Joe Carroll: Another Louth league win over Meath to savour 

It was good at Pairc Tailteann in 2012 and 22 years before that. It was even better last Sunday. What we’re talking about here are league wins Louth have scored over Meath in their own back yard.

There was nothing more than prestige at stake on those two previous occasions, though there were no tears shed on this side of the Boyne when the Royals were relegated as a result of their defeat eleven years ago, this time the prize was valuable.

A couple of valuable Division Two points were on offer and Meath needed them to get back on an even keel having lost their first game in three a fortnight earlier.

Louth had an even greater want for them. Their three previous matches had yielded just one win, and to lose again would bring relegation clearly into focus.

Now, with three matches remaining, Louth are looking forward rather than over their shoulder. Kildare are in Ardee on Sunday, and after that Cork visit the same venue.

A return to Croke Park in the concluding round will have the Reds come face to face with the Dubs for a first league game at the venue between the sides in over 50 years.

It was rollicking fare on Sunday. Meath had the look of winners on a couple of occasions as Louth struggled to find the target, but each time were pegged back. The locals, backed by a strong wind, had four points on the board, while Louth failed to hit the target in the first 17 minutes.

At half-time, however, Louth were in front, a terrific second quarter getting a great response from the travelling supports among the big crowd.

But it turned again in the second half. With Louth again finding the target elusive up front, even though they were playing with the wind and had an extra man after Harry O’Higgins had been sent off before the break, Meath put on a spurt which had all the appearances of being a match-winner. It put them five points clear.

But Louth weren’t one for packing it in. Three magnificent Ciaran Downey points followed by a Craig Lennon major – the result of a clever interception and a near 100-yard dash towards goals – turned the game around once again. This time Louth were in no mood for surrendering their lead.

It ended with three points between them, 1-15 to 1-12, a win which went some of the way towards helping Louth supporters banish the memory of the championship win snatched from their team when Graham Geraghty grabbed a winning goal with time almost up. That game was also at Pairc Tailteann – the one in which Joe picked Louth pockets was at Croker.

Embellished as it was with some great scores, tigerish tackling, courageous blocking and several fine individual performances, none better than the one turned in by Conor Grimes, this wasn’t the perfect Louth performance, though it outshone everything that has gone so far.

At least four gilt-edged goal chances were passed up in the first half, one of which, had it been taken, would have provided the perfect start.

Then there was the thumping the full-back line took from the Meath inside trio, Jordan Morris, Matthew Costello and the impressive Shane Walsh. This could have been fatal but for the work carried out further afield.

It didn’t help that regular No 2, Dan Corcoran, had to cry off just before the game, or that starting wing-halves, Leonard Gray and Anthony Williams had to be called in after just 15 minutes.

Though he was troubled trying to contain his marker, left-full, Donal McKenny, was good when he was going forward, and the point he scored late on was one of the day’s best.

The good, however, outweighed what could have been better. James Califf returned to goals to solve a worrying problem, Tommy Durnin made a big difference when he came into midfield, and along with Grimes and Downey, Conall McKeever gave the Meath backs lots to think about.

It may not have been Sam Mulroy’s best game in the red, but few others covered as much of the Tailteann sward. Bevan Duffy put all his experience to play when entering the fray late on.