'The scoreboard doesn't lie, the better team won' - Ger Brennan

Louth manager Ger Brennan admitted that his side was playing second-fiddle on Sunday in Croke Park as they fell to a strong Donegal side on a 1-23 to 0-18 scoreline which sees Jim McGuinness's side advance to their first All-Ireland semi-final since 2014.

Despite Louth putting up an impressive performance in their first-ever All-Ireland quarter-final, they were no match for a Donegal side that produced 11 different scorers across the board, with Brennan praising Donegal's attacking play and killing instinct when going for shots, while also admitting the scoreline was perhaps a fair reflection on the day.

"The scoreboard doesn't lie, it was a fair result and credit to Donegal, we need to congratulate them," Brennan said following his side's defeat. "Their accuracy in front of goal was something that we were unable to get to in terms of reaching that level, and defensively, they blocked up the middle to stop us from having any goal opportunities 

"Credit to Donegal, the better team won and my hope would be, based on the evidence from the Leinster final that our lads will be more comfortable in the space of a quarter-final next year, we had three games on the bounce and it took a lot of work from the players to get themselves up for today's game. Unfortunately, we just weren't as fluid as we have been in other games."

While Brennan cites inexperience as perhaps a main factor in the game, he also believes his team's scoring ratio was off in Croke Park on Sunday.

"The fact that a lot of our shots were dropped short, or blocked, or turned over, means you're putting yourself under a bit of pressure, but we just told the lads to be brave and go and have a go. I'd rather go out fighting and swinging than allow the opposition to come onto us," he admitted.

"I think in the first half, we created as many scoring opportunities as Donegal, but their shooting accuracy was just far greater today.

"I thought overall we were slow to start and we were poor with our shot-to-score ratio. Donegal's was far greater, they took their opportunities and credit it to them."

But the overall achievement of Louth reaching an All-Ireland quarter-final is the main positive that Brennan will take out of this year.

"I think it's like when you're younger and you're trying to get into the nightclub and the bouncer would say 'regulars only'. You wonder how do you become a regular if you don't let us in. So, the fact the lads have gotten into the All-Ireland quarter-final and the knockout stages, that means, they've been given the opportunity, they fought for it, and they'll be hungry for more next year," Brennan said.

"With that experience and with that exposure, there comes a more relaxed and comfortable approach towards games."