Louth combined warrior spirit with game management to see off Tyrone and pick up two vital NFL Division Two points at St Mary's Park in Ardee.
An early goal provided the platform for a morale-boosting win for a side managed by former Tyrone player and coach Gavin Devlin.
Talisman Sam Mulroy led the way with a seven points haul, and the manner in which the Leinster side defended a slender lead while playing into the strong breeze delighted the home fans in the sell-out crowd at the compact venue.
The two points lifted Louth out of the relegation zone, leaving the Red Hands hovering in dangerous territory, and facing into a difficult run-in without top scorer Darragh Canavan, who leaves this week for a month in Australia.
A kick-out malfunction gifted Louth a sixth minute goal, delightfully lobbed to the net by Ciaran Downey to beat Niall Morgan as he scrambled back towards his line following an interception.
It gave the home side a four points margin that they protected for much of the opening half, aided by three wind-assisted three-pointers.
Dermot Campbell and Eoin McElholm get to know one another
Tyrone, playing into the gusting breeze, held possession as they built patiently in search of openings, getting off the mark with a couple of Darragh Canavan scores.
Conor Grimes, on his one hundredth appearance for Louth, landed a two-pointer, but the Red Hands trimmed it back to two as Michael McKernan and Ciaran Daly hit the target.
Two further orange flags, raised by Sam Mulroy and Dara McDonnell, had the Wee County five clear heading into the closing ten minutes, but the Ulster side worked the ball through the hands to create scores for Ben Cullen and Canavan, with his fourth.
Three points separated the sides as the sides clashed in a skirmish as they left the field for the half-time break, with Mulroy picking up a yellow card in the process, his side ahead by 1-8 to 0-8.
Just as Tyrone had done in the first half Louth took every opportunity to run down the clock as they faced into the str gn wind, restricting their opponents to just one point in the opening ten minutes, a Morgan ’45 after Cormac Quinn had been denied a goal nu Padraic Tinnelly’s block.
Niall Morgan charges out of goal to punch clear
And they kept the score-board ticking through Mulroy and Grimes, even when substitute Tommy Durnin was black-carded just seconds after joining the action.
The Red Hands managed just a point during his ten-minute action, scored by Canavan, who was forced off injured in a further blow for his side with 15 minutes still to play.
Conor Grimes used all his experience and craft to keep his side in control as the minutes ticked away, while wing back Craig Lennon darted through to pick off a couple of scores.
As the Red Hands lost their way, kicking a string of wides, the Leinster men grew in confidence, turning over possession to raid for late scores, with Munroy bringing his tally for the day to seven on a triumphant occasion for the Wee County.
**Louth:** N McDonnell; P Tinnelly, D Campbell, D McKenny; T McDonnell, E Carolan, C Lennon (0-02); D McDonnell (0-02, tp), C Early; P Mathews, S Mulroy (0-07, 5f, 1tp), C Grimes (0-03, 1tp); K McArdle (0-01), C Downey (1-00), R Burns.
**Subs:** C McKeever for Matthews (45), T Durnin for D McDonnell (49), E Callaghan for Campbell (55)
**Tyrone:** N Morgan (0-02, 1’ 45, 1f); C Quinn, A Clarke, M Rafferty; R Cassidy, M McKernan (0-01), B Cullen (0-01); B Kennedy, C Daly (0-01); E McElholm, C Kilpatrick, F Burns; D Canavan (0-06, 2f), M Donnelly, S O’Donnell (0-01).
**Subs:** D McCurry (0-01) for McElholm (45), R Brennan for Burns (47), R Canavan for Cullen (52), E Jordan for Canavan (55)
**Referee:** D Murnane (Cork).