Dean Rock was the hero as Dublin defeated Louth by 3-12 to 2-8 in their Leinster U21 FC opener at Drogheda on Sunday. Rock - son of Dubs legend Barney - bagged a goal at the start of either half and finished the match as top scorer on 2-3 as the Sky Blues saw off the Wee County in a potentially perilous clash at the Gaelic Grounds. The visitors got off to a perfect start in the deferred championship meeting when Rock palmed the ball to the net after only four minutes. He added a point to scores from Dean Kelly and Paddy O'Connor to propel the winners into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead after eleven minutes. But back came Louth and Padraig Smith's goal helped the Reds move level at 1-4 each just before the break. David Quinn's point gave Dublin the slenderest of interval advantages. Substitute Luke Sweetman placed Rock for his second major immediately upon the resumption and the Dubs kicked for the winning line (with another sub, Barry O'Rourke, getting their third goal). Dublin will host Meath in Sunday's quarter-final meeting at Parnell Park. Dublin - D McDonnell; C Moore, S Byrne, G McIntyre; J Cooper, J Sheanon, C Guckian; C O'Sullivan, C Murphy; D Quinn (0-2) , T Furman, P Andrews (0-1); Dean Kelly (0-2), D Rock (2-3), P O'Connor (0-3). Subs : L Sweetman for Furman, B O'Rourke (1-1) for McIntyre, J McCarthy for Kelly, M Devereux for Murphy, N Brogan for Quinn. Louth - D Carney; B Connolly, P Nixon, J Clarke (0-1) ; P Rath, D Byrne, G Hoey; S McCann, S Brennan; N Conlon, P Smith (1-3), D Maguire (1-2); D Matthews (0-2) , K Rogers, D Mulligan. Subs: G Moran for Brennan, B Duffy for Rogers, A McDonnell for Conlon. Ref - C Costello (Offaly). Tweet

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