OLIVER PLUNKETTS 1-18
DOWDALLSHILL 0-4

Oliver Plunketts claimed the first victory of the 2014 Louth Championship when, as expected, they brushed aside the challenge of Dowdallshill at the Gaelic Grounds on Thursday night.

The Drogheda side didn't have it all their own way as the Dundalk men battled gamely in the first half and were given a boost when John Moroney was given a red card on 25 minutes. However, a Dean Carolan goal early in the second half ended any hopes of a shock as the Plunketts went on to win comfortably.

While Carolan's goal was crucial, so too was the performance of Frank Taaffe as he contributed a total of eight points as his side eventually illustrated the gulf between the Division 2 contenders and the Division 3 strugglers.

The early stages of the game looked as if it was going to form as the Plunketts eased into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead just after the opening quarter. However, the Dowdallers refused to throw in the towel and restricted their opponents' opportunities in front of the posts as the Plunketts could only manage two further points in the half.

The Dundalk men managed to tag on two points themselves to trail by just 0-6 to 0-3 at the break.

The harsh dismissal of Moroney may also have given the Division 3 side increased hope as they came out for the second half, but that was quickly extinguished as the Plunketts rose to the challenge in impressive fashion. The introduction of Cian Matthews to the full-forward line also lifted the Mell side and once Carolan hit the net, there was no way back for the Hill.

With the pressure off, the Plunketts kicked some fine points in the remainder of the half to run out comfortable winners with the Dundalk men adding only one further point to their tally through a Ciaran Sheridan free.

Just before the final whistle, Dowdallshill were reduced to 14 men when Gerry McShane was sent off.

OLIVER PLUNKETTS: Colm Duffy; Cillian Matthews, Davy McTeggart, Michael McDonnell; Francis Bailey, Sean Brassil 0-2, Gary Keogh; Robbie Brodigan 0-1, Conor Early 0-1; Stephen Keeley 0-1, Sean Callaghan, Adam Brodigan 0-1; Frank Taaffe 0-8, Dean Carolan 1-1, John Moroney. Subs: Cian Matthews 0-2 for S Callaghan, Trevor Walsh for A Brodigan.

DOWDALLSHILL: David Clegg; Cathal McShane, Justin Halley, Vincent Roe; Paul Flynn, Eamonn Duffy, Sean Duffy; Finbarr Guhry, Anthony Quinn; Gary Corrigan, Ciaran Sheridan 0-3, Emmet O'Brien; Darren Rogers, Paul Gill, Noel Finnegan 0-1. Subs: Gerry McShane for A Quinn, Damien Fanning for E O'Brien, Ronan Costello for D Rogers, Eddie McArdle for C McShane. Tweet

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