Maguire and Byrne impress in famous Louth victory
Louth manager Gavin Devlin praised his two players for their performance against Dublin
James Maguire’s two-goal haul and the contribution of substitute Ciarán Byrne earned special praise from Gavin Devlin after Louth’s victory over Dublin on Sunday afternoon.
U20 graduate Maguire delivered two crucial goals on a memorable afternoon for the Wee County at Croke Park.
Devlin said, “Two massive moments. He's a young buck, and he's playing really, really well at training. The boys can tell you. There's so much more in him.
“There's times out there he’d frustrate the hell out of you, but he's only a young boy growing, and I think he's got a really bright future.
“But he's just got to keep his feet on the ground and know that that wasn't a perfect performance from him today at all.
“He's so much more in him than that. But yeah, he's got a couple of massive plays today.”
Devlin also highlighted the contribution of Byrne, whose return from injury provided a major boost to the Wee County.
“I suppose our substitutes today, they all made great impacts in the game, but 'Casey' Byrne today, he was a mammoth. Fair play to 'Casey', he's had his troubles with injuries.
“We played him in the O’Byrne Cup against Westmeath, and he started the year, and he took a rotten injury in the hamstring, and then he went away.
“We’ve a great medical team, Siofra (O’Mullan), he was able to work his way back and be patient with him.
“He had to be patient because he wants to play, give me minutes, and I've got to hold on here. You've got to be patient and wait your time.
“What a time out there to come back and get the job done for us. Everything he touched seemed to go to goal.”
The Louth manager revealed Byrne has been eager to return for weeks.
“He's been a man on a mission the last few weeks. Every time I look at him, he's giving me the eyeballs, play me, play me, play me, give me minutes.
“And again, to go in and do what he's done in the style that he did it, it will live forever for me anyway. I'll never forget what he's done there today. It was massive.
“But we've got to settle down and move on very quickly because there's a massive game on in the next game. Round two. We know it certainly won't be any easier.”