Louth hero Downey eyes shot at Leinster final redemption

He claimed to be “lucky” with his two wonder goals but that had little to do with it and Louth star Ciarán Downey is now eyeing up a shot at Leinster SFC final redemption.

Downey blasted a spectacular goal in each half to help Ger Brennan’s side eventually overcome some stubborn Wexford resistance but it was far from vintage stuff with the result the only currency that mattered to the Newtown Blues clubman.

“It wasn’t the best performance in the world and there are a lot of things that we really need to clean up on but the first day out is always tricky and we’re happy enough to get over the line in the end,” Downey said after his man-of-the-match display.

“It’s just about getting over the line but we train that much and we put a lot of effort in, we do want to be performing. We saw a few bits but you’re not going to get four goals every day. We will have to clean up a bit.”

Downey’s two expert finishes were two aspects of Louth’s play that were faultless, however

“At this stage at this level, I’d take any goal. I’m happy with the two finishes, the gaps opened up and I’m happy to get through them,” he said before detailing his first effort.

“I could see Kiki (Ciarán Keenan) coming across the edge of the ‘D’ and he’s brilliant, I was just hoping he’d hold it enough for me and he popped it to Anthony (Williams) and I got the pass.

“We were probably under a bit of pressure and it was worse-case scenario to pull the trigger. If it went over the bar, I was taking a point but it crept in. I was lucky to get the finish for the second one.”

Louth have just two Leinster SFC final appearances since 1960, but they are now just one win away (against Kildare in the semi-final) from successive provincial deciders and the opportunity to exorcise some ghosts after last year’s 5-21 to 0-15 hammering to Dublin.

“Croke Park is where you have to play the big-time football if you want to call it. We need to clean up a lot of things and put in a performance. Kildare are a top team, they really are. They’re a massive county with a big tradition,” he said.

“They definitely won’t be fearing us coming so we’re looking forward to it.

The Leinster final last year was very frustrating because Dublin are that good but we’re not that bad.

“We know that we probably didn’t do ourselves credit that day and we’ve watched it back actually over the last couple of weeks and we were well in that game at times. I’d like to get another crack at it.”

Downey is excelling in a more central berth under Brennan, often in the middle of the park, and he’s loving his football under the former Dublin star.

“It’s my sixth or seventh year now at this stage. The boys are laughing that all of a sudden you end up as an experienced player and climbing up the other end of the ladder. I’m only 26, I’m young enough and enjoying it.”