Wicklow produced the result of the round by beating holders Westmeath, while there were also wins for Down, Kerry and Kildare in Saturday's Christy Ring Cup action. Building on their emphatic victory over Roscommon last weekend, the Garden County assured themselves of a home quarter-final tie following their 1-18 to 1-15 triumph at Arklow. Inspired by strong showings from midfielder Jonathan O'Neill and attackers Don Hyland and Eamon Furlong, the home side set the pace from the off and led by 1-9 to 0-9 at the interval. A goal from Portumna All-Ireland winner Leo Smith with nine minutes remaining gave Johnny Dooley's Westmeath some hope, but Wicklow held on for a deserved success. Down also secured a home draw in the quarter-final when they defeated Carlow by 3-13 to 0-19 at Pairc Esler in Newry. Despite having Kieran Courtney sent off on a second yellow card after 22 minutes, goals from Gareth 'Magic' Johnson and Paul Braniff had the Ardsmen ahead by 2-7 to 0-10 at half-time. With Colin Hughes in fine scoring form, Carlow stayed in touch throughout the second half, but a second major from Braniff in the 45th minute proved all-important as the home side prevailed. Kerry ended Meath's interests with a 7-10 to 4-13 victory at Tralee. As the scoreline suggests, the Kingdom's penchant for scoring goals proved decisive as they overcame the visitors in a high-scoring affair. A Mickey Conway goal had Pat Heffernan's men in front at the end of the opening quarter, and although veteran Mickey Cole netted to cut the gap to a point, further majors from Billy Brick and Liam Doyle gave Kerry a 3-5 to 1-5 cushion after 23 minutes. The Royals, who had Mickey Cole sent off, never gave up, but Kerry's ability to find the net ultimately proved the difference. Last year's runners-up Kildare will also have a home quarter-final to look forward to after they came away from Armagh with a 5-16 to 0-13 victory. Andy Comerford's charges were always in control with double goalscorer Michael Divilly, Richie Hoban, Tony Murphy and Colm Buggy all impressing. The Lilywhites led by 2-2 to 0-5 at the end of the opening quarter and they never looked in any danger after that, with David Harney's second half penalty sealing a comfortable win. Tweet

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