Louth U-21s and minors face away trips in next year’s Leinster Championship

Louth will face a trip to Navan to face neighbours Meath in the opening round of the Leinster U-21 Championship.

The draw for the underage provincial championships was made today with the minors also drawn away to Wexford.

The junior team will also be on their travels next year when they take on Kildare.

Dates and venues for the three fixtures will be confirmed at a later date.

A new Louth minor football manager is expected to be appointed in the coming weeks.

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• Louth to face Westmeath in next year’s Leinster Championship (talkofthetown.ie)

Louth to face Westmeath in next year’s Leinster Championship

Louth’s Ronan Carroll in action against Westmeath in 2012

Louth will face a trip to face Mullingar in the first round of next year’s Leinster Championship.

The draw was made live on RTÉ last night with the Wee County set to renew battle with a Westmeath side who beat them in the 2012 All-Ireland Qualifiers.

The Midlanders are under new management for 2014, with Dublin native Paul Bealin in charge while Louth will be hoping to build on a promising first year under Aidan O’Rourke.

The prize on offer for the winners of that tie is a home clash against Kildare, with the winners of that tie facing either Carlow or Meath in the semi-finals.

The Wee County will have been relieved to avoid All-Ireland champions Dublin, who are on the opposite side of the draw, along with Wexford, who beat them in this year’s Leinster Championship.

Louth suffer another setback after losing out to Meath

Meath’s Andy Tormey is challenged by Louth’s Conor Rafferty during the senior football challenge at St Lomans Park, Trim

Louth’s preparations for their forthcoming Leinster Championship clash with Laois on Sunday May 26^th suffered yet another setback on Sunday when they went down to neighbours Meath on a 1-13 to 1-10 scoreline in St Loman’s Park in Trim.

Just 24 hours after a defeat to Wicklow, the Wee County trailed by 0-7 to 0-5 at the break.

Aidan O’Rourke’s men did manage to go in front when Derek Maguire fisted to the net shortly after the restart but a period midway through the first half in which they conceded 1-4 without reply proved their undoing, with late points from Patrick Sheelan, Ronan Carroll and Brian White only managing to put a brighter look on the scoreline.

The Louth team and scorers was as follows: Neil Gallagher, Padraig Rath, Dessie Finnegan, Gary O’Hare, Liam Shevlin, Derek Crilly (0-1), Adrian Reid (0-1), Paddy Keenan, Conor Rafferty (0-1), Padraig Smith, Colm Judge, David Reid (0-1), Brian White (0-1), Cathal Bellew, Derek Maguire (1-2)
Subs used: Eoin O’Connor, Mick Fanning, Kevin Rogers, Gary Connolly, Joe Flanagan, Patrick Sheelan (0-1), Ronan Carroll (0-2).

Previously: Louth go down to Wicklow

Louth go down to Wicklow

Members of the Louth team with volunteers from Special Olympics Ireland, for whom the match was played for last night

Louth’s preparations for their Leinster Championship opener with Laois on May 26^th suffered a setback last night when the Wee County went down to Wicklow in Drogheda on a 0-16 to 1-9 scoreline.

Playing against a strong wind in the opening half at the St Nicholas GFC pitch in Rathmullen, Aidan O’Rourke’s side trailed by 0-8 to 0-2 at the break.

The home side attempted a fight back in the second half, with David Reid pulling a goal back but in the end it was Wicklow who came out on top as they dealt with the conditions better than Louth had in the first half.

The Wee County continue their preparations for the championship when they face neighbours Meath in Trim tonight at 7pm.

Previously: Busy weekend coming up for Louth footballers