Clare, Offaly and Kildare were all victorious on the opening day of Division 3 action in the 2016 Allianz Football League.
Gary Brennan netted the only goal of the game for Clare with 10 minutes remaining to pave the way for a 1-11 to 0-07 win over Sligo in Milltown Malbay.
Sligo led by 0-04 to 0-02 at half-time, but Clare worked hard on the restart, to take a 0-07 to 0-06 lead, before Brennan raised a green flag for the hosts.
Substitute Mark Breheny cut the gap to four points in the 65th minute, but Clare kicked on with three unanswered points.
Offaly got off to a winning start over O’Byrne Cup finalists Longford, with a 0-12 to 0-10 win at O’Connor Park, Tullamore.
Longford led by 0-10 to 0-07 at half-time but only managed two second half points, with Graham Guilfoyle, Niall McNamee, Bernard Allen and Joe O’Connor taking Offaly’s scores.
Longford’s woes were compounded late on with a red card for Michael Quinn.
Goals were key as Kildare claimed a 2-09 to 0-11 away win over Westmeath at Cusack Park, Mullingar.
Cian O’Neill’s charges only scored three second-half points, but it mattered little as first-half goals from Daniel Flynn and Cian O'Donoghue set them up for a four-point victory.
Limerick battled hard to register a 1-12 to 2-09 home draw with Tipperary.
A 73rd-minute point from Ian Ryan ensured a share of the spoils.
Tipperary led by 1-06 to 0-05 at half-time, with Peter Acheson netting a 16th-minute goal.
A Peter Nash goal helped Limerick to a 1-09 to 1-07 lead on 57 minutes, but Tipperary fought back and Josh Keane netted their second goal.
The visitors looked like being on their way to victory, until Ryan’s last-gasp score secured a point for Limerick.
