Kerry shook off a determined Meath challenge, to claim their second win of their Christy Ring Cup campaign, thanks to a 1-23 to 2-18 win at Austin Stack Park in Tralee.
The Kingdom started brightly, and led by 1-02 to 0-04 early on, with Colm Harty netting a first minute goal.
However, Meath took a deserved 1-13 to 1-09 interval lead, with Jack Regan outstanding for the Royals.
Regan registered 1-07 in the opening half, including a penalty goal as the visitors took a deserved four-point interval advantage.
Dual star Michael Burke and Willie McGrath were also among Meath’s first-half scorers, with John Egan and Shane Nolan keeping Kerry in touch.
Kerry worked hard to eat into the Royals’ lead on the restart, with Nolan and Padraig Boyle taking fine scores.
Regan and McGrath kept Meath in front, but Nolan worked hard and levelled the tie at 1-18 apiece.
Kerry never looked back, with scores from Nolan, Boyle and Daniel Collins pushing the Kingdom 1-22 to 1-18 ahead.
John O’Neill further extended the hosts lead, and although Willie McGrath netted the Royals second goal, it came too late as Kerry held out for victory.
Elsewhere, a Martin Duggan hat-trick was key as London came out on top of their first round replay against Kildare, by 3-16 to 0-19 in St Conleth's Park in Newbridge.
The Clare native, who posted 3-03 in the victory, was in impressive form as the Exiles advanced to Round 2 with a well-merited win.
Duggan bagged two first half goals as London led by 2-08 to 0-09 at half-time, with Mark Delaney keeping Kildare in touch with six points at that stage, while Paul Divilly, Kevin Whelan and Mark Moloney were also on target for the Lillywhites.
Kildare worked hard on the restart and cut the gap to two points with six minutes remaining.
However, London proved strongest, with Duggan cutting through for his second goal in the closing minutes, on the way to a six-point win, with Peter Phelan (0-06) also impressive.
With Kildare trailing by 2-14 to 0-14, the hosts would finish with 14-men, after Paul Divilly was dismissed on a straight red card.
The Confey clubman saw red, after an off-the-ball incident, with Tipperary referee John O'Brien showing no hesitation in giving Divilly his marching orders in the 52nd minute.
London now face Derry next week, while Kildare will travel to Mayo.
Down delivered on home soil with an impressive 1-19 to 0-13 win over Wicklow in Ballycran.
The hosts were in strong form in the opening half and took a deserved 0-14 to 0-05 interval lead.
Michael Johnston’s charges never relented and bagged the only goal of the game in the final quarter from Chris Egan.
