Clerkin: Louth Minors moved mountains

Louth minor footballers produced a powerful second-half display that saw them blow past Dublin and run out 2-17 to 1-8 winners in the Leinster MFC semi-final on Wednesday night.

The Wee County were relentless after the break and outscored the Dubs 1-11 to 0-1 in a statement half that secured their place in the Leinster final, where Offaly now awaits in Newbridge.

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Speaking after the game, manager Johnny Clerkin, couldn’t hide his pride in his players and the performance they delivered on a big stage.

He said:“They have been sort of threatening that performance all year. We got the start we wanted, which we didn't get on the first day.

“I think maybe after the first day, the aura of Dublin maybe was gone on us coming here today. That's something that we did sort of talk to the boys about. To a man, we've 30 lads, 31 lads, and to a man, they just all showed up today.”

Strong start

“That's something that we were conscious of, and when you're playing one of the bigger teams.

“We're knocking on the door, the start was so different from when we played a couple of weeks ago in Parnell Park and we had been starting well in games. Up until the Dublin game, something we did a bit of work on during the week.

“You get in, get going early, and you get to feel comfortable in the game, and then you have a better chance of maybe managing the game when you're ahead.”

Second-half

“That's what these boys do. They can manage games. Any team you're going to play is going to have a purple patch. It doesn't matter who you're playing, you're going to have to weather a storm somewhere along the line.”

Belief

“It's something that sometimes can happen accidentally, or a group of people can come together.

“They buy into something, and they believe in something, and we're all here to move mountains, and the boys moved mountains tonight.”

Clerkin was full of praise for his backroom team and the level of detail they bring to training.

“Look there's a team of geniuses, that's what you call them, that's involved in this. James Califf, Sean McCann, Ciarán Sloane, "the Horse Devlin”, Donal (Ferris) the physio. The work that goes on with these lads, with kick-outs, it's like algebra to me.”

Age

“They're kids. We've three 15-year-olds, most of them are 16, and a couple of them are 17.

“To come up with a performance like that at their age, playing in these sorts of games, in these environments, in these teams, is only going to benefit the Louth U20s and Louth senior team.”

Connell Kelly

Of all the standouts on the night, one 15-year-old caught the eye.

“Connell's in the field probably every day of the week; he could be in it twice a day, some weeks. He's the most unassuming, quietest young fella you'll ever come across…”

Kelly’s long-range kicking, clocking scores from nearly 50 metres, was breathtaking. Clerkin spoke of his composure and natural instinct.

“Sometimes there's things you can't coach, some things you can, and I believe sometimes that you just have to let a fella do his own thing, Connell Kelly did it tonight.”

Unfazed

Even the black card to Andrew O’Reilly didn’t rattle Louth, who managed to up the tempo instead of falling back.

“They just pulled each other in, looked each other in the eye, and they said 'Let's go at it.'”

Offaly next

Louth will now face Offaly, a team they’ve beaten before, but Clerkin knows it’ll be a fresh battle.

“Offaly were playing at home tonight, and they were playing earlier, so the word came through that Offaly had beaten Kildare and look at it, isn't it great?

“We've Offaly and Louth in a minor final and without a doubt we'll do our homework and we'll be ready to go.”