Two Louth goalkeepers withdraw from Mickey Harte's senior panel

The options between the between posts ahead of next week's crucial home clash with Limerick in the National League have become slimmer with the news that two goalkeepers have left the panel.

According to reports from local radio station LMFM, both Martin McEneaney and Declan Byrne have opted to withdraw from Mickey Harte's Senior panel.

The position has been one clearly up for grabs throughout the year so far. Back in November word came that Byrne, known for his exploits out the field for Louth and St Mochtas in the past, was returning to the setup, but this time as a goalkeeper.

He featured in the O'Byrne Cup matches against Westmeath and Kildare and was also the Wee County Number 1 when they faced Clare in Round 1 of the National League.

Meanwhile, McEneaney, who plays as a goalkeeper for both his club St Patrick's and for Louth, was selected to start for the O'Byrne Cup Final defeat away to Longford.

However, last Sunday Harte chose to go with another option in Young Ireland's Peter McStravick, a player who had never featured for either club or county as a keeper. He was also making his league debut.

“You have to gamble a bit here and there” noted Harte when explaining his decision to start the 22-year old in between the sticks against Derry.

“We obviously knew he had a good kick off the ground and that was something we used well today, getting the ball away from our goals. The contests were then in the other half of the field rather than ours.

“It is something only some people have, that length in their kick. We said we needed to gamble today and see how it goes. It was a big ask of somebody who hadn’t done this before. I think he equipped himself well.”

It leaves the Wee County rather limited when it comes to options in this department. It is not known if McStravick will feature again versus Limerick. But the only other option on the table currently is last year's first choice James Califf.

The Dreadnots clubman's commitment is unclear, as he has yet to feature in any matchday panel, due to his recent wedding among other commitments.

But even before news of Byrne and McEneaney's departures became clear, the Tyrone native didn't rule out Califf playing a role with the county team this season.

“He hasn’t gone from the scene just yet, but it all depends how much time he can commit to it, which we are not certain of yet.

"He is involved with the Louth Minors as well and is working in Dublin more then he used to. So things could be difficult for him. But he’s still under consideration.”