Colin Kelly hailed the maturity shown by his young Louth team in Saturday's All-Ireland qualifier win over Leitrim.

"I felt that they showed they are capable and it was very pleasing, the fashion in which they did it," the Wee County boss is quoted in the Irish Daily Mirror.

"Their ball retention was excellent, some of the scores they kicked were excellent and defensively we looked strong. Offensively, we have been good throughout the National League but defensively we probably just weren't getting it.

"Tonight we got the blend right so it's about progressing that over the next couple of weeks and seeing if we can carry it into next year's National League."

Louth now travel to Tipperary in round two, while Leitrim's campaign is over for another year.

"There's an element of frustration because I think they're disappointed they let the game slip away from them, but they'll learn from the experience," remarked manager Shane Ward.

"They've put a lot more work and commitment in this year than they ever would have, but they haven't got their just reward for that."

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