Hurling League round-up: Offaly hang on to beat Meath in Division 2A opener

Offaly’s first game in Division 2A of the National Hurling League for over a decade turned out to be a nervous affair as they had to hold off a strong fightback from Meath in Birr.

These two sides met a few weeks ago in the Kehoe Cup and Offaly fired in eight goals on that occasion, and it looked like a similarly one-sided encounter was in store when the home side rattled off 18 first-half points.