LOUTH survived a late fightback from Mayo to deservedly join Laois at the top of Division Two. It was an action packed match that produced some terrific scores and individual displays.

There were no better performances on the day than those of the Louth midfield pairing of Seamus O'Hanlon and Ken Reilly, who outshone their more illustrious opponent, Liam McHale, playing his first match back after suspension.

Playing with the wind at their backs Louth got off to a tremendous start limiting Mayo to just one point in the opening 20 minutes, while scoring six themselves.

Mayo got a foothold in the 20th minute when Paul Cunny latched on to a breaking ball in front of goal to smash the ball past Niall O'Donnell.

However, Louth hit back and Cathal O'Hanlon hammered the ball past goalkeeper John Madden from a narrow angle to give Louth a 1-7 to 1-2 halftime lead.

In the second half Mayo slowly pegged back the deficit and a draw looked the likely outcome when David Nestor punished Louth for Barry O'Connor's handling error in front of goals with 11 minutes remaining and the scoreboard read 1-10 to 2-5.

All Star James Horan followed that score a minute later with his first contribution to the Mayo tally but crucially Louth composed themselves and the on form Cathal O'Hanlon finished a good move to restore the breathing space of two points.

Horan reduced the lead to a single point with two minutes to play, but just when Mayo needed to be their most accurate they kicked three wides in the space of a couple of minutes.