Louth finish with a flourish
Louth celebrating following a dramatic win at Croke Park.
Lory Meagher Cup Final
Louth 4-15 Sligo 4-11
By Paul Keane at Croke Park
An incredible four-goal burst in the last 10 minutes of the game at Croke Park secured a maiden and dramatic Lory Meagher Cup title success for brave Louth.
Diarmuid McCarthy's side trailed by a whopping dozen points late in the first-half, but turned a perilous situation into a famous four-point win.
Substitute Seaghan Connelly got the goal glut under way in the 62nd minute and his lead was followed by Liam Dwan, Andrew Mackin, and captain Shane Callan who all hit the net.
It was redemption of sorts for Louth, who previously competed in four Nicky Rackard Cup finals and lost the lot.
Remarkably, they only took the lead for the first time in the 70th minute when Mackin struck his goal and they held on for a breakthrough win.
Sligo led by 3-6 to 0-5 at half-time following goals from Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch, Kevin Gilmartin, and Matthew Davey and looked to be in a comfortable position.
Andrew Mackin bagged a goal for Louth.
But Louth were well aware that Sligo coughed up a seven-point lead in last year's final when they lost to Fermanagh and the Wee County upped the ante in the second-half.
They scored 1-7 without reply at one stage to leave just a point in it entering the closing stages, 3-10 to 1-15.
Sligo looked shell shocked, but appeared to have redeemed themselves when O'Kelly-Lynch grabbed his second goal to put them five points ahead again with 68 minutes on the clock.
But Louth had saved their very best for last and those goals from Dwan, a converted free, Mackin and skipper Callan sealed a memorable win.
Scorers for Louth: L Dwan 1-4 (1-2fs), D Murphy 0-7 (6f, 1 65), S Callan 1-1, S Connelly 1-1, A Mackin 1-2.
Scorers for Sligo: G O'Kelly-Lynch 2-2, K Gilmartin 1-0, M Davey 1-0, B O'Loughlin 0-3, S Kenny 0-3 (1f), K Raymond 0-2 (1f), R Cox 0-1.
Louth: J Connolly; M Wallace, B Minogue, C Matthews; M Lyons, R Maher, A McCrave; D O'Hanrahan, S Callan; G Smith, N Stanley, D Kettle; P Lynch, L Dwan, D Murphy.
Subs: N Cafferkey for Matthews (28), A Mackin for Smith (h/t), S Connelly for O'Hanrahan (44).
Sligo: N McGrath; R Redmond, J Kenny, G Feely, E Comerford, C Behan, L Reidy; R Cox, K Raymond; C Brennan, G O'Kelly-Lynch, B O'Loughlin; K Gilmartin, M Davey, S Kenny.
Subs: F Cretaro for Gilmartin (62), M Gilmartin for Davey (66), A Morrison for O'Kelly-Lynch (69).
Referee: M Murtagh (Westmeath).
