Mickey Harte taking the positives from Dublin defeat as championship prep begins

Mickey Harte was just 70 minutes away from bringing Division 1 football to Louth, in what arguably would have been his greatest feat as a manager. What he says to his troops after a loss is an indicator to his mastery.

“You congratulate them on the effort they put in and suggest that this is where you learn things – the school of learning and it’s a hard road to learn when you meet a team of the calibre of Dublin at Croke Park,” he says.

“It mightn’t have been pretty to the eye in the first half but we had to stay in the game for as long as possible and I suppose we had a few more goal chances that if they had gone in, we could have kept the game tighter for longer.

“Once they didn’t go in and they started to creep ahead then we had to chase the game a bit more and it left them with more opportunities to finish the game. There’s nobody better than Dublin in doing that. They have a lot of experience from over the years and there are a lot of quality players still there.

“It was a learning exercise for us. It would have been a serious bonus and an unbelievable outcome had we been able to pip them at the end and get to Division 1.

"It was a possibility when the game started and we had to go after that possibility in the way that those men could best. Considering the players that we’re missing, I think we’d have to be happy with what we gave.”

Sam Mulroy’s free taking was a substantial loss on the day but Louth missed two glorious goal chances in either half and that was key in missing out on promotion according to Harte.

“You can dress these things up whatever way you want,” Harte began.

“We had a few goal chances that didn’t go in and if they did go in then that would have changed the complexion of the game. I think it (the margin) wouldn’t have been as wide but they’re the ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’ of Gaelic football.

“If they had gone in, it would have been a closer scoreboard. Does that mean to say that Dublin didn’t deserve to win by what they did, that’s something everybody else can decide on. We asked questions of them, that’s for sure, but, ultimately, they provided answers to go up and be in the league final.

“By and large, we’re happy with what the players did and they stuck to the plan and how we wanted to play the game.

“Obviously, in the middle of that, you make errors and decisions that aren’t just the best at a time, but you have to factor in as well that Dublin are good in an aggressive high press and maybe we’d got more time in our previous matches to be able to do things under less pressure.

“They put us under very extreme pressure on the ball and they’re good at that – they’ve been very good at that traditionally and it was a good experience for our players at this level.

“New experiences teach players things and we hope that it will have taught our players things that will be of value in our Leinster Championship match coming up.”

Does Harte feel his side have bridged a gap between the current Leinster Champions and his own group this season after the loss?

“I don’t think we can be very definitive on what we can speculate on because Dublin are a work in progress as well. They’ve players coming back who haven’t played much this season so far, and I saw a man’s name on the substitutes there who I’d rather he had stayed retired.

“We’re all in a position where we feel that we can be better in a month’s time. We’re not ahead of anybody in that sense and where Dublin have improvements to make, our improvements won’t necessarily get us any closer.“

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Overall, Harte is buoyed by the experience and signalled the level of progress that provided the travelling supporters a taste of the occasion too.

“I would always be excited by anybody who is making progress and there are good players in Louth. I think we’ve created a sense of belief that there are more opportunities and possibilities than they might have thought a few years ago.

“So, that can only be good for the whole county and then for the young people coming on to say that there is something in this county that you want to aspire to.

“The more you have that culture or notion created within the county then there’s going to be a better likelihood that you’ll get quality players coming through to supplement what’s there already.”