Dublin’s hopes were dealt another blow as Tom Maguire netted for Louth in the 35th minute while Connell Kelly kicked eight second-half scores to take the contest away from the hosts.
The visitors could not have wished for a better start as they kicked three points inside the opening two minutes through Tadhg Devaney, Connell Kelly (free) and Cillian McQuillan.
Matters deteriorated further for Dublin in the 4th minute as Cian Rooney gathered possession close to goal and his pass allowed full-forward Jack Martin the chance to fire home from close range.
A second Louth goal could have arrived four minutes later but corner-back Harry Warnes reacted well to clear Rooney’s shot off the line.
Dublin finally began to settle into the tie as Zach Donegan opened their account in the 10th minute before captain Jack Heffernan doubled the home tally soon after.
Their growing momentum stalled however as McQuillan and Kelly kicked two-pointed scores at the opposite end, leaving seven points between the sides by the 18th minute.
From that point, Dublin exerted a stranglehold on their opponents at midfield with Heffernan kicking two excellent points for Dublin before some quick thinking from Tadhg Coyle from a free released Cillian McCabe through for a confident finish to the net.
The half finished with two points from Mubarak Salami augmented by a Ciaran Clifford score as Dublin trimmed their deficit to a solitary point by the interval.
The concession of Maguire’s goal saw Dublin seize the initiative and as much as they battled, they were unable to make a sufficient impression on the scoreboard with Tom Ó Ceallaigh denied a goal as the half evolved.
Kelly punished every Dublin indiscretion with his impeccable free-taking and while Caoilinn O’Connell kicked a fine score for Dublin in the 52nd minute, further pressure on the Louth goal failed to yield to further scores.
Scorers – Dublin: J Heffernan 0-3; C McCabe 1-0; M Salami 0-2; Z Donegan, C Clifford, C O’Connell 0-1 apiece. Louth: C Kelly 0-11 (3tpf, 4f); J Martin, T Maguire 1-0 each; C McQuillan 0-3 (1tp); T Devaney, M McGlew, A O’Reilly 0-1 apiece.
Dublin: F Byrne; H Warnes, J O’Keeffe, G Hayes; Z Donegan, J Heffernan, C O’Connell; M Farrell, F McGinnis; T Ó Ceallaigh, C Clifford, R Ennis; C McCabe, M Salami, T Coyle. Subs: J Fitzpatrick for McCabe (half-time), E Tennant for Donegan (41), C McKenna for Ennis (52), J Heavey for Clifford (57).
Louth: S Connolly; F McEneaney, C Titley, R Hickey; M McGlew, T Devaney, C Marron; T Maguire, C McQuillan; O Reidy, A O’Reilly, N McCreesh; C Rooney, J Martin, C Kelly. Subs: C Mannion for McCreesh (46), S Hoey for Rooney (54), C Conlon for Reidy (58), S Marron for Martin (61).
Referee: Enda Kelly (Westmeath).
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