Inside Track: Under-20s one step away from All-Ireland final

Who would have thought it at the beginning of the year, that come mid-May there’d be three Louth teams in provincial finals, one of them challenging for All-Ireland honours?

Nothing like this has happened before, not even at the time when the county seniors were among the country’s elite. There was no under-20 grade then, but the junior grade was on the schedule along with senior and minor.

That’s the men and boys. Doing well for themselves are the ladies, the junior football side through to the Leinster final for the second year running.

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And after the premier camogie side’s traumatic league campaign, it’s good to hear that the Junior Bs are in a provincial decider.

The hurlers have already done their bit, skating through their National League division to earn promotion. Only on All-Ireland days has the red flag been flown so high.

Superb on the evening of their Leinster final win over Meath, especially in the second half, the under-20 footballers have the All-Ireland in their sights and on Friday evening next face Mayo in Longford.

It promises to be a sizzler, for while Louth have done everything asked of them in Leinster, word from the west is that a lot is thought of the Mayo side.

Backboning the side are survivors from the minor team beaten by Galway – yes, Galway – in the 2022 All-Ireland final.

This year’s campaign has been good, and by finishing it with a high-scoring win over Roscommon, 2-17 to 4-8, Mayo took the Connacht title for the first time in seven years. That alone suggests the team is above average.

There’s no doubt Fergal Reel and his back-up will have the Louth team in good nick. ‘Team’ is the key word, because as they showed against Meath, the Seán O’Callaghan-captained side are a unit, all in it together playing for each other. It has to be like that with the new rules framed as they are.

As shown elsewhere on this page, this is the fourth time for a Louth team to reach an All-Ireland semi-final. It would be keeping the party going if a place in the last round is secured in Longford.