Murtagh brothers star as Roscommon hold off Louth

Roscommon remain unbeaten after seeing off Louth by 1-17 to 1-15 in a bruising encounter that went down to the wire at the Integral GAA Grounds.

The Murtagh brothers again will get the plaudits for the winners. Ciaráin Murtagh started the game having come off the bench last week in their opening win and that was crucial.

The link-up play with himself and Diarmuid between the two lines of attack was devastating for Louth.

Despite a return to Drogheda soil for the first time since 2020, the Murtaghs with that added space could not be denied, regardless of a spirited late Louth flurry.

The home side got used to their surroundings straight away, with Craig Lennon bursting through for the opening score, but subsequently has to be substituted.

The loss was a huge blow and Ger Brennan could have done without that loss as early as the third minute.

The opening exchanges were quite even, but Davy Burke’s side punished Louth’s kickout and the St Faithleach’s siblings really got to work, sharing seven of their side's first 10 first-half points.

The last point of the half showed Roscommon’s killer edge on the day. With the last kick of the opening period, Diarmuid stretched the lead to 0-10 to 0-5 with a free that was brought out to beyond the arc.

The option is a real trend as the rounds go by and the timing would really come to hurt Louth down the stretch.

The packed stand in Drogheda was waiting for a spark to get their side into the game.

Sam Mulroy eroded the Roscommon lead but missed a couple of crucial two-point frees that really would have piled the pressure on Burke’s men.

When impressive midfielder Keith Doyle palmed in at the back post to push their lead out to six, it was Louth that eventually roared into proceedings.

Playing with