Louth 1-19
Cavan 0-12

Louth continued preparations for their Leinster SFC campaign with a comprehensive win over Cavan at the St Mochtas pitch in Louth Village yesterday afternoon.

Wee County boss Peter Fitzpatrick named a strong starting 15 for the game which marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of Pairc Mhocta, while the Cavan team-sheet was short of a number of regulars as a number of squad players were tested ahead of this Wednesday night's Leinster JFC quarter-final against Longford.

The hosts made the better start, with scores from Brian Donnelly, Adrian Reid, Derek Crilly (2), David Reid and a free from Darren Clarke moving them in a 0-6 to 0-3 lead. Down the other end, Sean Johnston and Damien O'Reilly kept the Breffni men in touch before the former had a shot at goal well-saved by Neil Gallagher in the Louth goal.

Keith Fannin did grab a score for Cavan before the close of the half, but scores from David Reid, Crilly and the returning Shane Lennon made sure last year's Leinster finalists went in with a 0-8 to 0-5 lead at the break.

Both sides made wholesale changes for the second-half and they seemed to work better for Cavan as quick points from Tomas Corr, Ray Cullivan and Cian Mackey cut the deficit down to a single point.

However, Louth substitute Derek Maguire struck for three points in the space of five minutes to knock the stuffing out of Cavan and scores from Adrian Reid and Eamonn O'Neill put them further adrift.

With five minutes remaining, Michael Brennan and Paddy Keenan swapped scores before Padraic Smith's goal ensured victory for the home side, who finished with late scores from Ronan Holcroft and O'Neill.

Louth: Neil Gallagher; Declan Byrne, Aaron Hoey, Gerard Hoey; Ray Finnegan, Dessie Finnegan, Liam Shevlin; Paddy Keenan, Brian Donnelly; Derek Crilly, David Reid, Adrian Reid; Colm Judge, Shane Lennon, Darren Clarke.

Subs used: Craig Lynch for Neil Gallagher, Eamonn McAuley for Derek Crilly, Ronan Greene for Gerard Hoey, Stephen Fitzpatrick for Liam Shevlin, Ronan Carroll for Brian Donnelly, Andy McDonnell for David Reid, Padraic Smith for Colm Judge, Derek Maguire for Darren Clarke (all half-time), Eamonn O'Neill for Declan Byrne (50), Jim McEneaney for Shane Lennon (50), Padraig Rath for Ray Finnegan (56), Ronan Holcroft for Adrian Reid (58).

Cavan: James Reilly; Dane O'Dowd, Thomas Corr, James McEnroe; Mark McKeever, Fergal Flanagan, Thomas Wakely; David Givney, John McCutcheon; Keith Fannin, Ray Cullivan, Niall McKiernan; Sean Johnston, Eugene Keating, Cian Mackey.

Subs used : Alan O'Mara, Stephen Jordan, Dermot Sheridan, Gareth Smith, Michael Brennan, Damien Barkey, Sean McCormack, Michael Lyng, Martin Cahill, Ryan McCormack, Tomas Reilly, Cillian O'Reilly. Tweet

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