Louth hold off Monaghan fightback to secure first Nicky Rackard Cup victory of the season

Ahead by eight points midway through the second half, after a brace of goals by Conor Murphy, Trevor Hilliard’s side appeared to be coasting towards a win at the fourth attempt.

But Monaghan, who now look set for an immediate return to the Lory Meagher grade, netted twice – via Kevin Crawley and Leo Moloney – to ensure the outcome was in the balance until the last whistle

Louth fought back from a forgettable opening, where they trailed by 0-6 to 0-0 after 13 minutes, to lead by the minimum at half-time.

The pivotal moment of the first period arrived on 25 minutes when Paddy Lynch was dragged back by Declan Hughes and with the incident inside the 20-metre line, a penalty was awarded by referee Ciarán McCloskey and the Monaghan wing-back was shown a black card.

Leading marksman Darren Geoghegan subsequently dispatched the sliotar to the net, turning the deficit around having earlier struck two frees over the bar to go along with points by Peter Fortune and Murphy.

Niall Arthur, a Clare-native who previously togged out for Louth, was Monaghan’s most prolific player and converted all but one of their eight points during the first half, including a wonderful finish from a sideline cut.

He ended their 17-minute wait on a score and drew the sides on terms shortly after as Arthur Hughes’ team overcame their temporary numerical disadvantage in commendable fashion, only for Paddy Lynch, from wide on the left, to nudge the Wee county in front by one at the break, 1-6 to 0-8.

Louth extended their lead with fine conversions by Aaron McGuinness-Smyth and Seán Hodgins, either side of a free by Arthur, before Murphy flicked John Casey’s point attempt past Hugh Byrne for a second goal.

Casey later hit the crossbar as the Reds sought to stretch the gap, which stood at five towards the end of the third quarter when Thomas Hughes’ vicious shot flew agonisingly wide of the upright as Monaghan pursued the major they needed to inspire a revival.

But they were hit by a sucker punch at the other end when Murphy latched on to a loose ball and blazed it to the corner of the net, widening the margin to eight after 53 minutes

Though the Farney men got the goal they threatened soon after as Crawley stylishly drove past Conor Clancy during a relentless run of 1-4 unanswered by the hosts, which reduced their deficit to the minimum within six minutes, 1-15 to 3-10.

The teams shared the next four points but Louth looked to have sealed the win in the closing stages when McGuinness-Smyth collected Ricky McKeown’s clever set-up and arrowed a fourth goal past Byrne.

Alas, having missed an earlier free, substitute Moloney cancelled out that score when rattling the sliotar to the Louth net from a placed ball, but time elapsed on the home side, leaving their Rackard Cup status hanging by a thread ahead of their round five encounter with Armagh.

SCORERS – Monaghan: N Arthur 0-8 (2f, 1s); L Moloney 1-1 (1-1f); K Crawley 1-0; N Garland 0-3; H Byrne (2f) 0-2; P Malone, D Hughes, T Hughes 0-1 each.

Louth: D Geoghegan 1-7 (1-0p, 0-5f, 0-1 65); C Murphy 2-1; A McGuinness-Smyth 1-1; P Fortune, P Lynch, S Hodgins 0-1 each.

MONAGHAN: H Byrne 6; C McHugh 6, A Kenny 7, J Guinan 6; M Murphy 6, K Crawley 7, D Hughes 7; C Merrick 8, E Walsh 7; O Kiernan 7, N Garland 8, T Hughes 7; P Malone 6, N Arthur 8, C Gernon 6.

Subs: L Moloney 7 for Arthur (53), R McMahon 6 for Malone (61), C Boyle 6 for Walsh (63), J Brady 5 for Merrick (70).

LOUTH: C Clancy 8; A Smyth 7, C Quigley 6, K Rafferty 6; G Allen 6, A Plunkett 7, P Fortune 7; J Costelloe 6, S Kettle 8; P Lynch 6, D Geoghegan 8, T McCreesh 8; J Casey 6, C Murphy 8, A McGuinness-Smyth 7.

Subs: S Hodgins 7 for Lynch (39), R McKeown 7 for Costelloe (62), R Mulholland 6 for Rafferty (70), D Stephenson 6 for Murphy (70).

REF: C McCloskey (Antrim).