Paddy Keenan and Ronan Carroll were superb as Louth beat Westmeath by 1-15 to 0-13 in the NFL Division Three final at Croke Park.

Keenan produced an all-action display, including three points, while full forward Carroll top-scored with 1-3. Brian Donnelly was also magnificent at midfield for the winners, as was wing back Ray Finnegan.

Nine different players got on the scoresheet for the Wee County, while all Westmeath's points arrived courtesy of the excellent trio Conor Lynam, Paul Greville and Denis Glennon.

Louth had trailed by a point with just over ten minutes remaining, but finished strongly, adding 1-4 to their tally to emerge deserving victors.

Territorially, Louth seemed to have had the better of the first half but they trailed by the odd point from 13 at the interval after Denis Glennon poked over an injury-time score. Lynam registered four times for the Maroons in the opening period, with Greville bagging a brace. Carroll was Louth's main threat, with three first-half points.

Midfielder Donnelly thumped over the opening point for the Wee County in the second minute and the same player pulled a free from the ground wide a minute later. Paraic 'Pepe' Smyth should have done better after a quick Keenan pass picked him out in front of the posts, and Mark Brennan hit Louth's third wide on six minutes.

Liam Shevlin raided forward from wing back to pop over the Reds' second point and Greville coughed up a great scoring opportunity when he dropped the ball while closing in on goal after exchanging a short free with Doran Harte. The free was awarded for Eamonn McAuley's push on Denis Glennon, who screwed a shot badly wide a minute later.

All Star Keenan was harshly penalised for a foul pass - the midfielder was mid-air after diving to avoid a Westmeath tackle - and Lynam closed the gap from the resultant kick from his hands.

With Shane Lennon injured, St Mary's clubman Carroll had been named on the edge of the square and he thumped the next point over the bar from close range with his left foot: 0-3 to 0-1 after 14 minutes. The Lake County responded with a David Glennon wide.

Andy McDonnell kicked another Louth wide off his left side after Keenan had created an opening in the Westmeath rearguard and Lynam finished much more clinically as he arrowed over his second point in the 20th minute, this one from play. But - with the Louth forwards interchanging all over the place - Carroll gathered possession well out the field and dropped over an excellent left-footed point from long range: 0-4 to 0-2.

Louth were almost in for a goal when McDonnell picked out Smyth, but the Dreadnots man saw his low shot blocked by the foot of Aidan Finnan. After some sloppy play from both teams, Reid sliced over the Wee County's fifth point off the outside of his left foot, with Keenan providing the pass.

Lynam was Westmeath's only source of scores at this stage and the No.12 cut inside veteran full back Aaron Hoey to knock over his third point of the evening. Within a minute - in the 27th - Lynam brought his own tally (and Westmeath's) to 0-4 when he clipped over after great approach play from Denis Glennon. And, almost immediately, Greville tied up the scores with an excellent left-footed shot on the run: 0-5 each after 28 minutes.

Carroll may be better known on the intercounty stage as a midfielder but he showed plenty of attacking prowess as he danced through the opposition defence on the half hour to restore his side's advantage: 0-6 to 0-5. But Keenan struck another Louth wide and the Reds looked capable of kicking this game away. In contrast, Westmeath broke forward and Greville took his point with a minimum of fuss.

Three minutes from the break, Lake County midfielder Denis Corroon struck his second wide of the match and Carroll was left feeling aggrieved when he made a good catch in front of the posts but was adjudged to have fouled his man. Smyth dropkicked a weak shot straight into the hands of opposition custodian Gary Connaughton on the stroke of half time and there was a sting in the tail when Denis Glennon whacked over the lead point in first-half injury time. At half time, Pat Flanagan's men led by 0-7 to 0-6.

Louth were second out onto the pitch for the second half and they had made two changes, with Jamie Carr in for Gerard Hoey at the back and Derek Maguire replacing Mark Brennan in attack. Young Irelands clubman Maguire - donning the No.13 shirt - announced his arrival with an immediate point from play between the Hill 16 posts.

Lynam responded with his fifth score - another sweet kick finding the range with ease - and Dennis Glennon followed suit with an exquisite point after McAuley stood off him: 0-9 to 0-7 with 40 minutes played. A minute later, McDonnell halved the deficit as he claimed his first score of the day.

Louth should have been in for a goal but Smyth failed to find Maguire with his under-hit handpass; Greville punished them with a tidy point in the 43rd minute, again putting two points between them.

Poor refereeing handed Westmeath their next point when Keenan was wrongly penalised for a hard but perfectly-executed shoulder, which flattened Doran Harte. The Louth No.8 got a yellow card for his troubles and the Lake County worked a quick free to Denis Glennon, who fisted over. The Reds replied with a lovely Smyth point and a wide from Maguire.

With 47 minutes played, Keenan became the eighth Louth player to score with a fine point from out the field after good work by McDonnell. Only three Westmeath players had scored - Lynam, Glennon and Greville - but they led by the odd point from 21: 0-11 to 0-10.

Again, the Wee County threatened the Westmeath goal but there was nobody there to apply the finishing touch after Smyth rolled the ball across the face of goal. Greville's attempt to stretch his side's advantage drifted wide and Pat Flanagan made a double substitution (bringing in Kevin Maguire and Kieran Martin) before Greville struck the outside of an upright.

The Louth boss introduced his son and Stephen Fitzpatrick almost made an immediate impact only to see his shot tail wide of the post. Former Oz Rules player Donnelly was having an epic match in the engine room and the Louth centrefielder drilled over a stunning free from the deck to tie the scores up at 0-11 each with 15 minutes remaining.

Within seconds, Greville restored Westmeath's lead with another superb score. Keenan dropped one short and then had a disappointing wide just shy of the hour mark. JP Rooney came off the bench and the Naomh Mairtin clubman made an immediate contribution when he created a goal for Carroll…

Rooney, wearing No.15, had embarked on a soccer-style run and his low shot was parried by Connaughton, leaving the big full forward with the facile task of rolling the ball to an empty net. Keenan and Greville traded frees, leaving two between them with seven minutes to play: 1-12 to 0-13. There were no further scores until the outstanding Ray Finnegan broke forward to extend his side's advantage in the 69th minute.

Man of the Match Keenan added a sublime point with his left foot, curling it in from the left wing, and Maguire tagged on another on the stroke of full time. One couldn't help but feel that poetic justice had been done as Keenan rose to the skies to collect a late Greville delivery into the Louth danger zone, ferrying the ball to safety just before the long whistle sounded.

Eight months after a refereeing howler had denied him the right to collect silverware in Croke Park on behalf of his team-mates, the St Patrick's clubman had the honour of accepting the NFL Division Three trophy at HQ.

Louth: Sean Connor; Eamonn McAuley, Aaron Hoey, Gerard Hoey; Ray Finnegan (0-1), Des Finnegan, Liam Shevlin (0-1); Paddy Keenan (0-3), Brian Donnelly (0-2); Derek Crilly, Mark Brennan, Andy McDonnell (0-1); Paraic Smith (0-1), Ronan Carroll (1-3), Adrian Reid (0-1). Subs: Jamie Carr, Derek Maguire (0-2), Stephen Fitzpatrick, JP Rooney.

Westmeath: Gary Connaughton; Francis Boyle, Kieran Gavin, John Gaffey; Ger Egan, Aidan Finnan, Doran Harte Brendan Murtagh, Denis Corroon ; Paul Sharry, David Glennon, Conor Lynam (0-5); Paul Greville (0-5), James Dolan, Denis Glennon (0-3). Subs: Kevin Maguire, Kieran Martin, Simon Quinn, Michael Curley. Tweet

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