Ian Ryan inspires Limerick to survival at Louth’s expense

Limerick 2-13 Louth 2-11

Two wins from their final two games guaranteed Limerick survival, as the Treaty men gave Louth one last nudge on their rapid descent from Division Two to the bottom tier.

The returning Ian Ryan — making his first start in a year — inspired the visitors to a fully-merited victory with an eight-point salvo in Drogheda.

Two late Louth goals took some of the gloss off the final scoreline for Limerick, but the hosts could have no complaints about the outcome as a fourth straight defeat condemned Colin Kelly’s men to Division Four football in 2016.

A third red card in as many games didn’t help either, as Kevin Toner received his marching orders after an off-the-ball incident with Ryan on 55 minutes.

But by that stage Limerick were already asserting their superiority on the scoreboard, a feat they failed to master in the opening half.

Despite dominating in most areas, John Brudair’s side only retired with a slender 0-8 to 0-7 cushion, and they fell behind after the break when Derek Crilly and Ryan Burns capitalised on a bright start to the second-half by Louth.

Limerick found inspiration in adversity, and Peter Nash’s goal on 40 minutes provided them with the impetus they needed to kick on.

A second goal from Pa Ranahan came just moments after Toner’s dismissal, leaving Louth with a mountain to climb.

The precocious Ryan Burns tried his damnedest to pull it out of the fire, drilling home a superb goal on 60 minutes and setting up another for Conor Grimes in injury-time, but it was never going to be enough to rescue Louth.

Louth: N Gallagher; K Toner, P Reilly, P Rath; A Williams, D Finnegan, J Stewart; B Duffy, E O'Connor (0-1); C Judge (0-3, one free), D Byrne; R Burns (1-4, three frees), D Crilly (0-2), D Maguire (0-1). Subs: C Grimes (1-0) for Stewart (30), R Moore for Byrne (53), S O'Hanlon for Crilly (55), D O'Connor for E O'Connor (59).

Limerick: B Scanlon; S Cahill, J McCarthy, R Browne (0-1); I Corbett (0-1), P Browne, P Renehan (1-0); T Lee, G Hegarty (0-1); J Riordan, D Tracey, C Fahy; P Nash (1-1), S Buckley, I Ryan (0-8, six frees). Subs: D Neville (0-1) for Tracey (8, BC), C Sheehan for Riordan (46), S O'Dea for Cahill (66), M Brosnan for Nash (69), J Lee for Ryan (70).

Referee: M McNally (Monaghan).