn O'Neill was the Star man for the Mochtas with eight points as the Louth Village side coped admirably without many of their first team missing including Declan Byrne. Liam McGrenaghans first half goal eventually proved the difference between the sides with the Mochs running out 1-14 to 1-11 winners.

Hunterstown moved away from the relegation zone with a narrow one point victory over Na Piarsaigh in a thrilling encounter in Páirc Baile Fiach. In an open first half both sides found the back of the net with Na Piarsaigh striking first thanks to a well taken goal from stalwart Eamon McAuley. Hunterstown hit back with a fine finish from Brendan Lennon to level matters as the game approached half time. Two Mark Larkin points edged the Dundalk side clear as Na Piarsaigh took a 1-6 to 1-4 lead.

With seven minutes remaining Na Piarsaigh held a four point lead and looked good for victory. However there was late drama as Hunterstown scored 1-2 in a frantic finale with Keith Brennan scoring the crucial goal much to the delight of the home fans. Tweet

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