Louth bounce back

NFL DIVISION THREE: LOUTH 0-18 LONGFORD 0-12 : LOUTH leap-frogged Longford in the table with an excellent second-half display…

NFL DIVISION THREE: LOUTH 0-18 LONGFORD 0-12: LOUTH leap-frogged Longford in the table with an excellent second-half display in Drogheda.

After three straight defeats, Eamonn McEneaney’s side went into the game occupying a relegation spot and things seemed to be going from bad to worse when Longford retired with a 0-9 to 0-4 half- time lead.

Louth quickly set about bringing down the deficit after the interval and aided by the stiff breeze, they dominated. They finished with six unanswered points in the last 10 minutes.

LOUTH: S Reynolds; P Rath, D Finnegan, J O'Brien; P McGinnity, D Crilly, G Hoey; B White (0-5), P Keenan; A Reid, R Carroll (0-4), R Finnegan (0-2); JP Rooney (0-2), P Smith, D Clarke (0-4, one free). Subs: D Reid (0-1) for Reid (52 mins), D Maguire for Rooney (67 mins), A Hoey for Smith (67 mins).

LONGFORD: D Sheridan; D Brady, N Farrell, P Foy; D Masterson, E Williams, K Smith; P Reynolds, K Mulligan (0-3); P Berry (0-1), A O'Connor, G Dennigan (0-3, frees); P Barden (0-1), D Barden (0-1), B Kavanagh (0-3, frees). Subs: B Gilleran for Reynolds (10 mins, yellow), D Reilly for D Barden (48 mins), S Doyle for Farrell (53 mins), P Dowd for Berry (59 mins).

Referee: P Fox (Westmeath).

  • Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date

  • What’s making headlines in the rugby world? Listen to The Counter Ruck podcast with Nathan Johns

  • Sign up for push alerts to get the best breaking news, analysis and comment delivered to your phone