Against a side who contested the 2023 junior championship final, the Wee county put down a marker with a controlled and disciplined performance that saw them run out deserving winners by six points.
After the comfortable win over Kilkenny in the opening round, this was always going to be a step up for Paul Hanlon’s side but they certainly responded to the challenge with an impressive display that saw them in control from the early stages.
Limerick played some good football at times from the back but the hosts dropped deep and defended well as a unit, limiting the space in front of goal and restricting any clear opportunities. Pressure on the player in possession limited shots at goal and led to many turnovers which Louth were able to capitalise on.
Louth played with a cohesion throughout and their quick breaks led to many opportunities. It was a feature of the performance that Hanlon’s charges had players whose direct running could punch holes in the Limerick defence, with Céire Nolan, Aoife Halligan, Áine Breen and Éimear Byrne all taking turns to stretch the opposition.
Halligan’s forays forward were particularly productive in the first half as she landed three points, while Nolan deservedly got her reward in the second half with a well-taken point.
Both teams went into the game with designs on finishing top of the group and the early exchanges were cagey. It was Limerick who opened the scoring on two minutes through a Deborah Murphy free only for Kate Flood to open her account soon after.
Louth were beginning to get success from quick breaks and twice took the lead through Halligan and Flood only to be pegged back by Limerick to level the game at three points apiece on 23 minutes.
However, Louth made the decisive move in the closing minutes as Rice, Mia Duffy and Halligan struck to open up a 0-7 to 0-4 lead at the break.
An early point from Rice just after the restart was a statement of intent and, in truth, Louth never looked likely to lose the game from that stage.
Limerick did have a spell where they battled to get back into game but they didn’t have the scoring threat against a determined defence to make any inroads. The steady presence of Rebecca Lambe-Fagan and a timely interception by Nolan ensured that the Munster side were unable to produce the goal they craved.
At the other end, Louth were much more clinical and as Limerick began to lose heart, the hosts stretched the winning margin to eight points.
In a second half that continued for 45 minutes, the rather erratic refereeing contributed to Louth losing Byrne, Flood and Halligan to yellow cards, while Limerick lost Fiona Bradshaw.
LOUTH: Rebecca Lambe-Fagan; Caitlin O’Reilly, Éimear Murray, Eilís Hand; Holly Lambe-Sally, Louise Byrne, Céire Nolan 0-1; Aoife Halligan 0-3, Áine Breen; Mia Duffy 0-1, Aoife Russell, Seoda Matthews; Niamh Rice 0-4, Kate Flood 0-5, Éimear Byrne. Subs: Rachel O’Connor-Leonard for O’Reilly, Mischa Rooney for Matthews, Claire McDonald for Duffy, Carrie Keenan for Lambe-Sally, Caoimhe Boyle for Murray.
LIMERICK: Sophie Hennessy; Joanne McGuire, Yvonne Lee, Róisín Browne; Grace Lee, Leah Coughlan, Grace Mullane; Róisín Ambrose 0-2, Meadhbh MacNamara 0-1; Karen O’Leary, Deborah Murphy 0-4, Cathy Mee; Ellie Woulfe, Katie Heelan 0-1, Caoimhe McGrath. Subs: Caoimhe McNamara for McGrath, Fiona Bradshaw for Heelan, Kate Kennedy for Mee, Shauna Doellken for Mullane.
REFEREE: Kevin O’Donnell (Dublin).
