Louth sealed their first All-Ireland senior football championship semi-final berth since 1957 with a thrilling 0-27 to 2-18 victory over Monaghan at Croke Park this afternoon.

Gavin Devlin’s side had to pull off this remarkable win playing with 14 men for the majority of the game, with midfielder Sean Callaghan having been dismissed on a straight red card in the seventh minute when they'd trailed by 0-3 to 0-0.

Andrew Woods’s point pushed Monaghan four ahead two minutes later, but the Wee County would finally get motoring after their disaster start as points from James Maguire and Sam Mulroy were followed up by a Dara McDonnell two-pointer in the 12th minute.

Micheál Bannigan twice put the Farney back in front ahead of Mulroy levelling the quarter-final derby at 0-6 apiece before Oisin McGorman rattled in the game’s first goal for the Ulster side in the 22nd minute.

The trailers' response again was superb as Mulroy (free) and Woods swapped scores ahead of Ryan Burns, Mulroy (free) and Maguire sending consecutive points over the crossbar of Jamie Mooney, who was a late change in the Monaghan goal for the injured Rory Beggan.

The sides looked to be heading in all square at the interval, but Ciaran Downey launched over a two-pointer to give the Leinster side a 0-12 to 1-7 advantage for the break and it’d be added to with points by Maguire and Kieran McArdle after the change of ends.

Jack McCarron’s two-point free and white flags via Bannigan and Woods tied up the game again, but a run of five unanswered points by Burns, Tadhg McDonnell, Maguire, Craig Lennon and Conor Early ushering Louth five in front.

A McCarron two-pointer was the Farney response and he’d add a point prior to Stephen O’Hanlon palming the ball for the Wee County’s net in the 55th minute.

Bannigan’s point steered Monaghan back in front and they looked like kicking on front there, however Louth would wrestle back the lead before surrendering it to the points of Max Maguire and Conor McCarthy as the game entered its home stretch.

McDonnell got Louth level and back-to-back coolly taken points by substitute Ciaran Byrne preceded an insurance score from Burns that now sees the Wee County now semi-final bound in the Sam Maguire Cup race for the first time in 69 years.

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