Inside Track: A first-half performance to cherish

Maybe Louth senior footballers should have won by more in Saturday’s away league match with Cavan. Maybe not. What is beyond dispute, however, is that this was yet another in a line of significant results of recent years.

Think Cork, at Inniskeen and Ardee, Tyrone, also at Páirc Mhuire, and Meath, all over the place, Navan, Croke Park and what was once Louth’s home from home, Grattan Park.

READ NEXT: Inside Track: Farrell had all the answers for his critics

All of this, plus the under-20s winning last year’s provincial title and the minors reaching the final of theirs, has the county better placed than it’s been for years.

The dividing margin in Saturday’s crucial Division Two match was ten points, 1-22 to 1-12. At half-time it was 12 points, and at one stage in the second half the score stood at 1-21 to 0-6.

That Cavan got so close in the end could be attributed to the complacency that seeped its way into the Louth performance. Also, the assistance the home team got from a hefty breeze, which in the opening half had benefited Louth.

For just a while, it looked like the unthinkable might happen, Cavan coming from the next parish to win. A goal and a two-pointer in a minute, followed by three further scores, had the Breffni within striking distance.

Had they not spurned a gilt-edged goal chance, there might have been no one leaving the grounds early. Louth failed to add to their score in the last 16 minutes.

All of that, however, masks what was a powerful match-winning Louth first half. Nothing could strip it of its brilliance, not even the return of only a point from a point-blank Ryan Burns shot – brilliantly saved by the Cavan goalkeeper – nor some badly directed passes, and three missed point chances coming in quick succession.

In all of their games this year, Louth kept their best for the second half. In this outing, most of what was very good came before the break. Nearly every shot on goal brought a dividend, Ciarán Downey’s goal the most rewarding.

The final touch to the three-pointer was perfect, the build-up simplicity in itself, but still a work of perfection, the ball travelling the length of the pitch.

Goalie Niall McDonnell found the unmarked Sam Mulroy with a pass. The team captain went on a run and, when the time was right, put the ball on a plate with a 30-yard pass for the well-placed Ryan Burns.

Watching everything develop, Downey got away from his marker and, positioning himself perfectly to take a transfer from Burns, had only to pick his spot.

This was only one of many highlights. Midfield has been a problem area for Louth in many games, but not in the first 35 minutes of this one.

Conor Early and Dara McDonnell’s clean catching had the Cavan pair in trouble, but even better was Louth’s return from breaking balls.

With Conor Grimes and others working like demons in support of the midfielders, Louth took more from this most vital of battlegrounds than in any other match in the campaign. After that, the forwards did the job, all of the starting sextet getting on the scoresheet.

Mulroy was one of those to benefit from the hugely improved midfield performance, boosting his overall league tally by five points.

But there was much more to the Naomh Máirtín clubman’s contribution. He, too, was busy around midfield, and when he wasn’t there, or on the attack, was back defending. A block of his in the second half denied Cavan a goal.

And just how supporters value the No 11 was perfectly illustrated by the cheer that greeted his run onto the field before the throw-in. He had left the field minutes earlier, and there was concern he might not be taking part. No need to worry.

Grimes was another who covered most of the Breffni sod, his controlled pacey runs into the heart of the Cavan defence causing no little bother. He’s an all-action 70-minute player, giving lie to the belief held of some that age is against him.

Another who supporters love to see on the ball is Downey. In this game, the Newtown Blues player was at his very best, claiming 1-4 and the man-of-the-match accolade. Ryan Burns showed a return to his best form before shipping an injury, and Paul Matthews and Kieran McArdle showed they are growing into the inter-county game.

The backs dealt with most of what came their way in the first half, but were under pressure when Cavan got a run going after the interval. Niall McDonnell was very safe in goals – and when he wasn’t trying to keep tabs on his marker, Tadhg McDonnell was up scoring.

McDonnell and wing-full, Padraig Tinnelly, are products of last year’s under-20 side, as are Seán Callaghan and James Maguire, who were among the subs on Saturday, Maguire getting game time. The conveyor belt is well-oiled and working.

The league’s final furlong is looming, and while promotion may be beyond Louth, though it’s still a possibility, the fear of dropping, alive after successive defeats by Cork and Meath, is receding.

Division Two status, first achieved with a win in the third tier under Mickey Harte, is being stoutly defended, and along with it, there have been fine championship campaigns, three final appearances, the most recent ending in triumph.

It’s not the headiest of heights, but maybe not far from it. Gavin Devlin has been central to most of it, first as Harte’s sidekick, taking charge of the coaching, and now as manager.

He’d be taking a lot of satisfaction from the defeat of his native Tyrone and the latest win over another Ulster county. Next up is Derry.