Louth scrape into Nicky Rackard Cup semis

The hurlers of Louth and Fingal claimed quarter-final wins in the Nicky Rackard Cup this afternoon.

At Dowdallshill in Dundalk, hosts Louth emerged as one-point winners after a 3-09 to 1-14 victory over Roscommon.

A late goal from Diarmuid Murphy gave Louth a 1-08 to 0-06 half-time lead, but Declan Nolan pegged a point back for Roscommon inside three minutes of the restart.

However, play was subsequently halted for almost 20 minutes following a serious injury to Roscommon's Gary Fallon.

Murphy grabbed his second goal to push Louth 2-08 to 0-07 ahead on the resumption, and while the hosts had a third goal soon after Roscommon bounced back.

The visitors scored 1-04 without reply with Donie Coyne netting their goal to cut the deficit. However, Paddy Kelly's charges stood firm to reach the last four.

Fingal will face London in the semi-finals after the Dublin side claimed a comfortable 3-19 to 0-11 win over Sligo.

Fingal led by 1-11 to 0-03 at half-time, aided by a well-taken goal from Aodhan McEnerney. They pulled 18 points ahead on the restart, with Andrew Richardson netting their third goal.