Bruce Springsteen’s Glory Days blared out over the tannoy prior to the start of this Allianz League Division 2 tie at breezy Páirc Tailteann yesterday and while that may have been a bit premature for the Royals there were some positive signs in this hard-fought victory.

Declan Bonner, the Donegal manager, commended the resolve shown by his young side as they came from four points down late on to overcame Meath in a frost-bitten Ballybofey on Saturday night.

The fare on offer from both side was well short of what will be needed to win promotion but it was Meath who were happiest at the end of this dour Division 2 tie at Páirc Tailteann yesterday.

Tyrone escaped from Navan with a narrow win and a place in the second round of the Qualifier series, squeezing out a courageous Meath side in an extra-time thriller.

Meath boss Andy McEntee expressed a mixture of delight and relief after his team boosted their prospects of avoiding the drop to division three following this polished display against fellow strugglers Down at Pairc Tailteann yesterday.

Cavan are sitting pretty on the summit of Division Two of the Allianz Football League thanks to a jet-propelled first-half display at Kingspan Breffni yesterday..

The Dubs will be a different story altogether in the decider.

St Mary’s College 16 Cork Constitution 20: Cork Constitution survived a late onslaught from St Mary’s College to claim a narrow win in Division 1A of the Ulster Bank League at Templeville Road on Saturday.

Cork Constitution 13 St Mary’s 15: Luckily for Cork Constitution, they have retained their place in the top four of the Ulster Bank League despite a disappointing home loss to struggling St Mary’s College at Temple Hill on Saturday.

Lansdowne 16 St Mary’s 10

Dolphin 18 St. Mary’s College 27

ULSTER BANK LEAGUE DIVISION 1A:

St Mary’s College 20 Lansdowne 38

Grenagh 1-10 Kilbrin 2-5

Kilbrin 0-16 Castlemartyr 0-15

Castlemartyr 0-14 Kilbrin 0-14

Castlebar Mitchels’ 1-11 Breaffy 0-08

Dolphin 15 St Mary’s College 10

ALL-IRELAND SFC ROUND 1:

Westmeath 3-15 Carlow 1-10

Offaly 2-11 Carlow 1-11

Limerick 0-10 Carlow 0-9

Eamonn Fitzmaurice has named just four recognised forwards in his attack for tomorrow’s trip to Ballybofey.

Leitrim 1-16 Carlow 0-12

Conor Counihan will be without his three U21 players for Sunday’s Division One trip to Newry.

Cork Constitution 12 St Mary’s College 30

Carlow 0-13 London 1-09

Tipperary 0-16 Carlow 1-14

Michael O’Donoghue and Jack Sherwood will both make their league debuts for Kerry in Castlebar tomorrow.

Carlow 1-12 Dublin 3-13

Croke Rovers 0-16 Robert Emmetts 0-05

The remaining big challengers for the Ulster Bank title will have sat bolt upright after taking stock of Dolphin’s clinical bonus point victory at Musgrave Park on Saturday.

Blackrock 4-16 Duhallow 2-10

Kilbrin 3-13 Clonakilty 1-17

Duhallow 1-13 Midleton 1-12

Duhallow 1-12 Bandon 0-11

Kilbrin 2-17 Banteer 3-12

Laois manager Justin McNulty admits the underwhelming performance by his charges in scraping over the line against Carlow will not be good enough to progress in the second round of qualifiers.

Laois 1-10 Carlow 0-9

Carlow 1-12 Meath 1-12

Cork boss Conor Counihan has kept faith with the side that claimed the honours in last month’s league final against Mayo for their 2012 championship opener against Kerry in Sunday’s Munster SFC semi-final.

Tony Hannon hit 1-6 as Wicklow kept their slim promotion hopes alive.

Alan Clohessey emerged as the Clare hero when he scored an injury-time winning point at Dr Cullen Park yesterday.