McKenny stays grounded as Louth march on to Leinster SFC semi-final

Louth continued their push for a third Leinster SFC final in-a-row with a tight 2-16 to 0-17 win over Laois at Cedral St. Conleth’s Park on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the victory, stand-in captain Donal McKenny was keeping things grounded, admitting the performance left plenty to be sharpened ahead of a semi-final clash with Kildare.

Thrust into the captaincy role for the day, McKenny helped lead his side over the line in a game that could’ve swung either way.

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Afterwards, the defender spoke honestly about what went wrong in the first half and how Louth managed to turn things around after the break.

He said: “Yeah, definitely a lot to work on. That first half just wasn't good enough. Went in a point down and probably could have been a couple of points up

“Just schoolboy errors when passing to the feet. Silly fouls, myself included back there. Laois were a very good side, and they just did it to punish their mistakes up front and ran at us in numbers and maybe didn't track the runners.”

The opening thirty-five minutes had been scrappy from a Louth point of view, with missed passes and unforced errors keeping Laois in the hunt. McKenny acknowledged that the break between competitive matches may have taken its toll.

“I suppose maybe match fitness is a factor once you get into the routine of playing matches every week.

“But training was good, good quality for the last few weeks as well,” the defender said. “I don't know, maybe the occasion got to us a wee bit. But we're going to have to work on it next week.”

Louth’s second-half response was sharp and measured. A more aggressive press on Laois’s kickouts began to turn the screw, and impact off the bench proved crucial.

“Then we kind of maybe squeezed them a little bit more in the second half, pressed their kick out a bit more, blocked those pockets and then kicked on from there.

“Then we obviously had the depth of the bench there coming on, the likes of Tommy (Durnin) and it was great to see Craig (Lennon) back as well. Conor Branigan and Dylan McKeown coming on to finish it off, so it was a great result in the end.”

The result may have looked relatively comfortable on paper, but McKenny was quick to point out how close it really was, particularly with chances missed at both ends.

“I think they had two or three goal chances in the first half and Niall (McDonnell) pulled off a great save. Two actually great saves, one went to the back post, and he jumped in the air for the other one.

“And then look, I have to say, on the flip side, we had two or three goal chances as well down the other end in the second half.

“We could have scored a wee bit more, but it could have been a different picture. Laois could have put them in the back of the net, and we would have had a lot more work to do.”

A second-half penalty and Ciaran Byrne's late goal eventually gave Louth breathing space, but McKenny insists the team won't let the scoreline mask their flaws.

“It went right down to the wire. That probably doesn't reflect a lot on how the match was played. The match was so tight the whole way through. It was up and down, up and down.

“It was a cagey affair and that probably took the cushion off a wee bit. So we can't let that result plaster over the cracks that have been in our performance today.”

With a semi-final against Kildare now on the horizon in Tullamore, the focus shifts quickly. Kildare are a familiar foe for Louth, and McKenny knows his side will need to hit another gear to make it through.

“We are definitely not resting on our laurels. Loads of work to do. It's not all negative. We played some really good patches of football.

“We know the football we can play when we're on it. It's just about keeping that in our minds going into the next few matches.

“I think we have Kildare next. They're a really tough side, a really good side. We're going to have to bring our A-game to beat them.”