Inside Track: Dublin no longer hold terror for Louth teams

How often in the past were we told to ‘read it and weep’ whenever the scoreline from a Louth match with Dublin appeared? Not just quite often, nearly always.

Maybe it will be like that in the future, but for now, the sight of the two-tone blue jersey is no longer one to be feared. Twice in the past few weeks, crucial championship games between the counties have gone Louth’s way.

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If the Louth win in the under-20 championship was a joy to behold, there are really no words to describe the minors getting the same result in last Wednesday evening’s semi-final at the Clann Mhuire grounds in The Naul.

Just take a look at the scoreline and instead of weeping, as we did before, give the loudest of cheers. Can you believe it, 2-17 to 1-8?

Twelve points between them, Louth full value for their win. And to think there was just one point between them at the break.

Louth had started at a rate of knots, scoring 1-3 in the first few minutes. At a later stage that lead was stretched to seven points – and it could have been more. By half-time, however, it was back to one, Dublin staging a solid comeback.

What happened afterwards was scarcely believable. Dublin had the impetus going out for the second half, but couldn’t back it with scores.

And the reason? They simply weren’t allowed to by a high-fielding and tigerish-tackling Louth defence and midfield. And when chances appeared there were the players to take them, Conall Kelly bringing his tally to 0-11 with a couple of sublime free-kicks, right out of the Sam Mulroy textbook.

While Louth added 1-8 to their interval score, Dublin could manage just one point. And bear in mind the breeze that blew throughout in the North County Dublin countryside was never more than gentle, giving an advantage to neither side.

A couple of weeks ago the first meeting of the sides at Parnell Park ended with Louth denied victory by the narrowest of margins. In the meantime the Young Reds had a lack-lustre outing in the defeat of Westmeath at the quarter-final stage. Good to have that out of the way.

Ground advantage, some feared, might sway this re-fixture Dublin’s way. That looked a real possibility at the break. Louth were just ahead, but it should have been much more. A couple of great goal chances had been passed passed up.

But it’s what‘s on the scoreboard that counts – Dublin wouldn’t have displeased with its reading.

The performance the Louth lads turned in after the break was a reminder of what happened a week earlier at Newbridge.

That night at St Conleth’s Park, the under-20s blitzed Meath in the provincial final, putting the champions to the sword with 30 minutes of scintillating football.

Anything they can do, we can do, was the message sent out by the younger set. Dublin were left standing, unable to match Tom Maguire and others in the air.

Nor had they a free-taker to compare with Kelly, or a full-forward like Jack Martin, who, throughout the game, got his hands around almost every long ball posted his way.

This is a well schooled team, one quite capable of giving the county a first win in the grade since 1953. Offaly provide the opposition on next Monday evening in Newbridge, a venue that has been good to Louth teams this year.

Louth beat Offaly in the preliminaries, but don’t for one minute think manager, Jonathon Clerkin, Gavin Devlin or any of their sidekicks will allow complacency to kick in. Offaly have improved – had they not they wouldn’t have beaten a fancied Kildare side in the other semi-final.

Never has there been a time like the present for Louth football. Two of the fast-travelling teams are from the under-age bracket. That can only auger well for the future.