"It's good to get the win", says Louth defender McGuinness
Aaron McGuinness shared his thoughts after the Wee County defeated Armagh to secure Nicky Rackard Cup survival
Louth kept their Nicky Rackard Cup status intact after surviving an Armagh comeback to claim a three-point victory at Thomas Davis Grounds in Corrinshego this afternoon.
The Wee County looked in complete control at half-time after storming into a 13-point lead, but Armagh’s refusal to fold ensured there would be a tense final quarter.
Defender Aaron McGuinness admitted the closing stages were far from comfortable as Armagh piled on the pressure with the aid of a powerful second-half wind.
He said, “We got the job done in the end. I think we just let off a bit. The wind was savage down there. Armagh, whenever you come down to play them, they never give up right to the end. They just keep going. You never know what's going to happen.
“You could be 20 points ahead of them, and it'll always be a tight, tight game come the end. They just never give up. So it's good to get the win. Look forward to next week and go see what we can do again in Mayo then.”
Louth made full use of the gale-force wind during a dominant opening half, attacking Armagh at pace and building a commanding cushion on the scoreboard.
“We started just the last few months running the ball during our training. So we just thought we'd really get at them early and see what we can do through the lines.
“And as I said, 13 points. It was a good lead, but the job wasn't done, and gradually they started finding the range, although they hit a fair amount of wide as well.
“13 points up, as I said, again, an Armagh team. It's not enough. Today, it was enough, just about, but it's not. You'll never play early. 13 points.
“We are coming in at half-time thinking, jeez, I don't think we're out of the woods here. So we're just delighted that we got over the end.”
Nervy end
Armagh’s accuracy improved after the restart, and a series of goals cut the gap to just three points late on as injury time stretched on. McGuinness admitted the extended stoppage time felt endless.
“Thought the referee broke his words, to be honest. Just thought it was never going to end. I just thought injury time, every five minutes we were asking, injury time, injury time.
“I thought it was never going to end, but it just kept going. Just stop worrying about the clock, keep going. It'll be over when it's over. Just hope you're on the right side of the scoreboard then, that’s all you can do.”
Louth also benefited from several Armagh wides during the second half.
“I think we got lucky, to be honest. The amount of wides they hit just kept us going every wide they put. We just knew that we had to keep going, keep turning the screw, keep upping the gears. And lucky enough, we came out on the right side of it.”
Armagh’s goals brought renewed belief but the Louth defence remained composed.
“I wasn't too concerned. It was a bit touch and go, but bounce there on the field, any ball in, get a touch on it. Just seeing the first half, it fell for us; the second half, it fell for them. It's lucky enough we had enough points just out of reach of them.”
Team effort
McGuinness also pointed to the contribution throughout the team.
“It's good. It's always a good day when your six forwards get on the scoresheet. Then there on the back line, the likes of Le Touche (Andrew Le Touche-Cosgrave), you just know not much is going to get past the man.
“It's just great to have him in. He's nearly like a lifeline by himself. He's great. Unbelievable. Just a different kind of class altogether. The man just knows what to do and where to be.”
Building momentum
The result guarantees Louth’s place in the competition for next season and gives them momentum heading into their closing fixture at home to Mayo.
“That Sligo game, we wrote that off the following week on Tuesday. We just said, that's not us. We need to go and prove it to ourselves that that's not us.
“We showed it against Tyrone. We knew that that's the level we could get, and we had a bit more. We came out today, and we showed it.”
Louth now head into the Mayo clash targeting a third win of the campaign and hoping to finish with six points.
“That's all we need. We just needed to stay up today, and we look forward to it now. We'll use that to start off next year as good momentum that we are good enough to play at this level.
“We look to be, next year, right at the top of the group and hopefully pushing for a final. It'll be good to finish the campaign with six points and just get one over Mayo.
“They've been ahead of us there for the last two years. That'll be really good then to set us up for next year as well.”
McGuinness is also looking forward to returning to club duty with Naomh Moninne.
“I'm enjoying the time up here. It's always good to be out hurling; the weather's getting better as well. I can't complain about it. Sure, we'll worry about the club now, we'll go back after next week and get it done, then we'll worry about the club.”