Patrick Johnson hails the work of his manager ahead of Dunshaughlin challenge

The Cooley Kickhams train has continued to plough ahead at speed; even as their Senior and Junior Louth compatriots fell off the tracks in the last few weeks. That leaves just the men in Green and Gold representing the Wee County in the world of Leinster Football.

After steamrolling past the challenge of Ballymahon of Longford in round one, the tougher beast of Naomh Barróg, the Leinster Champions, is what stood in their way of progressing further in the province.

The two sides clashed in Dowdallshill, the men from the Penninsula withstanding a stubborn outfit to claw out a valuable five-point win by the final whistle, 1-13 to 0-11.

A mix of patient build up play and a lethal place kicker in Paul Tolan saw Naomh Barróg lead by three points going into the final ten minutes. But Cooley bounced back hard, a high-intensity finish seeing them totally outmatch their opponents, outscoring them 1-6 to 0-1 to turn the game on its head.

Pivotal to that comeback was their goal on 52 minutes, got courtesy of Patrick Johnson. Reflecting back on the tie, he noted how key that score was in their win. A win which was all the more impressive, given they were without the leadership of their manager Colm Nally.

“With Colm coming in this year, he really turned the team around” noted Johnson. “He was away on holidays enjoying himself for the Naomh Barróg victory, but we still had three great lads on the sideline. By digging deep into the well, we were able to get over the line.

“They were on top of us for the first 10 minutes of the second half. It was clear a big score was needed from us. It could’ve been any of the forwards that put that away. It was left on a plate.

“There was three of us off the shoulder and I sort of caught onto the final ball and luckily for us I managed to slot the ball home nicely when it mattered.”

While the pitch at St Bridget’s Park was immaculate, as it has been all season, underfoot conditions were still difficult to deal with. That doesn’t make life easy for a forward, particularly on a day where the referee was blowing for pretty much every foul. By full time he had awarded 41 frees.

Johnson admitted Cooley were below par at times, struggling to play the open brand of football that they tried to implement against Naomh Barróg. The winter conditions played their part, but he stressed they need to learn to play the game whatever the season or weather.

“In the first half, nearly all the scores were coming from free kicks or marks. The pitch was very heavy to run on, leaving it hard to get going properly. It was tough to get away from defenders, get those five yards of space from him, especially when he is pulling on you a wee bit.

“It was a sloppy game. Defenders might foul a bit, but it was very tough for attackers around the full forward line, trying to get that freedom. But that is what it is all about, seasons change throughout the year in football, and you must adjust to it.”

Standing in their way of progressing to the Leinster Intermediate Final is Meath Champions Dunshaughlin, who they face in the semi-final final this Saturday afternoon in Pairc Tailteann, Navan (Throw in 1PM).

This will be by far the Louth Champions toughest test to date. Unlike Cooley, Dunshaughlin have been Senior as recently as 2021. They became the first side in 21 years to immediately bounce back to the top tier in the Royal County.

In their final against Duleek/Bellewstown, they coasted to victory. Having led by seven at the break, Richie Kealy’s side continued to outscore their opponents in the second half as they gained promotion with a 0-17 to 0-7 victory.

The East Meath outfit seemingly had another easy assignment in their only Leinster tie to date when they made the trip to Newbridge to face Ballyteague. They eventually won by 15 points, grabbing an impressive 2-19, but that doesn’t completely reflect the tie.

They struggled to break down the well drilled side from Kildare and were deadlocked at halftime. However, a long and looping effort was won by Conor Gray who bagged a clumsy goal. John McDonagh also rattled the net following a fine solo run to create a cushion they never relinquished.

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This bigger threat doesn’t really phase Johnson. Since the arrival of Colm Nally, Cooley has looked a formidable unit. They would run through walls for him. Coupled with the county’s decent record at this level and the forward feels his team are capable of causing a shock.

"Louth has a great winning record in this competition. Mattock Rangers won it out not that long ago, Sean O’Mahony’s went all the way a few years before them.

“You can see all year our ability to dig deep when needed. And we are a very good side, so the feeling in the camp is there is a very good chance of more silverware before the end of the year, should we try our hardest.

“No team is ever the full package. We have come on leaps and bounds throughout the year, as Colm introduced a lot of stuff. The break we got after the quarters allowed us to really fix up our game, be at full throttle for the next tie.

“We’ll enjoy the occasion which is what this is all about. But if we can fix up our errors, keep doing what we have been doing since Nally came here, then we should be OK.”