Brennan “thrilled” for Louth to reach Leinster final

Louth senior footballers' quest for Leinster glory continues after they edged past Kildare 1-18 to 0-18 in a thrilling semi-final at Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore this afternoon.

Ger Brennan’s side secured All-Ireland series football and are now through to a third straight provincial final, where they will meet Meath at Croke Park in two weeks’ time.

Speaking after the game, Brennan was full of pride for his team and the county as a whole.

READ MORE: Louth march into third straight Leinster SFC final after win over Kildare

He said: “I think we like keeping the Louth supporters on their toes. We had to battle through that game to the very end and come out on top.

“Delighted for the group and delighted for the County Board and all the people behind the scenes putting in tremendous work to try to get Louth football on the up and up.

“The U20s are going well, the Minors are going well, so it's another positive experience and a step in the right direction for this group.”

Late pressure

As the tension mounted late on, Louth showed huge heart to edge ahead and see the game out under the hooter system.

“Yeah, we said we'd just keep things interesting and Craig then kicked it out for a 45 just for the fun of it,” Brennan smiled.

“But being serious, it's again new rules, it's probably our second or third time having a hooter and while we would have spoken about it in the lead-up to the game, we knew it was a hooter for today.

"That's something that we'll be better adapted to in the Leinster final. Please God that we're in that position going down the home stretch.”

Kildare's press

With four or five minutes to play and the sides level, Brennan admitted there were real nerves on the sideline.

The manager said: “Well, I tell you I wasn't, I was contemplating probably going home with our tails between our legs because we were struggling to get out of our defence.

“I thought Kildare’s press was really good, their attack play was really good. They were getting off some lovely scores when we were probably sinking a small bit in the defence.

“But again, look at credit to our lads, that resilience that they've demonstrated over the last five years to dig out the big results when it counts. I'm just delighted for the players and everyone involved.”

Solid defence

Kildare certainly had their chances, particularly in the second half, but some strong Louth defending, and a brilliant goalkeeping display by Niall McDonnell, kept them at bay.

“And look, you're dead right in that description, Kildare dominated probably most of the possession and look ultimately, the one statistic that matters is the scoreboard and we managed to take more chances than them today.

“Niall pulled us out of a lot of holes throughout the year and even last year and again today so he's a superb keeper.”

Slow start

When reflecting on the start of the game, Brennan admitted Louth were slow out of the blocks once again.

“Well, it just comes down to probably intensity levels at the beginning of the game and it's something we do have to look at because we just started poorly today and sometimes, we're poor when we travel.

“When we travel, we allow teams to build a bit of a lead before we eventually take out the proverbial finger and get moving and thankfully, we managed to do that in the second quarter of the match.”

Lennon and McKeever

All-star Craig Lennon was named Man of the Match after an outstanding performance, something Brennan was thrilled to see.

“Look I'm delighted for Craig. He's a super talent and he achieved what he achieved last year. I know that's something he's not resting on. He wants to continue to get better and to drive forward.

“I have to give an awful lot of credit to the medical team and the S&C team and obviously to Craig himself for the serious work that they put in behind the scenes to try and get him back up to speed."

Brennan also highlighted the impact of Clan na Gael clubman Conall McKeever’s crucial goal just before half-time.

“Another man I think we have to mention is Conall McKeever. I think that goal at half-time that's ultimately the difference between the teams.”

Players stepping up

Kieran McArdle also came up big when it mattered most.

“That's the quality that Kieran has. It can be tough in there when you're at the top three and particularly how well Kildare were pressing us.

“There wasn't an awful lot of ball going in there but again Kieran has had a super year.”

Focus on the final

Two weeks now separate Louth from another Leinster final day, but Brennan knows improvements are needed.

“Absolutely. We won't get away with elements of our play today in the final. We will get punished and we won't be coming out of Croke Park with the Delaney Cup.

“We'll have to seriously up it and ensure that we can improve all aspects of our game particularly that kind of midfield from kickouts for and against. That's something we have to really go after.”

All-Ireland series secure

Securing a place in the All-Ireland series was another big target achieved.

“Yeah well that's something that our analysis team put in an awful lot of work and something they put up during the week was this game.

“After this game, you're either going to Croke Park or you're going to, with the greatest respect, Fraher Field in Waterford for the Tailteann Cup.

“So that was something you're trying to kind of use to motivate our players but it's a thrill for the group that they're back in Croke Park again.”

Louth football

It’s a special time for Louth football across all grades, with plenty to look forward to this week and beyond.

“It is great times so it'll be good to go and watch a match on Wednesday and not have too much pressure on me but credit to Fergal Reel and his team.

“They've done a wonderful job the last season and a half and repeated last year's U20 final so that should be a very enjoyable game.”

Mulroy returns

Brennan was also delighted to have Sam Mulroy back on the pitch after injury.

“Look, similarly to Craig, the work that the medical team and the S&C team put in with Sam over the last number of weeks to get him back up and running has been incredible.

“So credit to Sam, he's a superb talent and you're seeing some of the scores he kicked there today.”

Team spirit

Brennan finished by praising the collective spirit within the Louth camp.

“It is a collective and you have to give credit. There are 38 fellas in the panel at the moment, we've had some long-term injuries as you know.”

“We've had club players come in when they didn't have club matches to help give us a dig out to make up numbers for training."