Inside Track: Having conquered Ulster, Louth now look to their own province

Having answered all that Ulster counties could throw at them, Louth senior footballers face up to a more familiar foe in Sunday’s final round of the National League.

St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge, is the venue for the Round 7 meeting with Kildare, and if successful, Gavin students will leave themselves with a chance of promotion.

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All would depend on how table-toppers Meath and Cork fare out in their matches, the Royals travelling to play Offaly and Cork also on the road to face Tyrone.

Kildare have more than just revenge for last year’s championship to play for. They are deep in the relegation zone, needing both points to have any chance of staying up. But even if they win, the Lilies will still need Cavan to be beaten in their away match with Derry.

Sunday’s clash is a repeat of a few years ago. The sides met at Dr Cullen Park in Carlow, and by winning, Louth made certain of staying in Division, while Kildare were relegated.

It’s only a series of freak results that can prevent Louth from qualifying for the All-Ireland. An appearance in a fourth successive Leinster final would be enough to earn a ticket, but failing that, it would depend on how the league pans out.

The eight provincial finalists, along with Kildare, as winners of last year’s Tailteann Cup, and the top seven in the league, would make up the 16 to contest the All-Ireland.

As it stands, the top seven in Division One would go through, but as it is likely there’d be provincial finalists among this septet, the best-placed in Division Two would qualify in their place. And that’s where Louth should come in.

Louth’s turnaround is the story of the league so far. An opening round win over Offaly was followed by what we thought at the time was a hugely damaging defeat to Cork.

There was another loss, albeit it a narrow one, in the Croke Park with Meath, which followed, and we were hearing quite often on The Sunday Game that Louth were in danger of being relegated.

But it was take-off after that, the Ulster trio of Cavan, Tyrone and Derry unable to eke out a win, Tyrone and Derry, like many teams before them, finding Ardee’s Páirc Mhuire a cold place to visit.

Many are saying that Louth would be better off with another season in Division Two – it would give the younger panellists a better chance to get acclimatised with inter-county football, they contend.

Maybe, but even if a Division 1 campaign ended in relegation, the drop would be to a grade that’s becoming more competitive with each passing campaign.