Louth determined to make Micheal proud in final

FOR LEINSTER GLORY

THE build-up to any championship final is a testing time for every squad. Not only is it a case of ensuring that individually and collectively players are in peak physical condition, but there is also the equally important matter of mental preparation.

Being in the right frame of mind is crucial for any team and while every squad has to deal with pre-match nerves, very few have ever had to deal with the upheaval suffered by Louth as they prepared for Sunday’s Leinster Junior Championship Final against Carlow.

The passing of Louth Ladies manager, Micheal McKeown, has most certainly cast a shadow over the game against Carlow on Sunday, and while it puts the importance of sport into context, it certainly had an impact on the Wee County’s preparations.

The popular Annaghminnon Rovers clubman took ill on the morning of Louth’s comfortable semi-final victory over Kilkenny and passed away two days later, leaving the Louth GAA community in shock.

The news certainly had a huge impact on the Louth squad and while experienced goalkeeper Una Pearson admits that it has been a very tough time for everyone involved, they are determined to use the experience as motivation ahead of the game in Carlow. She pointed out that the manner in which they have dealt with situation is a measure of just how close the squad is and hopefully that will stand to them on Sunday.

‘It was very hard to get our heads around what happened but we are a very close-knit group and that has helped us get through it all.

‘We had a bit of get together the week Micheal passed away to have a good chat about it and are determined to use is as motivation for the remainder of the season,’ explained the Kilkerley/Dowdallshill custodian.

‘We had our goals from the start of the year but obviously the desire to achieve them is even greater now as we really want to do it for Micheal.

‘We have had a lot of support over the last few week with lots of people wishing us luck and that has been great for us all. It will be difficult but we are determined to stay focused on the day but there is no doubt that it will spur us on even more,’ she continued.

In footballing terms it was a challenge to find the right person to step into Micheal’s shoes but Una is confident that they have found the right person in Darren Bishop to take the reins.

‘Given what happened it was important to have someone over us who already knew the players and the set-up. Having Darren come in is ideal because he did a lot of coaching with us since March so he knows the players and he has also analysed a lot of our matches.

‘I think that is a big plus for us but also the fact that he was so close to Micheal is very important. I don’t think we would have felt right with someone coming in that didn’t know us or know Micheal so having Darren on board is really making the best of a difficult situation and hopefully we can come out with the right result on Sunday,’ added Una.