Familiar tale as Reds are ‘swept’ aside by ruthless Royal raiders
MOVE along there now; nothing to see here.
The Royals march on to a Leinster semi-final showdown with Kildare, leaving Louth to ‘re-group’ for the Qualifiers. Familiar summer territory. It’s 32 years and counting since the Reds managed to put one over their neighbours in the Leinster Championship and while there have been some agonising near misses in that time, this certainly wasn’t one of them.
Louth hung in stubbornly in the first period and even edged in front after the break, but they were outscored by 13 points to a goal in the final 25 minutes plus stoppage time as Meath racked up 27 scores without even finding a way past Craig Lynch in the Louth goal.
And that wasn’t for the wont of chances, as the Louth net led a charmed existence throughout the afternoon.
Call it brave or call it foolhardy, Colin Kelly opted to match Meath man-for-man and there wasn’t a sweeper or a packed defence in sight as the old rivals went at it hammer and tongs.
That might have been refreshing for the neutral, but there was only ever going to be one winner in that kind of gladiatorial swordfight and it turned into a bloodbath by the finish.
Meath may be on an upward curve under Andy McEntee, but they are no Dublin.
Even with a packed defence you might reasonably expect to ship a heavy defeat to the All-Ireland champions, but a sound rearguard strategy and solid defending should keep you in the mix against the Royals.
But Louth were cut open through the middle time and again, with Graham Reilly helping himself to some alarmingly simple scores in the second period.
The Reds also struggled to keep track of James Toher, Cillian O’Sullivan and Pauric Harnan and in the second-half Bryan Menton and Ronan Jones lorded it in midfield.
Louth’s attack-minded approach kept the scoreboard respectable for a time and when they edged ahead with Holcroft’s bizarre goal, Meath looked momentarily rattled.
But their response to all three Louth goals was telling.
They hit back with to two points when Jim McEneaney converted a first-half penalty to draw Louth level. Then they replied to Holcroft’s strike with seven points and conjured up six without reply to Conall McKeever’s 58th minute major.
In truth they should have been much further ahead when McEneaney slotted his 30th minute penalty.
It was a harsh award from Barry Cassidy as Conor McGill’s off the-interference with Eoin O’Connor looked minimal, but Anthony Williams appeared to be fouled in the build-up so justice was probably served in the end.
The goal allowed Louth to reach the interval just a point in arrears, 0-10 to 1-6.
But the devil was in the detail and Meath kicked seven wides and passed up goal chances for Donal Keogan, Cillian O’Sullivan and Graham Reilly, while lightning fast Bryan McMahon almost smashed the crossbar just before Louth scored from the penalty spot.
Louth also had goal chances with Anthony Williams blazing over and Paraic Smith thwarted by Paddy O’Rourke in what was the most clear-cut of opportunity of the day.
But adjourning just a point down must have given them a boost because they started the second-half brightly.
McEneaney should have dealt with a high ball into the square better in the first minute, although he did force O’Rourke into a save.
The ‘keeper made a dreadful double error moments later when his poor kick-out was picked up by Ronan Holcoft and as the Fechin’s man lined up his shot O’Rourke seemed to duck behind his goalline to retrieve a tee for the ensuing kick-out. Whether Holcroft saw that or just miss-kicked his shot is open to debate, but either way the ball bounced harmlessly into an empty net.
But Meath’s response was ruthless and ultimately decided the contest. Despite finding themselves two points up Louth continued their cavalier approach and when Meath moved up a gear they found space too easy to come by in the final third.
After Reilly and James Califf exchanged points, Meath kicked seven on the spin with Reilly helping himself to three and McMahon, Lenehan, Ruairi O Coileain and Ronan Jones also on target.
Conall McKeever raised Louth hopes momentarily by cutting the gap to five with 13 minutes of normal-time remaining, but again Meath quashed the rising before it started, kicking the last six points of the game.
This year Colin Kelly has 13 days, and not six, to whet his players’ appetites for the Qualifier campaign.
Regardless of the prep time, raising spirits for the back door route will be a challenge for the manager and his backroom team, but if league football deserves the attention and emphasis it now enjoys from teams at all levels, then surely there is still a merit in racking up championship matches and acclimatising young players to very different demands of summer football.
With the possible exception of Derry, the Reds should have nothing to fear in the round 1A draw, which takes place this morning (Tuesday).
The other teams in the hat are all at Louth’s level or below and a home draw is highly likely given that the Reds were away in Derry in the first round last summer.
That’s the immediate concern for Kelly, but the bigger picture is a different story and it still remains to be seen if he will lead Louth into Division 2 or be plotting for the Leinster Championship next term.
Meath didn’t leave Dublin 5 without their issues or concerns either. Andy McEntee will be happy with the 27-point haul, but Kildare won’t offer the same wide open spaces in O’Connor Park on Saturday week and he will be investigating the ease with which Louth prised open his full back line in the meantime.