Kelly glad of break for Red heroes
COLIN Kelly is looking forward to a free weekend to recharge and recuperate after his Louth side hit top spot in Division 3 on Sunday.
A narrow, hard-fought win over Longford, coupled with Tipperary’s surprise defeat to Sligo, saw the Reds assume sole command at the summit with a 100 per cent record from their two outings.
‘We are carrying little knocks,’ Kellt revealed. ‘Derek Maguire has a tight back, Andy McDonnell has a dead leg and Jim McEneaney picked up an ankle knock.
‘Ryan Burns has had a big programme of games this past couple of weeks with DCU in the Sigerson Cup and with us and Kevin Carr has a big workload too.’
‘It is great that we have a few days off now and they can enjoy tonight and enjoy Valentine’s Day. It is a good position to be in looking forward to the Offaly game in two weeks time.’
After keeping Longford at a safe distance for much of Sunday’s contest, Louth endured a very nervy finale as the midlanders pressed to earn a draw or better with a strong at their backs.
And the drama continued after the final whistle as Niall McKenna appeared to blow up a minute early. The Monaghan whistler only added three minutes after the fourth official had signalled four on the electronic board, and Kelly empathised with the Longford camp.
‘I wouldn’t like to be in that situation. As I said to Denis (Connerton), it is out of our hands what the referee does in terms of time, but if it was Louth we’d be disappointed as well.’
However, Kelly felt that a Longford equaliser would have been harsh on Louth.
‘In fairness it was probably flattering for them to be a point behind at that stage and if we hadn’t taken two points from the game it would have been very disappointing.’
It wasn’t a vintage display from the men in red, falling short of the heroics against Laois, who subsequently beat Armagh on Sunday, but Kelly was expecting a tougher test from Longford.
‘They are a good side. I saw them last week against Offaly and I’ve done a bit of analysis on them over the last couple of weeks.
‘I’ve watched their championship performances and some of the results they got in Qualifiers would suggest they are a good side.
‘They competed comfortably in this division last year so we knew it was going to be difficult and they were probably a step up from Laois.
‘We said all week at team meetings that it’s about getting a standard performance. The performance against Laois has to be the standard for this team. That’s where we need to get to.
‘Today we showed a different side. It was gritty and it was determined and I knew by the way we set up, and the way we play, that the wind wasn’t going to impinge on us that much [in the second-half].
‘It did in terms of shooting, but not in terms of how we transitioned the ball into the scoring zone. I knew we’d get opportunities and once we were ahead at half time it meant they were chasing the game and we could sit back and suck it up and that’s the way it panned out.
‘We probably should have been three or four points further ahead and we missed a couple of really good opportunities towards the end of the match but it’s two points, we’re top of the league and it’s a nice place to be.’
It is great that we have a few days off now and they can enjoy tonight and enjoy Valentine’s Day.