Inside Track: Mulroy’s intervention saves a defeat from being a mauling

There was a comeback of sorts in each of Louth’s first five matches in Division Two of the National League. Some were successful some not.

On Sunday at the magnificent Páirc Uí Chaoimh, in a game with two priceless points at stake, all the huge travelling party in the stand was offered was a purple patch.

It yielded six points, a couple of two pointers included. If there’s more to come, you never know how it might end, we thought. But just as quickly the lights went out.

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Cork, having dominated the first half almost to the exclusion of Louth, turned up the heat once again. Finding space, and the range, just as easily as they did before the break, the Rebels went on to win by an unflattering eight points, 1-23 to 0-18.

It was the most one-sided game of the six Louth has been involved in since the competition began, and now, with just one match remaining, the trapdoor has opened that much wider.

On Sunday next, Louth travel to their home-from-home – Inniskeen’s Grattan Park – for a meeting with the auld enemy, Meath, needing a win to not only bolster hopes of avoiding relegation, but keep alive a passage to the All-Ireland qualifiers.

On the same day, title-contenders Monaghan entertain Louth’s fellow strugglers, Down. If the formbook proves a reliable guide with a home win in this one, Louth will save their status, even if their meeting with Meath ends in defeat.

It would have Louth and Down on the same points, and as Louth won the head-to-head a few weeks ago, that would be enough to send the Mournemen back to the division they occupied last season and keep Louth safe.

Given the performance they turned in down south, Louth’s best hopes of staying up are in Monaghan’s hands. There was nothing to recommend what was offered against Cork, except, yet again, Sam Mulroy’s marksmanship.

Renowned for his free-taking – that’s all he’s good for, you hear the knows-alls say – the team captain showed us there’s more than one string to his finely-tuned violin. Four two-pointers from play to go with 0-3 from placed kicks, had him contributing over half his side’s tally.

We have come to expect this from the Naomh Mairtin clubman; but can he go on propping the team up, bailing out those whose job it is to contribute to the scoreline, and others further afield failing to deliver? Just imagine what it would be like if he had an off-day.

Even in victory this season, Louth have had problems winning kick-outs, their own and the opposition’s.

Never was the problem more emphatic than on Sunday. We don’t think it’s open to contradiction to say that Louth won possession just once when the kicker went long.

This wasn’t only in aerial duels, but when the ball was broken. Cork were on to every knock-down like a flash, and when that happened an attack followed.

This being a day Mark Cronin, Chris Óg Jones, and the returned Brian Hurley were deadly around goals, continually punching holes in the Louth defence, a score resulted more often than not.

Louth were in trouble at midfield, the normally reliable Tommy Durnin failing to come up with his A-game, and Paul Matthews not as prominent as the last day. Fearghal Malone brought about an improvement when he came in.

It wasn’t only in the middle were there problems. They were fore and aft, and but for Mulroy, and to a lesser degree, Peter Lynch, Andy McDonnell, and, when they came in, Ciarán Downey, Dylan McKeown and Malone, the travellers would have been out the door before Galway ref, Thomas Murphy, called a halt.

That was after the game. Those who arrived early at the venue would have seen Louth under-20s turn in a superb performance to beat Cork by a huge margin.

Challenges are challenges, but this was one with and edge to it. The championship is just around the corner, Louth facing Longford at home in their first match tomorrow week.

Fergal Reel brought his side to the provincial final last year – there’s just a quiet optimism he can go one better this time.

But before that game comes the seniors’ meeting with Meath. Something Ger Brennan and his cohorts will have to do this week is get some fire back in their students’ bellies.

In tandem with all of Sunday’s shortcomings was the team’s lack of urgency, especially in the opening half. It was then that most damage was done.