LOUTH blew away any hopes Armagh had of opening their Division Two campaign with a win when they took full advantage of the elements at the Athletic Grounds yesterday.

When skipper Seamus O'Hanlon won the toss, he elected to take full advantage. Louth, who had succumbed to Armagh in the All Ireland B championship match last month, moved into top gear in the opening quarter and with skipper O'Hanlon and Ken Reilly in dominant form at midfield, they quickly assembled a comfortable lead. Louth had established an impressive 0-10 to 0-0 lead by half time.

It was a rather different scenario in the second period, though. Armagh laid siege to the Louth goal.

Oisin McConville struck over seven points and when substitutes Cathal Short and John McEntee added a further edge to Armagh's play, the home side looked capable of pulling the match out of the fire.

However, Louth corner forward Alan Doherty plundered the most crucial score of the match when his shot deceived Brendan Tierney in the home goal, who could only assist the ball to the net.