Nothing like a championship win
THE news that Louth had ended their 2018 eight-match losing streak on Sunday afternoon in Ruislip was greeted around the county with a sense of relief rather than jubilation.
Well done to Pete McGrath and his squad of players on this excellent victory and the manner in which they carried it out.
The fixture was a kind of ‘no win’ scenario for Louth. Expected to win, but the knives were being sharpened in case of a slip up.
I didn’t travel to Ruislip but like many other Wee county followers I listened in to Colm Corrigan’s live broadcast from McGovern Park in West London.
The most important thing for an away game like this was to have the attitude right and despite weeks of doubt and criticism, Pete McGrath and his management team had the players in the right frame of mind for this contest.
A positive start was also crucial and that’s exactly what the Andy McDonnell led side did, posting three points on the board in the opening two minutes.
London replied with a well-taken goal on 10 minutes but the men in red responded positively to this setback and goals from Ronan Holcroft and Conor Grimes had us in a comfortable five point lead (2-12 to 1-10) at the interval.
Five unanswered points in the early stages of the second half, three from the boot of chief scorer William Woods, eased tensions among the small band of travelling supporters.
The Exiles, who had former Roche player Martin Carroll in their ranks, refused to lie down and closed the gap to four with 15 minutes to play. But Louth were not to be denied and finished out this first round Qualifier at a canter scoring at will in the closing stages.
After the ‘Annus Horriblis’ that has been 2018 thus far, we found ourselves in pot one of the second round Qualifier draw on Monday.
The beaten provincial semi-finalist included Tipperary, Clare, Leitrim, Sligo, Down, Monaghan, Longford and Carlow.
There were a couple of teams the Louth camp would obviously have wanted to avoid but they’d have fancied their chances in a once off game against at least half of those counties.
As it happened, for the second draw in succession, we were handed probably the most favourable assignment we could asked for in the shape of Leitrim.
Suddenly things are looking a little brighter. There really is nothing like a championship victory to lift the gloom!!
NOT THE SAME
THE 2018 World Cup starts this week in Russia but it just doesn’t feel the same with the Boys in Green not there. When you think back to the anticipation and expectation that preceded the Euro 2016 competition when both the Republic and Northern Ireland were involved, you begin to experience the sense of loss that we were not taking part.
It’s like watching your neighbour throwing the best party of the summer but you’re not invited. You can look on enviously at all that is happening and peep curiously through the curtains at the drama and excitement but ultimately you don’t really care if they have a good time or not.
In fact you might secretly hope for a bit of rain and some controversy to put a damper on the festivities.
If we had beaten
Denmark back in November then the country would have been a completely different over the last few months.
Instead we’ll just have to settle for picking a favourite among the minnows to latch onto and offer our support. England are drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Panama and Tunisia.
Now while there’s nothing more than I’d like for Gareth Southgate’s side to be humbled by their group opponents, the truth is our interest will only diminish further should the old enemy suffer an early exit. No, I’d much prefer the ‘three lions’ progress through the competition to the semi-finals where they suffer another tragic defeat.
SYMPATHY
FINALLY we would like to extend our sympathies to the families of Dundalk Gaels player Conor Morgan, Louth Ladies Manager Michael McKeon and Kitty O Donnell.