Reds hold on to Nicky Rackard status
Louth Leitrim 2-22 2-10
LOUTH retained their Nicky Rackard Cup status with a 12-point victory over a depleted and wasteful Leitrim at Cusack Park, Mullingar on Saturday afternoon.
In a match played in front of only a few die-hard supporters, Louth simply had the better scorers, with their entire starting forward line registering at least one score and sub Brian Corcoran turning the game in their favour with a personal tally of 1-2 after Leitrim had made a second quarter recovery from a shaky start.
Two softly-conceded goals brought Leitrim within two on 33 minutes but they scored only four more points as Louth, sluggish at times, hit a purple patch in the fourth quarter to pull away and the winning margin certainly did not flatter them.
The one shining light for Leitrim was Zak Moradi who fought an almost lone battle up front but seven wides at the start of the second half drained the life out of them.
SCORERS: Louth - B Corcoran, D Kettle 1-2 each, M Molloy, S Connelly (2fs) 0-4 each, P Lynch 0-3, R Byrne (1f), S Callan 0-2 each, A McCrave, M Ryan, G Smyth 0-1 each. Leitrim: - Z Moradi 1-4 (3fs), E Moreton 1-1, K McDermott 0-2, K McGrath, J McNabola, A Duffy (1f) 0-1 each
LOUTH: S Hackett; M Wallace, M Lyons, L Molloy; A McCrave, R Byrne, S Kettle; M Molloy, D Ryan; S Connelly, S Callan, P Lynch 6; G Smyth, D Kettle, M Ryan. Subs: B Corcoran for Smyth (25), C Seery for Ryan (57) , C Griffin for Molloy (66) (not on long enough)
LEITRIM: D Molloy; K McGrath, T Glancy, P Earley; E Moreton, C Byrne, N McLoughlin; J Glancy, D Ryan; J McNabola, K McDermott, D McGovern; A Duffy, P Poniard, Z Moradi, Subs: G O’Hagan for Earley (45), A McSharry for Duffy, C McGuire for T Glancy (62).
REFEREE: J Clarke (Cavan).