Fourteen-man Louth overcame an early red card to defeat neighboring Monaghan 0-27 to 2-18 in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final at Croke Park on Sunday, June 28, 2026.
The victory sends manager Gavin Devlin's side to the All-Ireland semi-finals for the first time since 1957, joining Kerry and Mayo in the final four.
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Early Red Card and Response
Louth played more than an hour with a numerical disadvantage after midfielder Sean Callaghan received a straight red card for a high shoulder challenge on Aaron Carey just seven minutes into the match.
Monaghan suffered a pre-match setback when captain and All-Star goalkeeper Rory Beggan was ruled out due to injury, forcing under-20 skipper Jamie Mooney to make his senior inter-county debut in goal.
Monaghan manager Gabriel Bannigan made late changes, starting Oisin McGorman and Shane Hanratty at center-field, while Ryan McAnespie started at left corner-forward.
Despite the changes, Monaghan built an early 0-4 to 0-0 lead following a two-pointer from Conor McCarthy and a brace from Andrew Woods before Callaghan's dismissal.
Louth responded with points from James Maguire and Sam Mulroy, alongside a two-point effort from Dara McDonnell, though debutant keeper Mooney stopped a goal attempt from Craig Lennon.
Monaghan regained momentum when Stephen O'Hanlon assisted McGorman for a goal, but Louth closed the first half with five consecutive points, including a long-range effort from Ciaran Downey, to lead 0-12 to 1-7 at halftime.
