Louth no longer a one trick pony - Daire McConnon

It has been a roller coaster year so far for those who follow the Louth Footballers.

Two early defeats to Clare and Derry left them in fear of relegation, before an amazing and deserved revival saw them notch four huge wins in a row.

Revenge was earned over championship conquerors Kildare and Cork, while there was also a fantastic victory over Meath in Navan. Coupled with putting Limerick to the sword and the Wee County found themselves in a battle for promotion come the final round with Dublin.

Sadly, a third promotion in as many years didn’t’ materialise, but reflecting on the league as a whole, Louth sharpshooter Daire McConnon was happy with their overall league performance. Particularly the fact they finished high enough to pretty much guarantee a spot in the race for Sam Maguire.

“I can understand from an outsider’s point of view why people probably thought we’d go down, but I never thought like that” he explained.

“We knew it was very possible we could go on a bit of a run and push for promotion, which unfortunately we didn’t get over the line. But overall, you’d have to be happy.

“I still think we did OK (against Dublin). I felt we should’ve gone at them a little more as a whole, but it leaves us with a lot to work on. We’ve finished in a decent position (third), which probably secures our All-Ireland spot which was the most vital thing to secure.”

Despite some fans lamenting their current style of play, nobody can argue with the results they are achieving. And while some feel they are too conservative and too defensive, this has not hindered their ability to create scores.

Across their seven games in the National League, the Men in Red had 18 different scorers and ended the campaign with a total of 8-77. The vast majority of which were bagged from open play.

The Ardee St Mary’s clubman played a big role himself, notching 14 of that total. But it wasn’t exactly the overall total that was blowing him away, it was where those points were coming from.

“Those stats are massive for any team as you cannot be a one trick pony, which we probably were for a couple of years when we were more heavily reliant on Sam Mulroy” admitted McConnon.

“Thankfully other lads have now stepped up and the scores are coming from everywhere.

“Not even just the forwards, you had Tommy Durnin and Conor Early popping up with big efforts and our backs have been scoring in every game as well. All three of our full back line have scored: Dan Corcoran, Donal McKenny and Peter Lynch have all contributed. That eases the scoring burden.

“It is huge that we can score from anywhere, especially when you are playing the current system that we are working on. Micky and Gavan talk about how you need to be able to do it all, defence and attack in the modern game, which I think has proven to be effective for us.”

Next up for the Wee County is a date with Westmeath in the Leinster Championship Quarter Finals this Sunday in Navan (throw in 2PM), having been the team lucky enough to be awarded a bye from round 1.

The sides met earlier this season in the O’Byrne Cup, a Conor Grimes goal just before halftime the key to their success as they ran out 1-8 to 0-9 winners in a midweek encounter played under the lights in Darver.

They also squared up in Division 3 of the National League last season in Ardee. It was their sharpshooting that proved decisive, Louth better able to cope with the breeze leading to a much more clinical edge then Westmeath. In the end, they eked out a 1-15 to 1-13 victory.

It was a mixed bag in 2023 for the Lake County, four wins and three losses seeing them miss out on promotion. But despite their mixed run of form and the positive results against them of late, McConnon is not taking this challenge lightly.

“There was nothing in it back in the O’Byrne Cup and it was the same in the league last year. They probably left Ardee last year thinking they could’ve gotten more out of it and I’m sure they’ll want to take this scalp.

“Personally, having come up against The Downs in the Leinster Club Championship, they were very strong too and a few of those players will be out again for Westmeath. It is going to be a tough test and it should be a very evenly matched game that could go either way.

“I wouldn’t read much into where we finished versus where they placed in the National League standings, as they are different competitions. I think they’ll end up going in as favourites, as they are very strong and have done the business in the championship before and have been in Leinster Finals.”

After such a great year in the league, anticipation and expectations are reaching heights not seen for many years in the county. This is not lost on those in the Louth camp.

Jimmy Hasty story assured to live on via incredible documentary

The Commentary Box: The Gerry Malone Column

Dundalk Stadium unearths classic clues in final spring meeting

While not wanting to get too carried away, McConnon stressed that they needed to push on in Leinster now. With the Dubs on the other side of the draw and Meath already beaten this year, he sees no reason why this group should not be targeting a first Leinster Final since 2010.

“The goal of moving up the leagues has been achieved and I think it is all about championship now, as that is the one thing this group is missing” he admitted.

“I don’t want to look too bold and be looking too far ahead, but the real goal at this stage is to stamp our authority on Leinster. You can talk about how high we finished in the league, but people won’t remember that. It is all about the championship, it is what we are really gunning for.”