Colleges football/ St Mel's College 1-14; Dundalk Schools 1-7: St Mel's College will take their place in the Leinster Schools' senior football championship quarter-final after they comfortably accounted for Dundalk Schools yesterday in this third-round qualifier at Páirc na nGael, Dundalk, yesterday.

Niall Mulligan started and finished the first-half scoring for the Longford college as they took a commanding 0-7 to 0-3 lead into the interval, albeit with a strong breeze at their backs.

Dundalk briefly looked as though they might have a say in proceedings when Derek Maguire capped a surging run with a great finish to narrow the gap to two points, but that was as close as his side came to troubling the visitors.

Mark Smith was in outstanding form for St Mel's and he responded with a goal and two points to get his side back on track and open up a seven-point lead.

Aidan McCabe and Jamie Faulkner pointed for the home side shortly afterwards but St Mel's ended any hopes of a Dundalk revival with scores from David O'Connor, Smith and Ciaran Williams while resisting sporadic Dundalk attacks at the other end.

ST MEL'S: C Burns; J Connolly, P Foy, F Brady; A Lynch, C McGuire, P Kelly; N Morrissey, D O'Connor (0-1); C Casey, N Mulligan (0-3, two 45s), D Keenan; M Smith (1-5, two frees), E Clarke (0-2, one free), C Williams (0-3). Subs: A Corcoran for N. Morrissey (34 mins), D Sexton for A Lynch (37 mins), D McGoldrick for C Casey (40 mins).

DUNDALK SCHOOLS: G Smyth; D Whately, J Lyons, N Mulholland; P Crewe, A Hickey, M Geraghty (0-1); M Noonan, R Brennan; B Osborne (0-3, one free), J Faulkner (0-1), B Piper; D MacArtain, G Moran, A McCabe (0-2). Subs: D Maguire (1-0) for B Piper (20 mins), S O'Connell for N Mulholland (37 mins), J Clarke for G Moran (40 mins), M Dunne for A McCabe (27 mins).

Referee: D Smith (Meath).