Longwood’s premier championship footballers made it two wins from two games with a strong performance against a gritty St Mary’s team in Donore on Friday evening. On what was a cool but perfect evening for football, with Newgrange providing an idyllic backdrop, the men from Longwood produced some excellent football and ultimately ran out convincing winners.

The experience of Aaron Ennis, Jacob Baldwin and David Flynn combined perfectly with the youthful exuberance of Josh Meagher, Sam Dixon, Ciaran Sheridan and the O’Brien brothers, Adam and Coyle, and saw the team register an excellent score, particularly in the second half when they tagged on an impressive 2-9.

Bigger tests will undoubtedly lie ahead but the players’ confidence can only have been enhanced by such a strong start to the competition and they can look forward to the next round with a degree of optimism.

Longwood: Kevin Maguire, Sam Dixon (1-2), Johnny Furey, Coyle O’Brien, Adam O’Brien (0-2), Jacob Baldwin, Sam King (0-1), Sean Sheridan (0-1), Bob Maguire, Liam Moroney (1-0), Ciaran Sheridan (0-1), Aaron Ennis (0-3), Josh Meagher (0-2), David Flynn (1-2), Louis Butler. Subs: Dean Keogh (0-1) for Meagher, David Coloe for Flynn, Jim Mahon for Bob Maguire