Youthful Louth on track to keep title

LEINSTER FOOTBALL Louth 1-16 Kildare 0-14: WHEN YOU'RE known as The Wee County you gladly take every bit of luck that comes your way.

True enough, Louth won this O’Byrne Cup semi-final thanks to a freakish late goal, but that shouldn’t take from what was an honest and lively performance, and Louth played throughout as if winning meant a great deal more to them than it did to Kildare, who in reality have their eyes on slightly bigger prizes this year.

Lest anyone need reminding, Louth are also defending O’Byrne Cup champions – which probably gave them the extra incentive to submit a more thorough effort.

It certainly looked that way; Kildare only played in spurts, and although they had a couple of opportunities to put Louth away, the focus clearly wasn’t as sharp as it could – or perhaps ought – to be.

Instead, they found Louth still chopping at their heels going into the last five minutes, at which point Kildare were in front by a point, 0-14 to 0-13. They were also down to 14 men after centre back Brian Flanagan was dismissed for a second booking early in the second half (although there was none of the misbehaviour that blackened last Sunday’s meeting with Laois).

Louth were using corner back Declan Byrne as their extra man, and three minutes from time he fired the ball in from close to the left sideline, apparently seeking the equalising point. Little did Byrne or anyone else realise that it would in fact prove the winner – as the ball magically dropped between the right upright and crossbar, and into the Kildare net. A fluke, yes, although not entirely undeserved.

Kildare more or less stopped playing after that, allowing Louth to tag on three more points to produce the slightly flattering score line.

They definitely weren’t five points better than Kildare, but they’ve had another honest O’Byrne Cup campaign, and will duly meet DCU when the final is played later this month, most likely February 21st, deferred from the original date due to the cold snap, and as the National League starts this coming weekend.

For Peter Fitzpatrick, the deeply enthused Louth manager, that final will have to be put out of their minds immediately, as they prepare to face Wexford next Sunday in opening their Division Three campaign.

“We’re still a Division Three team, and this time of year, when we play better teams like Kildare, it’s our chance maybe to play some better football,” he said. “But my only worry now is next Sunday. We won’t worry about when they play the O’Byrne Cup final.

“We’ve 10 under-21s on the panel, a very young team. And I’m just trying to breathe it into them, about winning against teams like Kildare. In fairness, I thought Kildare put in a big effort, and I don’t think we could have played any better. We used 19 players, and they all did well.

“The biggest problem I have now is picking a panel of 24, with so many young players, but maybe this is the start for us.”

Kildare did have their noses in front most of the way. Dermot Earley kicked two wonderful points in the first half (he’s clearly been practising at the shooting range) and Ronan Walsh, recently converted from corner back to corner forward, also chipped in with two fine points. Anthony Rainbow had us shaking our heads in the press box with his enduring presence and skill at wing back, at the age of 38, and it was no great surprise when Kildare eased three points clear late in the second half.

Louth, as Fitzpatrick pointed out, never gave up the chase, and clawed back two more points before the break. Paddy Keenan has brought a stabling effect to midfield, and Ronan Carroll – a late replacement for Seán O’Neill – proved a useful partner.

The younger players Fitzpatrick alluded to also shone, particularly Andy McDonnell, who worked tirelessly off the ball and rewarded himself with the two points late in the first half that epitomised Louth’s spirit.

Neither team produced any great shakes in the second half. Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney introduced James Kavanagh and Ronan Sweeney, and they briefly injected some purpose into their game, but it wasn’t consistent enough.

Louth were level again on 55 minutes when Byrne first made use of the extra space, and as they kept Kildare within reach as time edged away they were always in with a chance. They were fortunate in the way that chance developed, but, as Fitzpatrick reminded us, all the goals count, even the freakish ones.

LOUTH: N Gallagher; D Byrne (1-1), D Finnegan, R Greene; R Finnegan (0-1), A Hoey, J O'Brien; P Keenan, R Carroll (0-2); D Crilly, A McDonnell (0-2), D Maguire; C Judge (0-4, all frees), JP Rooney (0-2, 1f), B White (0-3, 2f). Subs: M Brennan for Crilly (39 mins), P Smith for White (51 mins), S Lennon (0-1)for McDonnell (68 mins, inj), A Reid for Crilly (70 mins).

KILDARE: S McCormack; A MacLoughlin, G White, E Bolton (0-1); M Foley, B Flanagan, A Rainbow (0-1); D Flynn, D Earley (0-2); D Whyte, R Kelly (0-2), P O'Neill (0-1); K Cribbin (0-1), K Ennis (0-3, 1f), R Walsh (0-2). Subs: D Lyons for Bolton (45 mins), J Kavanagh (0-1)for Walsh (48 mins), R Sweeney for O'Neill (52 mins), H Lynch for Cribbin (61 mins).

Referee: Cormac Reilly(Meath)

Next up . . .

With the NFL starting next week, the O’Byrne Cup final, between Louth and DCU, will be played on a date to be announced.