14-man Louth beats Monaghan to reach first All-Ireland semi-final in 68 years
Louth played over an hour with 14 men after an early red card but still beat Monaghan 0-27 to 2-18 at Croke Park, reaching their first All-Ireland senior football semi-final since 1957.
Early drama
Louth's afternoon began disastrously when midfielder Sean Callaghan was shown a straight red card in the seventh minute for a high challenge on Aaron Carey. Monaghan had already stormed into a 0-4 to 0-0 lead, with Conor McCarthy landing a two-point effort and Andrew Woods adding a brace. The Farney men were themselves dealt a blow before throw-in when captain and goalkeeper Rory Beggan was ruled out injured, handing a senior debut to under-20 keeper Jamie Mooney.
Fighting back
Instead of folding, the Leinster side struck the next four scores. James Maguire and captain Sam Mulroy got Louth off the mark before a Dara McDonnell two-pointer levelled the game. Craig Lennon then had a goal chance denied by Mooney's legs, and Monaghan capitalised immediately: Stephen O'Hanlon wove through the defence and set up Oisin McGorman to dummy past Niall McDonnell and find the net. Louth refused to flinch, responding with five unanswered points from Burns, Mulroy, Maguire and a long-range Ciaran Downey score on the stroke of half-time, sending the 14 men into the break with a 0-12 to 1-7 advantage.
Sealing the win
Monaghan found a second goal through O'Hanlon in the second period, breathing fresh tension into the contest. But Louth's defensive discipline and sharp shooting kept the scoreboard ticking. The final whistle confirmed a 0-27 to 2-18 victory and a place in the last four alongside Kerry and Mayo, who had both won their quarter-finals on Saturday.
Captain's reaction
Speaking on RTÉ, Mulroy said the group refuses to accept limits.
He added that the team will retreat into work mode for the two-week build-up.It's been a hell of a journey the last number of years, and it's one that we don't want to put a ceiling on ourselves.
The win comes a year after Louth's breakthrough Leinster title ended a 68-year provincial drought.It's uncharted territory for a long, long time. So it'll be up to us to try and stay in our shell as best we can and knuckle down.
Semi-final picture
The GAA confirmed before the round that repeat pairings from earlier in the championship would be avoided. Because Louth and Dublin have already met twice this summer, should the Dubs overcome Galway in the day's second quarter-final, Mayo and Kerry would be drawn separately against Dublin and Louth. An open draw would be held if Galway progressed instead. The semi-finals are scheduled for Croke Park in two weeks.
