Longford missed out on a home Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-final after rounding off the group stages with a 2-13 to 1-14 defeat to Carlow.
Carlow led 2-5 to 0-9 at half-time and held on to lead by the same margin at the final whistle.
The sides were level 18 minutes in; 1-2 to 0-5. Mickey Bambrick scored Carlow’s goal on 12 minutes while Oran Kenny accounted for three of Longford’s points.
Carlow’s second goal arrived arrived on 32 minutes. Jamie Clarke converted a penalty after his brother Shane was brought down in the square.
Carlow now led 2-3 to 0-8 and landed two of the next three scores resulting in a two-point buffer at the interval.
Darragh Foley gave Carlow a three-point buffer within six minutes of the restart. Longford responded impressively and Aaron Farrell restored parity eight minutes later.
Pat Fox found the net on 53 minutes giving Longford a three-point lead. Two minutes later, Mickey Quinn went off for ten minutes after receiving a black card.
His temporary absence proved was a major blow. Longford struggled for scores and Carlow’s Darragh Foley restored parity five minutes from time.
Carlow continued to dominate and points from Foley (two) and Aaron Amond gave them a three-point cushion deep into injury time.
Joseph Hagan ended Longford’s scoring drought right at the death but it was too late as the Midlanders fell short.
The result saw Longford finish third in the group three table and will travel to Down in the preliminary quarter-finals on the weekend of June 10/11.
