Carlow had a disappointing start to their Leinster Football campaign, losing to Louth on a scoreline of 5-10 to 0-10.
The Carlow footballers had another tough day at the office after conceding 5 goals agaisnt a much more physically imposing Louth side.
The Wee County went into this game hot favorites after an impressive League campaign that saw them promoted from Division 3.
Louth made the better start, taking full advantage of opportunities when they arose.
It was 2 points to Louth after 7 minutes with Sam Mulvoy making no mistake on placed balls.
Carlow were also at a disadvantage playing against the wind in the first half.
However,it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Carlow men. The Dolmen County got plenty of possession but just struggled to get scores on the board.
Josh Moore registered their first point after 12 minutes.
Decision making when it came to kick outs was also a challenge for the Barrowsiders. Ciaran Cunningham switched it up from going long to playing it short but both presented problems at different stages of the game.
After a Kieran Downey point came from a Carlow kick out, Cunningham opted to go short but with that he ran the risk of the passing game breaking down.
Carlow continued to fight but their efforts went unrewarded. There were a couple of goal opportunities but in most cases the Carlow men opted to go for their point.
That was the big difference between the Division 2 and Division 4 sides with Louth much more clinical in front of goal.
Darragh Foley had a great chance to hit one past the keeper but split the post instead.
Louth were responsive though and immediately replied with a goal at the other end from Kieran Byrne.
The half time score at Pairc Tailteann was Louth 2-6, Carlow: 0-5.
Carlow defended really well in the second half but coninued the pattern of not being able to convert their efforts into scores.
Despite Louth’s convincing lead, they only managed to scored a single point after 12 minutes, which came from a free kick.
Carlow were hit with another sucker punch when Tommy Durnan kicked one past Ciarán Cunninham after 60 minutes.
There was no way back for Carlow when after 62 minutes, Sam Mulroy netted from a penalty.
With that the game was over as a contest but Louth were relentless with their pursuit of scores with the Heather County men looking to impress Harte and get their name on the scoresheet.
It was a dissapointing start for the Carlow men travelling home from Navan. It ended Louth 5-10, Carlow 10 points.
