Easy to see why Brennan wanted centurion Duffy back involved with Louth seniors

FOR the second year in a row, Louth booked their place in the Leinster championship semi-final on Sunday afternoon and similar to last season’s quarter-final victory over Westmeath, it wasn’t all one-way traffic.

With five minutes remaining in the first half, Louth supporters were questioning whether they would be gearing up for a tie against Kildare at headquarters in two weeks’ time.

Louth, playing against a stiff breeze in the first half, invited Wexford on, opting to get back in big numbers while applying little pressure to the ball carrier. At times, there was no contact from Louth, which resulted in Wexford picking off scores at ease from inside the 50-yard line.

While both teams traded points early on, Niall McDonnell’s fantastic fingertip save to deny Mark Rossiter, after 22 minutes, demonstrated that the championship debutant was in no mood to concede a goal.

Playing in a deeper role than normal, Ciarán Downey was the one Louth player who tried to take the game to Wexford throughout the first half. At every opportunity, he played with his head up and showed that he wanted to play that kick pass forward instead of passing laterally, just for the sake of it.

After a slightly lacklustre first half performance by the Wee county, Ciarán Keenan picked up the tempo when he ran at pace directly at the heart of the Wexford defence. Downey received a handpass from Anthony Williams and left Rory Turbitt helpless as he buried a super goal in the 33rd minute. Just what Louth needed before the halftime whistle. This was followed by a point by Tom Jackson to ensure Louth led by the minimum at the break. After Glen Malone equalised in the 38th minute, it was Louth who could have had the ball in the back of the net but both Ryan Burns and Sam Mulroy were denied. After the resulting play, corner-back Eoin Porter was shown a black card. Louth failed to capitalise and were unable to add to their tally. It was Wexford who provided the sole score in this period, which is something I’m sure will be discussed during the team’s post-match analysis.

Following this, fresh legs were required, and Ger Brennan ordered a triple substitution which resulted in Bevan Duffy earning his 100th cap for the county.

And ‘Bev’ made an almost immediate impression on proceedings, picking up Turbitt’s overhit kickout and playing an excellent, pinpoint pass with his left boot to Conall McKeever.

After good link-up play between McKeever and Conor Grimes, Downey took the ball and saw the open space left behind by Burns’ clever run to draw out his marker, who didn’t sense the imminent danger. Downey accelerated away from Kevin O’Grady. Like his first goal, he made no mistake with the finish, rifling it to the net, again with the outside of his right foot.

The gap was only four points before Mulroy slotted home his second penalty late on to seal the game and, overall, it wasn’t a display to be remembered and Brennan couldn’t have summed up Louth’s performance any better in his post-match interview, describing it in large parts as “flat” and “lethargic”.

The management team will know a sterner test awaits against a Kildare side who prevailed late on against Wicklow after a frantic ending.

The last word must go to my former teammate and close friend, Bevan Duffy, who turned up the century of appearances for Louth. He’s a talented sportsman – a Towns’ Cup winner with Boyne Rugby Club in 2010 and a scratch golfer, Bev excels at everything he puts his hand, mind or foot to.

A latecomer to the Louth senior panel, at 25, he was introduced to inter-county football by Aidan O’Rourke back in 2014. It is no wonder Brennan was keen to have him back involved for another year as he was always great for morale in the dressing room and knew what to say and when to say it.

His presence when introduced in the second half shows he still has what it takes to compete at the highest level.