Talking point...

RED and black cards tend to be forgotten when the result goes your way, but for the third game running Louth were reduced to 13 men for significant spells of this game. Conor Early was red-carded for the second time in three outings, but the card epidemic is a wider problem and laying the blame at the big midfielder’s door would merely be taking the easy option. Fortunately, it didn’t make any difference to the outcome at O’Connor Park, but living life on the edge is a dangerous policy as the Longford defeat in round one proved. With games against Carlow, Westmeath and Down still to come, Louth will need to be at full strength from start to finish.