Dublin 2-16 Louth 0-07
Dublin safely sealed their place in the Eirgrid U20 Leinster semi-finals after a sparkling 15-point victory over winless Louth.
The Wee County are yet to win at this grade since the change in age back in 2018.
Jim Lehane's side were in no mood for charity and after beating Wicklow in the opening round, they now top the group with a round to spare.
Joe Quigley slotted home a 42nd minute penalty to all but seal the one-sided contest at that early stage of the second half.
Louth saved face with fine performances from senior panellists Seán Reynolds and Kieran McArdle, both of whom are eligible for next season.
Despite the loss Louth are not out of things yet and can progress with a final round win over Wicklow, but they struggled for a foothold in the game in Parnell Park.
Needing to take every chance, Tom Matthews' early effort was saved off the line by a covering Alex Gavin. That summed up the night as Dublin’s hunger ravaged Christy Grimes and Derek Walsh’s youngsters.
Much like Sunday’s league play-off between the two counties at Croke Park, the Wee County sat deep, soaked up the pressure and tried to contain Dublin. With the counter attacks not finding the target it soon became a long night.
Harry Butterly did give Louth the lead from a ’45, but that would be it and it soon began the Luke Breathnach show.
The young Ballinter St John full forward was in Dessie Farrell’s thoughts last season and we could well see the powerful marksman later in the season for the senior side such was his quality on the night.
Josh Finlay smothered Darragh Dempsey’s low shot but there would be no reprieve for Louth. The hosts struck seven points in a row. Dempsey registered a superb mark before tapping over his first score.
With Breathnach showing his full array of wares from play and especially marks, Louth’s defence was unable to cope. Corner forward Joe Quigley made sure the inside line had all found the range in the opening half with a free.
Louth substitute Kyle McElroy played in the O’Byrne Cup fixture between the two sides last season and he landed two free’s before half time to provide something for Louth to hang on to. But with the scores 0-09 to 0-03 at half time, there would be no coming back.
Captain Conor Dolan decisively wiped out Dara McDonnell’s long range effort from the throw-in to resume control. Tom Brennan added to his tally with two in a row from the left wing.
Quigley then stepped up to ultimately kill the game with a penalty after Dempsey was hauled down. McArdle added late frees to add some gloss to proceedings.
Late replacement Caelum Moriarty found the net with the last kick of the game after Breathnach was simply merciless all night.
Dublin: Andrew Smyth; Eoghan O'Connor Flanagan, Theo Clancy, Evan Nugent; Alex Gavin, James Cotter, Dan O'Leary; Ethan Dunne, Greg McEneaney (0-01); Conor Dolan (0-01), Luke Ward, Tom Brennan (0-03); D Dempsey (0-02, 0-01m), L Breathnach (0-07, 0-03m ,0-01f)), J Quigley (1-01, 1-00pen, 0-01f).
Subs: Michael McDonald for Dunne (44), Seamus Smith (0-01) for Ward (47), Caelum Moriarty (1-00) for Brennan (52), Kalem O''Brien for Breathnach (55), Dara McGrath for Cotter (57)
Louth: Josh Finlay; Mark Holohan, Beanón Corrigan, Fionn Tipping; Cameron Maher (0-01), Seán Reynolds, Tadhg McDonnell; Dara McDonnell (0-01), Seán Callaghan; James Rogers, Kieran McArdle (0-02, 0-02f), Liam Flynn; Harry Butterly (0-01,0-01'45) Tom Mathews, Darragh Dorian.
Subs: Cillian Taaffe for Flynn (24) Kyle McElroy (0-02, 0-02f) for Dorian (24), Daniel Reilly for Butterly (47), Ben Gartlan for Maher (55)
Referee: Keith O'Brien (Westmeath)
Elsewhere in Group 2, a Jack Reid point in the fourth minute of injury-time secured a one-point win for Wicklow away to Offaly.
Goals from Joe Prendergast and Tommy Keogh (penalty) ensured the Garden County went into the break with six-point advantage, despite Offaly making a dream start with a goal courtesy of Cormac Egan.
With five minutes remaining, the Faithful County still had a three point deficit, but they stuck to the task, with Jamie Guing 45 three minutes into additional time looking like the score to ensure a share of the spoils.
But there was time for one final act, with Reid showing his composure to seal a 2-08 to 1-10 victory.
The result bolsters Wicklow's hopes of reaching the knockout phase after their narrow loss at home to Dublin last week, while both Offaly and Louth remain on one point apiece after their 0-10 to 2-04 draw last Tuesday.
A strong finish from Laois saw the hosts earn a three-point win over Longford at O'Moore Park.
Laois raced out of the traps with a couple of first quarter goals, the second coming courtesy of Oisin Hooney.
Longford’s first score was a goal, but by that stage, in the 18th minute, they were 10 points adrift. They whittled the deficit down to two by the break, and Jason Glancy’s goal nudged the visitors ahead for the first time in the 42nd minute.
The O’Moore County however reeled off the last five points of the game to run out 2-12 to 2-09 winners.
It's a second win from two for Laois, who have sealed their place in the knockout phase, eliminating Longford.
Joining them in the knockout stage are Meath, who coasted to a 13-point win over Carlow in Ashbourne.
The Royals set the tone after just 13 seconds when Ruairí Kinsella found the back of the net, and his second, punishing a wayward kickout, helped the hosts to a 2-07 to 0-04 lead.
Carlow failed to score again, while Meath added just four more points on their way to a comfortable win.
Laois and Meath face off in Portlaoise next Tuesday, with the winner booking an automatic semi-final spot, the loser bound for a knockout quarter-final against the Group 3 winners.
Kildare proved too strong for a Wexford side that managed just four points from play at Chadwicks Wexford Park.
The Lilles bounced back from their six-point home defeat against Westmeath to likely ensure their place in the quarter-finals.
The visitors set the tempo from the off, leading 0-07 to 0-03 after 16 minutes. The second quarter saw just two further points added to the scoreboard, both falling on the Kildare side of the ledger.
The second half had an inevitable feel to it, with Kildare running out winners 0-16 to 0-08.
In the three-team Group 3, Wexford face Westmeath in Mullingar next week in a bid to stave off elimination.
