Antrim ... 1-10 Louth ... 1-9: A goal three minutes from the end by Kevin Doyle gave Antrim a surprise win over Louth in Dundalk yesterday.
Antrim played with a strong wind in the first half and led 0-4 to no score before Barry Clarke grabbed a goal for the home side, his shot going in off a post. At the break, the teams were level at 1-4 to 0-7 and it looked good for Louth.
There was an unusual occurrence after three minutes of the second half when referee Brian Crowe took the teams off the field, so bad had the weather become, with driving rain and sleet. After a five-minute recess, points from Kevin Madden (two) and Gearoid Adams put Antrim 0-10 to 1-4 clear.
Louth eventually got going with five points in a row. However, Antrim finished best and Doyle's goal made all the difference.
ANTRIM: P Murray; S Kelly, T Convery, M Mulholland; G Adams (0-2), J Kelly, A Finnegan; M McCrory, S Murphy; M McCarry, E McCann, P Close; K Doyle (1-2), K Brady (0-1), K Madden (0-5). Subs: E McLarnon for McCann; G Flynn for McCarry; M Coogan for Close; P Logan for Murphy.
LOUTH: S Reynolds; S Gerard, D Shevlin, D Brennan; A Page, A Hoey, J Neary; S O'Hanlon, M Farrelly (0-2); B Clarke (1-2), C Grimes, O McDonnell (0-2); D Reilly, M Stanfield (0-2), JP Rooney (0-1). Subs: C O'Hanlon for Rooney, P McGinnity for Reilly.
Referee: B Crowe (Cavan)