ArthurstrikesealsdealforLouth

LOUTH produced a gutsy 14-man second-half display in Darver to edge past Tyrone.

Louth gave debuts to Neil and Gerry Arthur and it was the former who played a starring role as he racked up an impressive 2-9 to help see Tyrone off. Tyrone gradually got on top with Damien Casey punishing some ill-discipline from the Louth defence and scoring 0-8 as Tyronewentinatthebreak 0-13to1-8ahead.

Louth were level shortly after the restart thanks to a Gerard Smyth goal and they took the lead two minutes laterasNeilArthurputthe Wee County in the driving seat.

They were dealt a blow with 20 minutes remaining when referee Chris Mooney flashed a red card in Andrew McCrave’s direction. But Louth defended heroically and sealed the deal with a second Arthur goal.

SCORERS – Louth: N Arthur 2-9 (6f), G Smyth 1-1, S Callan 1-0, P Mathews, P Lynch 0-1 each. Tyrone: D Casey 0-14 (9fs), A Kelly 0-3, L Armstrong, D Begley, R McKernan 0-1 each.

LOUTH – S Hackett 7; M Wallace 7, M Lyons 8, C Mathews 8; S Kettle 7, R Byrne 7, A McCrave

6; D Ryan 7, G Arthur 8; G Smyth 8, S Callan 8, S Connelly 7; P Mathews 7, N Arthur 9, P Lynch 8. Subs: P McCormack 6 for Smyth (48), J Crosbie 6 for Mathews (60), D Kettle 6 for Lynch (60). TYRONE – C McElhatton 6; D Begley 7, B Begley 6, T Morgan 6; P McHugh 6, S Donnelly 7, C Kearns 6; C McNally 6, R McKernan 7; D Casey 8, P O’Kelly 6, C Cross 6; B McGurk 6, A Kelly 7, L Armstrong 7. Subs: P Daly 6 for Cross (h-t), C Lagan 6 for Armstrong (59).

REF –C Mooney (Dublin)