Inside Track: Chance for Louth minors to atone for provincial final defeat

Louth minors play Roscommon on Saturday in Cavan’s Breffni Park (7 o’clock), hoping to get atone for their three-point Leinster final defeat to Offaly. It’s an All-Ireland quarter-final, bringing the two counties together for a first championship tie in this grade in 74 years.

That’s what it’s been like this year, delve after delve in to the history books. Readers by now know what’s been unearthed, the seniors winning the Leinster for the first time in 68 years and the under-20s (u-21s) closing a 44-year gap by taking the provincial crown. Victory for the minors in the Offaly game would have been a first in just over seven decades.

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The 1951 semi-final was the second involving Louth and Roscommon. A decade earlier, with Louth defending their All-Ireland crown, the sides met in the final.

World War 2 was at its height, and maybe it was the travel restrictions in place that had the game played in Longford and not Croke Park.

The pitch was narrow and covered in about six inches of grass. Not the conditions in which a star of Louth’s 1940 win, Peter Corr, was unlikely to thrive.

Brendan O’Dowda was at midfield and Mick Hardy filled the full-forward berth. There was little they could do to prevent Roscommon from winning 3-6 to 0-7.

When the counties next met, this time in a semi-final, there was once again problems with the choice of venue. Roscommon hadn’t won the Connacht 1951 title, but were awarded it after a series of objections and counter objections. The outcome was Galway withdrawing, and Roscommon being nominated to represent the province.

Because of all the to-ing and fro-ing from one committee room to another, the semi-final wasn’t played until late November.

Worse than that from a Louth viewpoint, Roscommon were given a home venue. They chose the local CBS grounds, and that could have been a stroke. It had a very steep incline.

Louth had the advantage in the opening half, but still finished a point in arrears. More familiar with the totally unsuitable grounds, Roscommon pulled away in the second half to win by 2-5 to 1-3.

Kevin Beahan and Seán Cunningham were in the Louth team, and they’d go on to be part of Louth’s 1957 All-Ireland senior team.

We’re up to date now, looking to next Saturday’s game. As it got to the business end in all three championships, the minors looked to have a much better chance of winning out than the seniors and under-20s, an opinion that was given credence with their clinical dismissal of Dublin in the semi-final.

It didn’t happen against Offaly, and the popular opinion of why not is that Jonny Clerkin’s side didn’t get a fair crack of the whip from the referee. Those who were most adamant were TV viewers, who had probably the better close-up of what was happening.

That said, Louth had a five-point advantage in the second half, and it could have been more. Offaly got back into the game, with, many would say, the help of some dubious decisions. Their goalkeeper, Jack Ryan, converted two frees from outside the arc late on, turning a one-point deficit into a three point win.

Roscommon won this year’s provincial title, beating Mayo in a pulsating final. They’ll pose a big challenge; but if Louth can rediscover the form shown in the defeat of Dublin, the semi-finals could be revisited for the first time since 1953.