Inside Track: A game that will live long in the memory

Thursday, April 17th, 2025. What a night, and what a game, one that will live long in the memory of those who witnessed it. All who populated the stands and terraces would say they were privileged to be there.

The advantage went from one side to the other in a pulsating finish, one set of supporters believing it was their night one minute, only to see the game swerve away to the opposition.

And when it was the Reds who were on top, the flags flew high and the shouts were deafening. Maguire played a central role. So, too, did Mubarak Salami.

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At stake was a place in the semi-finals, but the sides played in a way to suggest the prize was much greater than that. Applause all round at the finish, and, as you would expect, it was loudest for the winners.

It’s been a long time since a Louth minor team was involved in such an epic encounter. Their championship tie with Dublin at Parnell Park couldn’t have had a more dramatic ending, the home team’s No 14, the already-mentioned Salami, gambling and getting a rich reward.

Louth were a point ahead, the game was well into time added on, and despite having several chances to do so, Dublin players were slow to try their luck from outside the big ark.

Not Salami. Winning the ball out on the right, he found an opening, and with a judicious right footed kick, sent the ball sailing over Senan Connolly’s bar. Final score: 3-11 to 1-16.

For about ten minutes before that, the pendulum had swung violently from one side to the other, Louth looking comfortable at one stage with a four-point lead.

Dublin, however, were able to find a passage towards goals. Two of their shots – one of them taking a Louth defender deflection – got results.

But having depended largely on what the chip-of-the-old-block, Colin Kelly’s son, Conal, had to offer from long-range frees, Louth got back into it with a goal of their own, scored by team captain, Andrew O'Reilly. Who else but 16-year-old Kelly to do the trick?

That put Louth a point in front, the game well into time added on. The Louth crowd whistled hoping to influence the referee, and the men on the line roared instructions. But still, the game dragged on.

With almost five minutes extra played, Salami won possession. He appeared to be well policed, but then space appeared, and whereas his colleagues had been reluctant to try from long distance, he took his chance and was rewarded.

The irony is had the referee brandished the black card earlier, as he should, Salami would not have been on the field. The full-forward’s foul, when he caught a Louth player around the neck before dragging him to the ground, deserved much more than a yellow.

It’s not the end for this brave Louth side, arguably the best the county has fielded in quite some time. Having won their other two matches in the league section, they now go forward to the quarter-finals. An extra game, one that should be of huge benefit to Jonathon Clerkin’s side..

Don’t rush to bet on there not being another meeting with the Dubs before the title is awarded. If there is, it should be well worth seeing.

In another game played last Thursday night, Manchester United beat Lyon to qualify for the Europa Cup semi-final.