Inside Track: Louth overcome dreadful conditions and strong Dublin side

On a night when the heavens opened and refused to close, Louth under-20s fashioned a magnificent display to beat Dublin in the semi-final of the Leinster championship last Tuesday.

It lashed before, during and after the game, and with the wind nearly as strong as the one than marred last year’s county final, it was heavy going for just about everyone who came through the gate at Darver.

It was the players, of course, who had the greatest ordeal, trying to control a ball as slippery as a pound of Kerrygold; but they managed it, more or less, providing the trimmed down crowd with a hugely entertaining spectacle that went all the way to the finish-line.

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It was best of all for local supporters. They saw their side battle bravely throughout, overcoming a dodgy start, but after that giving as good as they got – and more. It ended with three points between them, 0-14 to 0-11, Louth fully deserving of the laurels.

Louth made a great start to the second half, and with the game well inside the final quarter, led by five points. There were a few scary moments around the goals as Dublin pressed forward, and had one gone past Tiernan Markey all the good work of earlier might have counted for nought.

But it didn’t happen. The defending was heroic, and at the other end, attack took a dividend from most of their chances over the hour. Until the last ten minutes or so, midfield was a much more productive area than it’s been for the under-17s and seniors in most of their recent matches.

There hasn’t been much time to celebrate a second successive over the Dubs at the same stage of the competition. The final goes ahead at Cedral St. Conleth's Park, Newbridge, tomorrow, Wednesday, evening, with Meath, who beat Kildare in the other semi, providing the opposition for the second year running.

The Royals got the decision last time, their No 5, Éamonn Armstrong, doing most to deprive Louth of first provincial title in the grade since 1981. And there were also solid displays from forwards, Rían Stafford and Jamie Murphy.

All three are again eligible, and will obviously need watching. But learning from last year, manager Fergal Reel, you can be sure, won’t be short of ideas on how to counter the Meath threat.

The Louth boss has been through the mill in club football, picking up many accolades along the way. Aided by Declan Byrne, David Brennan, Barry Murtagh and Séamus Mulholland, he won’t be sending out his team on spec, unprepared or lacking in motivation.

A report on last week’s game said that Louth ‘stunned’ Dublin, but another said that the result wasn’t a surprise. The latter was closest to the mark.

It referenced Louth’s win in last year’s meeting, and we wonder are the days gone when the sight of the two-tone blue jersey is enough to frighten Louth teams.

The meeting of the counties’ minor teams a fortnight ago was epic, Louth only surrendering the lead in the dying seconds. They’re still standing, though, facing a quarter-final.

Now we have the under-20s in complete charge, and, hopefully, the seniors ending a long-running losing championship sequence in a few weeks’ time. (This is being written on a Thursday night.)

Yes, the tide is rising - all that’s required to really prove the point is a competition win at any level.