Inside Track: Cahill gives Louth captain a vote of confidence

The championship team of the year is, as nearly always, comprised of players involved in the latter stages of the competition, the final in particular.

That’s to be expected since it’s named on the night of the final when performances earlier in the day are fresh in the selectors’ minds. Still, it was disappointing that Sam Mulroy didn’t get even a mention from the Sunday Game panel.

The Louth captain, however, got more than a name-check from Des Cahill – the RTE veteran had him on his team.

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And we wonder does that bode well for Mulroy’s prospects of becoming the third Louthman to win an All-Star. It might just.

In choosing the fifteen for one of the games’ most prized possessions, after an All-Ireland medal, the selectors, an entirely different bunch from those half-circled around Jacqui Hurley in the RTE television studio last Sunday week, give as much consideration to the league and provincials as they do the knock-out’s latter stages. Their teams tend to be more representative.

There was lots in the All-Ireland programme underlining what Mulroy achieved this season in Leinster and later games to jog a few memories.

He was third in the list of top scorers behind the peerless David Clifford and Galway’s Robert Finnerty, and ahead of Michael Murphy and Seán O’Shea.

Also, again in third in the table for the most two-pointers, claiming nine of them. (O’Shea and Clifford were equal on 11 going into the final, and, of course, we now all know what the latter came up with against Donegal.)

Mulroy didn’t get among the top ten scorers from play, but his county team colleague, Ryan Burns, did, the Hunterstown Rover coming in with 1-20.

Mulroy was one of four Louthmen to get an All-Star nomination last year, Craig Lennon, Donal McKenny and Tommy Durnin the others, with Lennon making it on to the team at wing half-back. The Naomh Mairtín man might go one better this time.

KERRY MIND THEIR OWN BUSINESS

Donegal engaged in a bit of mind games before the All-Ireland throw-in, and it didn’t do them much good.

The Artane Band was ready to strike up for the parade, which is one of All-Ireland day’s big attractions. Kerry lined up behind them, but no sign of Donegal.

Well, there was a sign of them – in a huddle near the middle of the field. They eventually made their way over, joined in, but rather than complete the circuit, as Kerry did, broke off.

Had they won, Donegal would probably have said the pre-match antics worked. That’s probably what they claimed after refusing Louth a 15-minute delay to the start of the meeting of the sides a few weeks ago, after the bus, carrying the Louth team, went off course – not helped, incidentally, by the PSNI refusing the driver to traverse a couple of roads along the way.

APPOINTMENT THAT COULD HAVE TURNED AWKWARD

It happened in another of Louth’s qualifiers, the referee having to be replaced during the course of the game.

Louth were out against Down in Newry in May of this year, and in the first half, David Gough picked up an injury and wasn’t able to continue. Stand-by, Cavan’s Noel Mooney, took over.

Just thinking, had the same fate befallen Brendan Cawley – who had a fine match making his All-Ireland final debut – last Sunday week, Martin McNally would have been pressed into action, as he was named as the stand-by.

This would have been awkward. With Jason McGee coming in as a sub, there would have been two members attached to the Corduff club in Monaghan on the field, the referee and the Donegal No 26.

BEWARE OF THE BIG SEMI-FINAL WIN

Good as it might be to win an All-Ireland semi-final, doing so by a huge margin isn’t necessarily a precursor for success to follow.

Take this year for example. Donegal routed Meath in the football semi-final, winning by 20 points. What happened after that is known by all who follow the game.

It was the same in the hurling. Cork were merciless against Dublin in the penultimate round, also finishing 20 points clear, but then took a terrible second half hiding from Tipperary in the game that mattered.

A game from the past comes to mind. Meath were so far in front of Kerry in a 2001 football semi-final, their supporters began to showboat, yahooing every time their team strung a pass together.

It ended 2-14 to 0-5, one of the biggest defeats inflicted on a Kerry team in a Croke Park match. Star Meath forward, Trevor Giles, said afterwards he didn’t approve of the supporters’ behaviour.

There’s no record of Galway’s back-up army following suit in the final, but they could have. Their team was ahead by 0-17 to 0-8 at the finish.