by James McMahon
Louth manager Peter Fitzpatrick was pleased to have began the Allianz League with a victory in the knowledge that many pundits expect his side to face relegation from Division 2.
The Wee county begin their campaign with a 0-12 to 1-06 success, with their manager the character of the side after a slow start.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport's Adrian Eames, Fitzpatrick revealed: "I was delighted with getting the win. It was a tough game and in the first-half we didn’t play well at all, but we got stronger after the break
"The three-point winning margin at the end didn’t do us any justice."
The second tier of the league is very competitive this season and Fitzpatrick is under no illusion that his side face a tough task to maintain their cuurent status.
He went on: "Before the game I had a good chat with the Westmeath manager Pat Flanagan. At the moment we are managers who are most under pressure in the division, with many pundits expecting us to go down.
"We knew ourselves that this game was a 'four-pointer' as harder tests are yet to come.
"I believe in my team at the moment. Yes, we have injury problems, with lads still to return to the panel. We know next week we have a very tough game against Galway, but if we can get two points there it will set us up very well for the rest of the campaign.
"Six points should keep you in the division and 10 points will get you promoted. We have a good bunch of players and our target is to avoid releagtion."
