The concession of two quick-fire goals at the start of the second half proved Louth's undoing against Westmeath.

That was the view of Wee County boss Colin Kelly, whose new-look side were soundly beaten by the visitors at a rain-washed Drogheda.

"Callum McCormack caught a great ball for the first goal, I suppose we have to give Callum credit for that, it was a lump of a ball forward and it was a brilliant piece of individual skill by Callum," he is quoted in the Irish Examiner.

"The second one was a slip from Bevan (Duffy). He's been excellent all year but these things happen. The third one I won't complain about. We were pushing on and trying hard to get back into the game."

The former Newtown Blues sharpshooter admitted that patience will be needed while he moulds a new team following the retirements of Paddy Keenan and Shane Lennon, and the loss of other key players.

"I'm not going to make excuses and that's not what this should be about. But the reality is that where we're at right now is not easy," he continued.

"You're talking about a lot of debutants, it's a whole new squad, we're working as hard as we can. I don't think there would have been a younger county team in the country playing championship than what we had out there.

"There was three players under 20 in the forwards, a 19-and a 20-year old in the inside line. Tommy Durnin, who is 23, was exceptional in the middle of the field.

"Eoin O'Connor came on and was exceptional. So we have options but it's not easy becoming a county player overnight. If you could introduce these players on a phased basis, maybe two or three at a time it would be great.

"But we're going with 10 of them. It's not easy for them, it's a difficult transition and we have suffered back-to-back relegations. But we're working hard."

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