Wins for Donegal and Down, Tyrone draw but Derry lose

There were mixed fortunes for Ulster counties on the opening night of the Allianz Football League with wins for Donegal and Down, while Tyrone were forced to settle for a draw and Derry suffered defeat.

A thrilling Division Two clash in Omagh saw Kildare produce a late rally to deny Tyrone a winning start with the game finishing in a 2-16 to 1-19 draw.

Earlier at Croke Park, Donegal got their Division One campaign underway with a 1-20 to 0-20 win over Dublin with Shea Malone's first-half goal the difference.

In the first game at Croke Park, Meath opened their Division Two account with a 0-19 to 1-13 win over Derry.

Down got their Division Three campaign off to a successful start as they finished strong to record a 2-19 to 2-14 win over Clare, having trailed by five at the break.

Brian McLoughlin was the Kildare hero as his two-pointer salvaged a draw for the Lilywhites in a thriller against Tyrone in Omagh.

Kildare were reduced to 14 men less than 10 minutes into the second half when Brendan Gibbons saw a second yellow in the aftermath of Tyrone's first goal from Joe Oguz.

Eglish marksman Ethan Jordan tallied 1-9 on the night and helped the home side into a four-point lead in the opening quarter of an hour.

Kildare responded through Alex Beirne (two), Brian McLoughlin and Kevin Feely and went into half-time 1-8 to 0-8 in front thanks to a goal from Darragh Swords.

Tyrone came out much improved as Malachy O'Rourke introduced Brian Kennedy and Eoin McElholm at the break.

Oguz struck to the net while a returning Darragh Canavan clipped over a couple of neat points.

Beirne and McLoughlin, who hit 14 points between them, kept Kildare within reach.

Jordan's goal looked to have finally killed the visitors off, but McLoughlin hit a brace of scores from beyond the arc either side of a single score to snatch a point for the Leinster County.

The long-range kicking from Donegal was a sight to behold with five orange flags raised over the 70 minutes to help Jim McGuinness' men to an opening victory in Division One.

Gavin Mulreany and Michael Langan landed two apiece with Daire O Baoill also on target, while Shea Malone carried his excellent Dr McKenna Cup form into the league, netting a smashing goal that left his side well in control.

Con O'Callaghan shot Dublin into an early lead with three quickfire scores including a two-point effort.

Donegal quickly settled and led 0-5 to 0-3 midway through the half after a pair of two-pointers from goalkeeper Gavin Mulreany.

It was nip and tuck before Jim McGuinness' side hit 1-3 without reply in a five minute spell to lead 1-9 to 0-6 at the break.

Finbarr Roarty, Conor and Shane O'Donnell landed points before Shea Malone blasted to the net in front of Hill 16 where he watched last year's All-Ireland final as a supporter.

The Dubs started the second half by outscoring Donegal five points to one in the first five minutes of the second half to cut the gap down to just two points.

Substitute Luke Breathnach put his hand up for a start next week with three quickfire scores before Michael Langan landed a couple of two-point efforts, one from a free and one from play to re-establish the Ulster champion's dominance.

Jim McGuinness' men were really starting to find their feet as they kicked their fifth two-pointer of the night through Daire O Baoill to move eight clear.

Just as the game seemed to be slipping away from Dublin, O'Callaghan, Conor Tyrell, Small and Sean Bugler landed scores to cut the gap to four with just 10 left to play.

Langan landed his sixth to end a barren spell of over 10 minutes before Caolan McGonagle landed an inspirational score from centre-back.

Late scores from Breathnach - who kicked five in total - cut the gap to three with 45 seconds left on the clock, but Donegal held firm to seal the points.

Despite it only being the opening night of the league this game was seen as a real two-pointer between two of the favourites for promotion to the top tier.

Five two-point scores from Meath, who contested last year's All-Ireland semi-final, including 0-7 from midfielder Jack Flynn sealed a vital win in torrid conditions.

It was Derry who made the early running with Shane McGuigan and Ethan Doherty landing early scores.

Jordan Morris got Meath off the mark on eight minutes before Gareth McKinless' pointed effort almost dropped into the net only for a heroic save at full stretch from Sean Brennan.

It was a case of hero to zero for Paul Brennan as he dropped a Cassidy effort that dropped short into the back of the net for the decisive score of the half.

McGuigan kept Derry ticking over either side of scores from Eoghan Frayne and a free from Matthew Costello.

Meath would take over landing the next eight points as Brennan atoned from his earlier mistake with a two-point free from south of 50 yards.

While Jack Flynn and Bryan Menton also raised orange flags in a real purple patch, the Royals went in at the break leading 0-11 to 1-5.

Meath's dominance continued in the second half as Morris landed their fourth two point score of the game.

McGuigan got Derry's first score in over 20 minutes landing a free from outside the arc before Cassidy landed a second two-pointer in as many minutes to cut the gap to two points.

Matthew Downey's point put the visitors to within one before Flynn landed his second two-pointer, this time from a free, with Meath troubling the scoreboard for the first time in over 11 minutes.

McGuigan landed a free to put two between the sides with less than three minutes to play, but Ciaran Caulfield pointed to seal a three point win for the Leinster men.

Down's promotion bid got off to a perfect start as they finished well to defeat Clare at Pairc Esler in Newry.

The Mourne County will be looking for an automatic return to the second tier after being relegated last season, but they were five points down at the break on opening night.

Brian McNamara sent over a two-pointer, and there was still time for Mark McInerney to grab a second goal for Clare before the half-time whistle.

Conor Laverty's side had it all to do but came out flying upon the restart with a John McGeough goal bringing them to within one.

Pat Havern kept Down in front, but a two-point free from Stephen Ryan on 65 minutes gave the Bannermen the lead.

Odhran Murdock stepped up with a timely goal to regain the advantage for the Ulster side before adding another point in injury time alongside Daniel Guinness' orange flag to seal the victory.