Kildare remain on course for an immediate return to Division Two after a 12-point defeat of Leinster rivals Laois at Cedral St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge on Saturday.
After losing all seven games to finish bottom of the second tier last season, new boss Brian Flanagan maintained his 100 per cent record in charge as the Lilywhites made it four wins from four.
Justin McNulty’s Laois were looking for their third successive win, but their promotion hopes have diminished as Kildare claimed a comprehensive 0-21 to 0-9 win.
In front of almost 7,000 spectators, Kildare started brightly by claiming the first four scores – including a Ben McCormack two-pointer – to lead by five before Laois got going.
Another two-pointer from Callum Bolton followed Laois’ opening score, and the hosts were nine clear by the break, 0-12 to 0-3, thanks to further scores from Alex Beirne, McCormack, Darragh Swords and David Hyland.
They went 15 clear by the 20th minute of the second half thanks to points from Swords, Niall Kelly, Cathal Hagney, Brian McLoughlin, Kevin Feely and Didier Cordonier, as Laois saw Padraig Kirwan black-carded.
Laois did hit five of the last seven scores to put some respectability on the scoreboard.
Offaly missed the chance to keep pace with Kildare on Sunday, when they lost out by a point to Fermanagh, 1-13 to 3-6, in Ederney.
The venue for the game was changed from Brewster Park, and Offaly struggled in the first half against a well-drilled Fermanagh side that were nine points clear at the break, 1-10 to 1-1.
They goaled with the first score of the game thanks to Declan McCusker, but Offaly responded in kind with a Cillian Bourke three-pointer.
The Ernemen outscored the visitors by 10 points to one for the remainder of the half, but a second Offaly goal just after the restart brought them back into contention.
Cormac Egan got a third goal for the Faithful County but Fermanagh clung on to claim the win, with a late Garvan Jones free ultimately separating the sides.
In Corrigan Park on Saturday, Antrim claimed their second win of the campaign thanks to a 4-16 to 1-11 defeat of bottom side Leitrim.
The Saffrons scored their four goals with the wind at their backs in the opening half, as Marc Jordan, Niall Burns and Fionn Nagle all found the net, and Dominic McEnhill converted a penalty.
This propelled them into a 4-7 to 0-6 half-time lead against Steven Poacher’s Leitrim side.
The second half was a more even affair as the visitors played with the breeze, but they fell to a fourth successive defeat despite Riordan O’Rourke’s late goal.
The match between Sligo and Clare, due to be played yesterday at Markievicz Park, was postponed due to an unplayable pitch following heavy rain.
Re-fixture details will be confirmed this week, with the game likely to take place on March 8th or 9th as Sligo go to Fermanagh and Clare host Kildare next weekend.
