Louth progress as Monaghan battle back for draw

Monaghan came from five points down midway through the second half to salvage a draw with neighbours Louth in front of over 11,000 in Clones.

First-half goals by Craig Lennon and Conor Grimes had put Louth in pole position for a second win of the All-Ireland series group stage, but despite being pegged back in the end, the draw will be enough for the Wee County to go through to the knock-outs.

Monaghan dug deep in the second half to halt their losing streak, helped by Mícheál Bannigan punishing a stray pass to hit an unguarded net. Their wait for a craved win goes on, however, after Sam Mulroy cancelled out a Rory Beggan free that had edged the hosts ahead for the only time late on.

Louth took an early lead with a brace of frees by Sam Mulroy, while it took a wasteful Monaghan side ten minutes to open their account through Joel Wilson. Mulroy had a goal attempt from point-blank range saved by Rory Beggan, but he converted the resulting '45 and Monaghan’s clean sheet only got a brief reprieve until Craig Lennon blasted home his third goal in two games.

Monaghan responded with a brilliantly-finished goal from Conor McCarthy, while points from Jack McCarron (free) and Kieran Duffy (mark) were cancelled out by Mulroy. Louth finished the first half on a high when Conor Grimes fired home their second goal to make it 2-05 to 1-03 at the break.

Monaghan started the second half with more purpose, hitting early points through Mícheál Bannigan, Gary Mohan and Ryan O’Toole. A Ryan Burns brace restored Louth’s four-point lead and although Ciarán McNulty got one back for Monaghan, Ciarán Downey and Mulroy replied for Louth, who passed up a great chance to go six clear going into the final quarter.

Conor McManus came on to kick a couple of