2010 hurt finally gone after Louth end long wait for Leinster glory

Louth have won a first Leinster title in 68 years at a packed Croke Park.

Louth's Sam Mulroy lifts the Delaney Cup. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

Leinster SFC final: Louth 3-2-12 (23) Meath 1-3-15 (21) 

Sixty-eight years of waiting and the anguish of 2010 flitted away as Louth claimed an historic Leinster SFC title in Croke Park this afternoon.

Captain Sam Mulroy’s two-point free in the 65th minute was the difference after Matthew Costello’s goal had put Meath back in front after a dormant period for The Royals.

After three-plus minutes of possession, Craig Lennon added a point for good measure and glory was theirs, Conor Grimes kicking into the Cusack Stand to complete a victory watched by a 65,786 crowd.

Meath had brought in Jordan Morris and Conor Gray as late substitute replacements. Only last week Robbie Brennan was insisting the game would come too early for Morris who torn knee ligaments in the league game against Louth in March.

With one hand, Meath were receiving but the other something was being taken away as Ronan Jones was the man whose injury allowed Morris to be an 11th hour addition to the match-day panel.

Having won the toss, Meath played with the breeze into the Davin Stand and were 0-5 to 0-2 up after 17 minutes. Twice, Louth went ahead in the opening nine minutes but a couple of Eoghan Frayne scores followed by a Billy Hogan two-point free gave them a three-point cushion.

Louth's Niall McDonnell celebrates after the game

That was swiped from them in the 20th minute when Sam Mulroy sent a penalty to the net. Donal Keogan had fouled Kieran McArdle as he was pulling the trigger and Martin McNally pointed to the spot.

Four minutes later, Meath were rocked by a second Louth goal. Craig Lennon slowed down then turn on the afterburners to engineer the attack. He supplied Ryan Burns whose shot took a small but vital deflection off a challenging Brian O’Halloran to beat Hogan and Louth were three up.

Louth’s explosiveness would not have been many people’s bingo cards but by the end of the half it was their strongest suit. However, they had to endure a sore four-minute period when Meath hit them for seven points.

Against the wind, they struggled with their kick-outs and Meath piled on the scores, one of them a Ruairí Kinsella two-pointer. However, Meath were given another reminder of their opponents’s eye for goal when Lennon repeated his trick in the 35th minute, only this time striking himself to make it a one-point game.

Mulroy’s start to the second half was a forgettable one as he kicked three wides and dropped one short in the space of five minutes. However, a Burns 43rd minute two-pointer brought Louth to within two points, cancelling out Hogan’s earlier second orange flag from a free.

The scores followed a tit-for-tat pattern, inductee Morris sending over a beautiful point with his first involvement only for Conor Grimes to hit back with a deft effort from a tight angle.

Putting his woes behind him, Mulroy broke that sequence with a 45 in the 51st minute. Two minutes later, the Louth captain swivelled to land his first point from play and square the game.

Louth went ahead for the first time since the 24th minute when Ciarán Downey picked off a point in the 56th, his team’s fourth point without reply as Meath were left to rue Kinsella and Jack Flynn wides. And Louth’s purple patch continued when Mulroy added a second from play.

Meath hadn’t scored for 15 minutes without a score when Mulroy was turned over in the middle of the field, Morris dashed towards the goal and fed Costello whose shot was sound.

Yet Mulroy turned hero once again, punting over a two-point free with five minutes to go. And then Lennon added the coupe de grace.

Scorers for Louth: S. Mulroy (1-7, 1-0 pen, 1 tpf; 0-2 frees, 1 45); R. Burns (1-3, 1tp); C. Lennon (1-1); B. Duffy, C. Grimes, C. Downey (0-1 each).

Scorers for Meath: E. Frayne (2 frees), R. Kinsella (1tp), B. Hogan (2 tpfs) (0-4 each); M. Costello (1-1); K. Curtis, J. Conlon, S. Coffey, D. Keogan, J. Morris (0-1 each) 

LOUTH: N. McDonnell; D. McKenny, D. Campbell, D. Nally; C. Lennon, P. Lynch, C. McKeever; T. Durnin, B. Duffy; A. McDonnell, S. Mulroy (c), C. Grimes; K. McArdle, C, Downey, R. Burns.

Subs for Louth: C. Keenan for K. McArdle (45); P. Matthews for A. McDonnell (46); C Byrne for R. Burns (62); D. McDonnell for B. Duffy (65); E. Carolan for D. Nally (70).

MEATH: B. Hogan; S. Lavin, S. Rafferty, B. O’Halloran; D. Keogan, S. Coffey, C. Caulfield; J. Flynn, B. Menton; C. Duke, R. Kinsella, M. Costello; J. Conlon, K. Curtis, E. Frayne (c).

Subs for Meath: J. Morris for K. Curtis (45); S. Walsh for C. Duke (53); A. Lynch for R. Kinsella (62); D. McGowan for J. Conlon (68).

Referee: M. McNally (Monaghan)