The 1st round of the Leinster championship saw Carlow reacquainted with Louth, and this time Carlow stayed with their heavily favoured opponents for much longer than in the league encounter just a couple of months earlier. Timely goals from Chris Blake and Darragh O'Brien kept them in touch, despite Louth's superior firepower, and Brendan Murphy contributed two points from midfield. Carlow were still within 2 points of their opponents after 62 minutes, but Louth finished with a flourish to win 2-24 to 3-11. The score reflected unfairly on Carlow's relatively competitive performance. Paul Broderick scored the third Carlow goal from the penalty spot late in the game.