Louth, Longford forced to replay

Louth 1-14 2-11 Longford

Leinster Championship, first round.

Louth and Longford have it all to do again next Sunday after playing out an exciting draw in Navan.

It will be Longford kicking themselves tonight as they threw away a seven-point lead in the final quarter of the game.

Following Trevor Smullen's goal in the 50th minute, Longford appeared to be cruising to the next round of the Leinster Championship.

However, it was to be one of the team's last attacks as Louth staged a stirring fight back, inspired by Christy Grimes.

The final 15 minutes was the only time Louth found any coherence in their play, as for much of the game, Longford dominated.

An early goal, a quite brilliant individual effort by Paul Barden set Longford on their way and they led at half-time 1-07 to 0-08.

They resumed where they left off after the interval with Padraig Davis deadly accurate from frees.

However their collapse in the last 20 minutes facilitated the Louth comeback and with Christy Grimes and Mark Stanfield in top form, Louth look the better bet for next Sunday.