After a nervy and disappointing opening-round defeat to Drumree, St. Peter's Dunboyne produced the perfect response with an impressive twelve-point victory over Gael Colmcille in Round 2 of the Intermediate Hurling Championship.

Dunboyne led from start to finish and looked much sharper from the opening whistle. Niall Smyth nearly found the net inside the opening minute before the breakthrough arrived three minutes later when Jason Gleeson rifled a 21-yard free to the back of the net.

The scoreboard remained unchanged until the ninth minute when Conor Murphy gathered a long clearance, turned smartly and split the posts. Gael Colmcille responded with a well-taken score from a tight angle, but Dunboyne hit back immediately as Shane Nolan's subsequent puck-out found Eoghan McCormack, who calmly pointed.

The visitors kept themselves in contention with two points from play to leave it 1-02 to 0-03, but Dunboyne continued to create opportunities. A cleverly taken quick free by Gleeson picked out the unmarked Sean Quigley, who made no mistake. In the 16th minute, excellent work from Eric Lowndes created the opening for the ever-alert Niall Smyth, who finished clinically for Dunboyne's second goal to leave the scoreboard reading 2-03 to 0-03.

Gael Colmcille pulled back two points, one from a free, by the 23rd minute, but Dunboyne finished the half strongly. Gleeson added two more points while Quigley converted a '65 to send Dunboyne into the interval in complete control, leading 2-06 to 0-05.

Conor Murphy opened the second-half scoring with an excellent point from the right touchline. Gael Colmcille, who seemed to score in pairs throughout the contest, replied with two points, one from a free, before Eoghan McCormack restored the momentum with another fine score to make it 2-08 to 0-08.

From there, Dunboyne began to turn the screw. The half-back line, led superbly by James Lonergan, took control of the game. While many players chase the play, on this occasion it felt as though the play kept finding Lonergan, who enjoyed a Paudie Clifford-esque influence on proceedings.

Gleeson pointed after good work from Jamie McCormack before further scores from Shane McCormack, Jamie McCormack and Murphy stretched the lead to ten points at 2-12 to 0-08. Gael Colmcille again responded with two points, including a free, but the McCormack brothers ensured there would be no comeback. Eoghan landed two excellent points before Shane McCormack added another two of his own, the first arriving after an outstanding and unorthodox assist from the boot of dual star Evan McCrudden.

Niall Smyth produced one of the scores of the evening in the 27th minute, brilliantly controlling a long clearance before sending over what was an outstanding point, worth the entrance fee alone. Substitute Liam Callanan, who impressed after his introduction, added another a minute later, while Sean Cregan also got on the scoresheet soon after.

Gael Colmcille battled until the end and were rewarded with a late goal in injury time, but there was still time for Jason Gleeson to have the final say, striking an outrageous effort from almost 80 yards to cap an excellent individual display and leave the final score: St. Peter's Dunboyne 2-20 (1 goal from a free, 1 '65) Gael Colmcille 1-11 (3 frees).

Overall, Noel and his management team will be delighted with the response after Round 1. Nine different scorers and a return of 1-19 from play underline the quality of the attacking display, while several players produced standout performances and the bench made a significant impact.

With more players returning from injury, competition for places is only set to increase ahead of the next round against Ashbourne. Both sides have one win and one defeat from their opening two games, making it a huge encounter with championship qualification very much on the line.

Team: Shane Nolan; Fergal Chawke; Evan McCrudden; Eoghan Pearl; James Lonergan; Diarmuid Delaney; Jamie McCormack (0-01); Jack Cox; Sean Quigley (0-02, 1 '65'); Eoghan McCormack (0-04); Jason Gleeson (1-04, goal from free); Eric Lowndes; Conor Murphy (0-03); Sean Cregan (0-01); Niall Smyth (1-01). Subs: Shane McCormack (0-03) for Eric Lowndes (17 mins); Conor Deering for Fergal Chawke (47 mins); Jason Nolan for Jack Cox (47 mins); Liam Callanan (0-01) for Shane McCormack (53 mins).

Report by Eamon Murphy