Inside Track: Louth must get it right at midfield in crucial Croker clash

Louth seniors have won three of their last four meetings with Meath. Making it four from five is not going to be easy.

These keen Boyneside rivals meet in Croke Park on Saturday in round three of the National League’s Division Two, Louth attempting to revive their challenge, Meath anxious to make it a third successive victory.

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The reason the game is being played where Louth won the recent clash of the sides is because Meath’s home ground, Páirc Tailteann, is being refurbished.

It was at Croker where Meath began their campaign in impressive fashion, beating one of last year’s Division One sides, Derry.

After that, they accounted for Cavan at Breffni, and though this outing didn’t see them as dominant as they were the previous week, they won credit for the way in which they snatched the points in the dying minutes.

A day after that Cavan Town tie, Louth were routed by Cork at Drogheda. You could say a team that finishes five points in arrears wasn’t routed, but what has to be borne in mind, so late did Louth add 1-2 to their score, many in the big home crowd had left the grounds.

This performance was in contrast what had come in the defeat of Offaly. No, it wasn’t perfect at Tullamore, one of last year’s problems resurfacing; but there was a good fighting spirit, without which an early second half deficit might not have been overcome.

This most essential of ingredients was missing last Sunday week, though there was, you could say, a fighting finish.

Midfield is where problems are most acute. With the change in rules, this area is coming back into its own. It was where games were won and lost, mostly in the kick-and-catch days.

Not so much in the decades before 2025, with the short kick-outs, as perfected by Stephen Cluxton, being the norm. Nowadays, the 25-yard restarts are difficult to execute, leaving goalies forced to go long nearly every time.

Even in winning games last year – with one clear exception – Louth struggled to win midfield battles, not so much in the air, but when the ball broke. There was a carry-over to Tullamore, and, according to all reports, it wasn’t any better against Cork.

That exception? The second half in the Leinster final. For long periods, Meath couldn’t buy a ball from around the middle. It was the launchpad to a famous victory, Tommy Durnin having his best-ever 35 minutes in the red jersey.

Could Saturday see the big man, now back in the Westerns fold, having his first game of the campaign?

Supporters would welcome it, but there’s a limit to what one player could do. Others will have to fight like Tamil Tigers for the loose ball if the Meath defence is to be put under pressure.

More will be required, however. There could be no better time for the likes of Sam Mulroy, Ryan Burns and Ciarán Downey to hit top form and defence to tighten up a bit from the Cork game.

Meath are warm favourites to win. But that’s how it was last May. Even those who regularly have a bet wouldn’t mind seeing the bookies getting yet another result.