Louth footballers narrowly defeated by Cork following epic contest

All Ireland Championship Group 1 Round 1

Louth 1-17 Cork 1-19

There was heartbreak for the Louth Footballers as a second half burst was not enough to secure the win over Cork in Navan in this group 1 opener of the All-Ireland Championship.

The Wee County were four down by the end of the first half but buoyed by a goal from Liam Jackson they fought back bravely, even leading for a short period.

Three points in a row saw the Rebels regain the lead and it was end-to-end stuff as the game entered its dying moments. Conor Grimes and Ciaran Downey reduced the gap to the minimum, but Cork somehow found another score via substitute Conor Corbett.

There was one last roll of the dice deep into injury time when Dylan McKeown came close to getting his fist onto a high ball, but the goalkeeper Micheál Aodh Martin did enough to send it out for a 45.

Donal McKenny duly launched it in towards the square, but sadly it was won by a Cork defender as the Wee County just came up short. They now have a mountain to climb if they are to advance beyond the round robin phase, needing a victory over Mayo or Kerry to stay in the championship.  

The Rebels took an early lead courtesy of a Brian Hurley free, however Louth bounced back well. Efforts from Craig Lennon, Sam Mulroy and Conor Early seeing them go in front.

Cork had the lion’s share of the possession but were being made work for every opportunity. In the first quarter every single Louth player was in their own half of the field, as they looked to frustrate the Munster men.

The Rebels were at their best when on the counter, pacey solo runs helping them bag points, or at the very least draw plenty of fouls. Efforts from Hurley and Killian O’Hanlon saw the teams go level before a costly mistake saw Cork regain the lead.

James Califf was deemed to have overcarried the ball by referee Martin McNally. Cork took the free quickly, and while Califf did have time to get back on his line, Brian O’Driscoll would eventually rattle the net to put his team three ahead on 17 minutes.

Interestingly, for much of this contest both sides favoured going short from kickouts and were largely successful in keeping possession in this manner.

Cork tried to rejig their gameplan in the final 10 minutes of the half but were turned over three times due to Louth’s aggression around the middle, alongside the extra bodies who were there to claim any breaking ball.

Despite notching a further four scores before the half time whistle, three from the boot of Mulroy and another from Peter Lynch, Louth were struggling to make much headway as Cork kept cancelling them out.

Points from Colm O’Callaghan (2), Ian Maguire and Hurley leaving John Cleary’s side four in front at the break, 1-8 to 0-7.

Just like they did against Westmeath in their Leinster championship opener at the same venue, Mickey Harte kept his side in the dressing rooms for as long as possible. A huge roar came from the vocal Louth support, and this maybe helped motivate their team.

Having traded two apiece in the early stages of the second half, it was a goal that reignited the Wee County’s chances on 46 minutes. Liam Jackson profited from a Cork restart mistake, winning the ball back from Daniel O’Mahony before firing it home.

The teams continued to trade scores, as a contest that had been played quite conservatively early on began to open up significantly. And when Mulroy bagged a point on 58 minutes to put his team in front, the hope was Louth would push on from here.

Sadly, it was Cleary’s men that bagged three vital scores, via Hurley, O’Driscoll and Steven Sherlock, leaving Louth chasing them from here to the finish. They threw everything at them, but ultimately Cork hung on.

Another courageous comeback from Louth but having fell short of a win they are now on the cusp of an early exit from the newly revamped All Ireland Championship. Lifting them up for a clash with Mayo in Castlebar this Sunday will prove to be huge challenge for Harte and co.

Louth: James Califf; Dermot Campbell, Peter Lynch (0-1), Donal McKenny; Bevan Duffy, Niall Sharkey, Anthony Williams; Tommy Durnin (0-1), Conor Early (0-1); Conal McKeever, Ciaran Downey (0-2), Leonard Grey (0-1); Paul Mathews, Sam Mulroy (0-8, 0-5 frees), Craig Lennon (0-1). Subs: Daire McConnon for Mathews (HT), Dylan McKeown (0-1) for Duffy (HT), Liam Jackson (1-0) for Campbell (39), Conor Grimes (0-1) for Lennon (44), Conal MCaul for McConnon (64).

Cork: Micheál Aodh Martin; Maurice Shanley, Daniel O’Mahony, Tommy Walsh; Luke Fahy, Sean Meehan, Matty Taylor; Colm O’Callaghan (0-2), Ian Maguire (0-2); Brian O’Driscoll (1-1), Ruairí Deane, Killian O’Hanlon (0-1); Sean Powter (0-1), Brian Hurley (0-8, 0-6 frees), Chris Óg Jones (0-1). Subs: Kevin O'Donovan for Meehan (21), Steven Sherlock (0-1) for Powter (48), Cian Kelly for Walsh (49), Conor Corbett (0-1) for Jones (63), John O’Rourke (0-1) for Hurley (73).

Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan).