Substitutes help deliver one of the great days for Louth
Louth are celebrating a first win over Dublin in championship since 1973 this evening, with assistant manager Peter Dooley saying their substitutes played a big part in the win.
The second half ebbed and flowed after the Dubs took a six-point lead into half time.
But goals were critical in the Wee County performing a big turnaround, with Craig Lennon's major with three minutes to go the crucial score.
Ryan Burns and Ciarán Byrne came on at different stages of the second half, and added five points to the 2025 Leinster champions' total.
While James Maguire's two quickfire goals pushed Louth into a lead that they would only briefly relinquish in the last 25 minutes.
And Dooley said the changes helped to flip the game in their favour.
"Six points down and I felt again our last performance crept into the first half of today," he said on RTÉ's Sunday Sport after the game.
"To get that turnaround, the two pointer and the two one-pointers at the start of the second half set us up.
"We'd always say about this group of players, when their backs are to the walls and things aren't looking good, do come out and they do stand up.
"James getting that goal and then the couple of scores. Ciarán Byrne coming in and really stepping up set us up then to see it out.
"Our impacts off the bench and getting those kickouts away in the second half added to the chaos in the last 12 minutes.
"This new game is a pendulum, up and down, turnovers, mistakes, tired bodies because it's demanding now, especially when you go down to that home straight.
"So it's really satisfying. Someone said to me after the game it's 1973 since Louth beat Dublin in the championship.
"To be honest it wasn't even spoken about with us but it's nice yeah to be breaking that ground now and moving forward."
Craig Lennon's goal - Louth's fourth - was a critical one
Sam Mulroy, who hit five points on the day, echoed his assistant manager's senitments about stepping things up in the second half.
"We had a fresh team out today, made a few changes, so it took us a while to find our groove," he told RTÉ Sport.
"We settled nicely in the second half and lads started to express themselves a little bit more and enjoy it. The lads stepped up when it cam to the crunch.
"If the gap gets too big, well then it is was crucial we got ourselves back into the game; we could not let that gap grow to more than six. We needed a quick start; I didn't expect it to be that good."
Having failed to defend their provincial crown, he was delighted to finally get one over on Dublin in championship.
"We've been on the end of a lot hammerings against Dublin. But with a lot of new players into our team now we spoke at half time about bringing them down the stretch, look them in the eye and just be there or thereabouts, see what happens.
"Some days things go against you and you lose. Some days you get that goal (from Craig Lennon) in the last five minutes and you win.
"We came out on the right side, it's great."
