Meath beat Kilkenny in O'Byrne Shield

Meath earned a deserved 0-13 to 1-3 win over Kilkenny at Pairc Tailteann in Navan in the O'Byrne Shield tonight.

In what was Seamus McEnaney's maiden victory as the Royal County boss, his charges firmly shook off the disappointment of a midweek loss to UCD at the same venue.

The hosts led by 0-9 to 0-0 at the interval on a wet night, having claimed a 0-4 to 0-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Backed by a stiff first half wind assistance, Ian Davis, Paddy O'Rourke, Terry Farrelly, David McDonagh, Brian Sheridan and Conor Gillespie shared out the Royals' first half scores.

Kilkenny missed some kickable scoring chances in the opening half, but upped their game on the restart and grabbed a second-half goal.

However, Meath held enough in reserve as the hosts progressed to a semi-final date with either Laois or Athlone IT.