Brave Reds fall at final hurdle in Leinster
ELECTRIC IRELAND MINOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
LOUTH’S dreams of landing a first Leinster Minor title since 1953 ended in bitter disappointment as their hopes were crushed by a slick Dublin side at Croke Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Wee County produced some magnificent displays to reach a first decider in 46 years but there was to be no fairytale for this brave side as they simply had no answer to a talented and powerful Dublin outfit.
Despite going into the game as underdogs, Louth quite rightly brought with them a good degree of confidence but crucially that was shattered inside seven minutes when Dublin rattled in two quickfire goals.
On such a huge occasion for these young players, Wayne Kierans’s side would have needed a bright start to settle their nerves, but instead it was the Dubs who took a firm grip on the game as goals from James Madden and James Doran helped their side to lead by eight points inside as many minutes.
After that it was always going to be an uphill task and although Louth did battle back to within five points at one stage, Dublin always appeared to have an extra gear at even the mere hint of a revival.
All the characteristics that have allowed the Dublin senior team to dominate football in recent years were evident in their minor counterparts as the young Dubs proved that they also have talent, determination, fitness, focus and discipline in abundance.
When you add in their relentless approach, clever running off the ball, support play and physical strength they make it very difficult for any team to halt their progress as Louth found to their cost on Sunday.
The young players from the Wee County couldn’t be faulted for their effort and honesty but unfortunately on this occasion it wasn’t enough to see them cause an upset.
So impressive were Dublin that at times they appeared to have an extra man, while the fact that they finished the game with 11 different scorers points to a squad that is blessed with talent and strength in depth.
It didn’t take long for Dublin to put their mark on the game as with less than 25 seconds on the clock they had opened the scoring through Ross McGarry, and the same player added a second on five minutes.
Louth were looking nervous in the opening exchanges but when John Gallagher landed a superb point on six minutes, the sizeable support in Croke Park were hoping that this would settle their team.
However, that hope didn’t last long as within a minute Dublin had two goals on the board. Firstly, James Madden sliced through the defence before planting the ball in the net, and straight from the restart James Doran got in behind to find the roof of the net.
Ross McGarry added his third point to make it 2-3 to 0-1 after just eight minutes and it could have been worse soon after but goalkeeper Alan McGauley made a fine block to deny Hawkshaw a third goal. Unfortunately for the keeper he picked up an injury in the process and had to be replaced soon after.
Over the course of the campaign it has been Louth’s habit to respond well after a slow start and they threatened to continue that pattern by kicking three unanswered points. The impressive Ciaran Keenan kicked two frees – the second of which was confirmed by Hawkeye - while Fearghal Malone landed a fine effort from the left on 16 minutes.
It was 2-3 to 0-4 at that stage and a goal might have really given the Wee County a lift, but in truth they never really looked like breaching the strong a disciplined defence at any time during the game.
Instead it was Dublin who replied with a David Lacey ‘45’ after good defending had prevented another goal. Man of the Match, Kieran Kennedy, whose energetic performance summed up what was good about Dublin then added a point on 22 minutes.
Another Ciaran Keenan point kept Louth in contention but cutting the gap to 2-5 to 0-5 seven minutes before the break.
However, before the half time whistle sounded even that faint hope was all but extinguished as Dublin’s pace and movement in attack yielded a further six points from Lacey (3), Hawkshaw (2) and Eoin O’Dea to lead by 2-11 to 0-5.
Tom Gray’s side stretched their advantage at the start of the second half when O’Dea and Daniel Brennan pointed either side of a John Gallagher ‘45’. Sub goalkeeper, Adam Molloy, then came to Louth’s rescue when he pulled off a good save to deny Hawkshaw on 37 minutes.
Despite the scale of the task, Louth refused to give up and with Leonard Grey and James O’Reilly helping to push them forward, they managed back-to-back points from Gallagher and Keenan. Ben Mooney had a brief sight of goal but in keeping with the day, the Dublin defence reacted swiftly to snuff out the chance.
James Doran pointed to make it 2-14 to 0-8 on 44 minutes, while at the other end Conor Gillespie was hauled back as he looked set to get in on goal, with Gallagher slotting over the resultant 13m free.
An excellent Mark Tracey point was followed by two points from lively sub Ciaran Archer to make it 2-17 to 0-9, before Louth were dealt another blow when Leonard Grey was unlucky to pick up a black card on 53 minutes.
A John Gallagher free got Louth into double figures for the day before Liam Jackson set over another good point, with Keenan then making it three in succession on 60 minutes.
Molloy pulled off another good save to deny McGarry but it was Dublin who had the final say in injury time as Luke Doran and Archer fired over to increase the gap to 13 by the time the final Pictures: Ray Mcmanus / SPORTSFILE
whistle sounded.
DUBLIN: David O’Hanlon; Darren Maher, Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne, Liam Flatman; Kieran Kennedy 0-1, Neil Matthews, Eoin O’Dea 0-2; Mark Tracey 0-1, Donal Ryan; Daniel Brennan 0-1, James Doran 1-1, James Madden 1-0; Ross McGarry 0-3, Sean Hawkshaw 0-2, David Lacey 0-4. Subs: Adan Byrne for D Brennan (38), Ciaran Archer 0-3 for D Lacey (47), Aaron Lynch for D Maher (51), Luke Doran 0-1 for E O’Dea (54), Karl Lynch Bissett for M Tracey (56), Eoghan Joyce for S Hawkshaw (59).
LOUTH: Alan McGauley; Alan Connor, Philip Trainor, Dan Corcoran; Leonard Grey, Eoghan Callaghan, James O’Reilly; Liam Jackson 0-1, Conor Morgan; Gerry Garland, Conor Gillespie, Fearghal Malone 0-1; Ben Mooney, Ciaran Keenan 0-5 (5f), John Gallagher 0-5 (3f 1 45). Subs: Adam Molloy for A McGauley (20), Conor Nicholson for F Malone (h/t), Shane Hickey for C Morgan (37), Nicholas Browne for B Mooney (blood, 46), Shane Byrne for C Gillespie (49), Keelan O’Neill for G Garland (51), Dean McGreehan for L Grey (BC, 54).
REFEREE: Patrick Maguire (Longford).