Leinster SFC quarter-final: Louth 2-16 Laois 0-17
Louth showed every ounce of a side that is embarking on a tilt at their third Leinster final in a row with a seasoned opening day victory over Laois.
They needed to be patient and use all their experience to not panic no matter how muggy Justin McNulty’s side made it. Right to the finish, the midlanders pushed Louth’s button but a lapse was all it needed.
When replacement Craig Lennon was about to menace off on a counter attack, nearest Laois attacker Benny Carroll, cynically took care of the all-star and received a black card in the 58th minute.
Possibly not a lapse but the numerical disadvantage would prove to be the scale tipper in a game of close encounters. Despite coping without Sam Mulroy, Louth did miss his leadership at times.
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A further blow was the demotion of Louth vice-captain Tommy Durnin before the game, as a result Ger Brennan decided to select Ciaran Byrne and it proved to be a worthy sticking of his principles.
Byrne came into the side for the first time since the beginning of March and was essentially the match winner. His late goal sealed the contest and his opening two points eased Louth into the game.
With the dirty diesel out of Laois’ system the week before, Mark Barry was inspired. The O’Dempsey’s man led the attack and found the target four times in each half.
The Laois captain’s best period before the half allowed Justin McNulty’s side to lead by one at the break but importantly posed the chance of an upset.
Louth shut that door firmly upon the restart, Ryan Burns fired home a penalty for the opening score and never relented that lead.
Barry’s form meant Laois never went away, but Byrne would see them off with a late match winning drive, they’ll have to improve against Kildare in the semi-final to reach that important Leinster final in a fortnight’s time.
A place in the Sam Maguire race adds an extra incentive to an already intriguing provincial semi final.
Louth: N McDonnell; E Carolan, D Campbell, D McKenny; D Nally, P Lynch (0-0-1), C McKeever; F Malone, P Mathews; A McDonnell (0-0-1), C Downey (0-0-3), C Grimes; K McArdle (0-0-1), C Byrne (1-0-3), Ryan Burns (1-0-4, 1-0 pen, 1 45 1f). Subs: T Durnin (0-0-1) for Malone (34 mins), C Lennon (0-0-1) for Grimes (52), D McKeown (0-0-1) for McArdle (64), C Branigan for McDonnell (64), D McDonnell for Mathews (73).
Laois: K Roche; T Collins, S Lacey, B Dempsey; P Kirwan, S Fingleton, P O’Sullivan; C Heffernan, D Larkin (0-0-2); D O’Reilly (0-0-1), R Coffey (0-0-3, 1f), K Swayne (0-0-1); M Barry (0-0-8, 4f), N Corbet (0-0-1), B Byrne (0-0-1). Subs: C Lee for Byrne (Blood 28-ht), B Carroll for Larkin (blood 42-45), Carroll for O’Reilly (46), J Hogan for Fingleton (48), Lee for Byrne (61), R Brady for Coffey (71).
Referee: P Neilan (Roscommon)
