This is not the day for Louth supporters to stay at home

Leicester City were 500/1 to win the Premiership a few years ago, Caughoo was one-fifth those odds for the 1926 Aintree Grand National but still a huge outsider, and there was no-one to give the USA soccer team a chance when they went out to play England in the 1950 World Cup.

And what about that tussle between David and Goliath? This produced an upset of biblical proportions, the result one of best the bookies ever had.

Louth are very easy to back going into next Sunday’s Leinster senior final with Dublin. Huge odds are available in this two-horse race, and with the formbook reading as it is, those people with the chalk and satchels can’t be accused of giving it away.

Be that as it may, there is no call for a loss of faith among supporters. It would seem that there has been. There are very few flags hanging out, and when you chat with even some of the most ardent fans, there’s a shake of the head followed by something like, “We have no chance. I don’t think I’ll even go.”

It would be easier to take that last bit on board if they had followed with, “It’s costing €40 to get in.” This is a rise of €5, and you wonder if the price structure this year is the main reason why championship crowds are dropping significantly.

All of that said, this is an occasion, the kind of which today’s generation of supporters have experienced only rarely. Yes, they were there 12 months ago and were chastened by what they saw; and 13 years before that could only look on in disbelief as their team was denied in the cruellest of fashions.

But that was it for the half-century since the 1960 meeting with Offaly, just two appearances. Now there’s another one coming up, and the plea from this quarter is, get along to Croker and give backing to a team that has helped raise the county’s profile, contributing generously – along with the underage representatives – to Louth now comfortably sitting second in the province’s pecking order.

Vocal backing is good for a team. It wasn’t at its loudest during, or after, the Kildare game, a reaction probably to a mediocre performance in a less than exciting game. Hopefully there’ll be something better coming from the team and the stands this time.

It must happen on the field, because if the footballers don’t take their A-game with them, doing better than last year when 21 points divided the sides, there’s no chance of Davy being emulated.

One thing that will have to be got right out is the kick-out strategy. It simply didn’t work against Kildare. Niall McDonnell, with no-one running for him, was forced to go long, and every time he did, Kildare midfielders won out. It would have been fatal had the Lilies been able to shoot straight.

If the Fechin’s clubman has to go the same route on Sunday, you can only fear for the outcome. Tommy Durnin has a big part to play at midfield – trying to outfield Brian Fenton, one of the country’s best in the air, will add seriously to his workload.

It’s for certain this is something that’s been worked on at Darver since the semi-final. Restarts play such a critical part of today’s game; getting them right can be a game-winner.

No-one knows that better than Ger Brennan, who was part of Jim Gavin’s Dublin set-up when Stephen Cluxton was perfecting the role. Sam Mulroy came in with ten points in last year’s corresponding game.

The same, and maybe more, will be required this time. And it will help as well if Conor Grimes and Ciarán Downey can get a run at the Dublin defence. And if Ciarán Keenan is the hare, turning the Dubs greyhounds this way and that.

And the backs are able to keep pace with the best forward line in the game right now. That’s said not knowing who Dessie Farrell will have 10 to 15, but it doesn’t really matter.

In truth, every one of Ger Brennan’s starting 15 will need to have his best-ever game in the red jersey, and if those in tracksuits are called upon, asked to replace tiring legs, they, too, will have to come up with their very best.

The task facing the Louth players is daunting; but would any of them prefer not to be there? Of course not. This is the province’s biggest match, and being part of it is something to cherish.

As is pointed elsewhere on this page, Louth has been represented in just 22 Leinster finals prior to this one, and bear in mind, the competition was first played in 1888. (No, dear reader, that’s not another of the errors that occasionally infiltrate this part of the Demo – the association was still in swaddling clothes when Kilkenny’s Kilmacow beat Blues & Whites, from Wexford, in the first ever final.)

Best of luck to all who sail on the good ship Louth.