2023 Allianz Football League Division 2 – Louth 1-15 Limerick 1-13

Louth defeated Limerick by 1-15 to 1-13 in Round 3 of the Allianz Football League Division 2 on Sunday February 19th at Defy Páirc Mhuire Ardee.

Sam Mulroy the difference as Louth edge out Limerick https://t.co/k7YHm901GD

— Irish Examiner Sport (@ExaminerSport) February 19, 2023

Sam Mulroy the difference as Louth edge out Limerick

Louth 1-15 Limerick 1-13

Report by Dan Bannon for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Louth dug deep in Ardee to nudge past Limerick at DEFY Páirc Mhuire thanks to a sizzling Sam Mulroy showing after the break.

With the second half barely a second old, Mulroy steered his side over the line in the crucial Allianz Division 2 relegation battle.

Louth have played better than their match winning-performance this season but like opponents Limerick they had nothing to show for it after 70 minutes, Mulroy was the bit of quality between the two sides on the day.

The winning unanswered six-point sequence after the break was a contrast to each side’s shooting in the first.

Mickey Harte’s side were wasteful in the first half, spurning four half goal chances while the returning Hugh Bourke and Colm McSweeney landed a brace of points a piece.

Despite Louth cornerback Dan Corcoran scoring his first goal in red, the visitors will feel they should have led at the break. Instead Mulroy planted two frees to make it a draw game 1-6 to 0-9 at the turn.

Perfectly poised but Ray Dempsey’s outfit were wayward in the second period as Mulroy and Dáire McConnon opened up a six-point lead.

With the scores drying up it took the visitors 20 minutes to find the range. A James Naughton free was the likely source but Limerick substitute Brian Donovan raised a green flag from the resultant kick out.

The Munster men were not only back in the game but in a chance of taking all two points. It got better when the excellent Cathal Downes cut the gap to the minimum.

However that would be as close as it would get between the basement sides as Louth showed resilience again to manage out the clock with impactful scores from replacements Tommy Durnin and Conal McCaul.

Scorers for Louth: S Mulroy 0-6 (5f), D Corcoran 1-0, D McConnon 0-3; C McCaul, N Sharkey, T Durnin, C Downey T Jackson and P Lynch 0-1 each.

Scorers for Limerick: B Donovan 1-0, J Naughton 0-3 (3f); H Bourke and C McSweeney 0-2 each; C Downes, A Enright, G Brown, C Sheehan, P Nash and I Corbett 0-1 each.

Louth: P McStravick; D Corcoran, P Lynch, D McKenny; C McKeever, N Sharkey, L Grey; C Early, C Murphy; A Wiliams, C Downey, T Jackson; C Grimes, S Mulroy, D McConnon.
Subs: C Lennon for Williams (ht), T Durnin for Early (61), C McCaul for Downey (70), B Duffy 6 for McKeever (74).

Limerick: D O’Sullivan; S O’Dea, B Fanning, D Connolly; I Corbett, C Fahy, T McCarthy; C McSweeney, C Downes; A Enright, G Brown, C Sheehan; P Maher; J Naughton, H Bourke.
Subs: P Nash for Maher (ht), B Donovan for Enright (44), K Ryan for Brown (55), M Donovan for Connolly (60), J Liston for Downes (71).

Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan)

Match Day Information

Match Details for Senior Football this Sunday:l
Limerick v Louth
Limited parking inside ground on Sunday at DEFY Pairc Mhuire Ardee
Parking only for players officials & wheelchair users on the day & we ask all to be in before 1pm
Parking 4 supporters will be along road to town pic.twitter.com/bPfAe3eKMZ

— Limerick GAA (@LimerickCLG) February 16, 2023