Brian Fenton admitted there was a sense of relief for Dublin after a four-point win over a resilient Louth side sealed a 14th Leinster SFC title in a row.
Heavy favourites going into the decider at Croke Park, the Dubs trailed 0-07 to 0-06 at half-time before finding an extra gear in the second half, although Louth stayed in touch before a late goal left Fenton and co 1-19 to 2-12 winners.
"Glad to get out alive. Louth gave us our bellyful there today, credit to them," said the two-time Footballer of the Year.
"They made things so hard for us. We absolutely expected that coming here today because they're a class team.
"They defended so well, made things so hard for us. We couldn't get any of our real key inside forwards on the ball.
"They just came out to spoil us and that happened for large parts of the game. We probably caught them on the break there for our goal so all in all probably lucky to get out the door with a win and just glad to get out on top."
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