Grimes ‘proud’ but fed up of moral victories

DESPITE both his and Louth’s performance being of a level to be proud of, Conor Grimes still cut a dejected figure following Sunday’s Leinster SFC final defeat by Dublin.

The Glen Emmets clubman kicked four points from play but his side lost a second half lead before suffering a 1-19 to 2-12 defeat at the hands of the All-Ireland champions.

And Grimes wasn’t in the mood to celebrate moral victories having lost a second successive provincial decider.

“We were competitive in the game for large periods and you have to be proud of that but, ultimately, you’re coming up here to win these games,” he said.

“It sounds bizarre and a long shot but you’re not going up to Darver in November to keep losing finals.

“I’m immensely proud of everyone and the hard work they put in. How much we’ve learned from last year and these games is a massive positive for the county and we’re going to take so much from it.

“We pushed them and I know they got away from us in the last 10 minutes or so but it was a tough battle and we’ll push on for the All-Ireland series. We’ve got such a young, hungry squad that is developing at a fast rate.”

Louth were in front at half-time and then in the aftermath of Ciarán Keenan’s goal midway through the third quarter but the Dubs summoned their famed burst, capitalising on an error and finding the back of the net to accrue an advantage they never looked likely to concede.

“We knew it was coming from the final last year,” Grimes said of Dublin’s power play.

“They kicked 1-8 in five or 10 minutes on that occasion but it felt a little bit different this time and that’s one of the learnings. We didn’t panic, stuck to our structure and gameplan, and kept going.

“Unfortunately, Dublin are just so clinical. There are games where you can give up plays or possessions and not get punished, and I thought we were very good in possession, but the couple of times we did give it away sloppily, we got punished and at this level, you can’t give it away ever.

“It’s very difficult to go through 70 minutes of that but we’re learning all the time. We’ve worked hard on a system and we conceded the kickouts; getting back into our defensive shapes and trying to turn them over.

“Our full-backs and half-backs, and our ’keeper, Niall McDonnell, were comfortable on the ball and that’s not a role Niall is used to playing. He adapted really well and everyone put their shoulder to the wheel for as long as we possibly could.

“But they’re just relentless and the appetite they have to keep going is phenomenal.”

As for how Louth set-up, Grimes paid tribute to the management for devising a strategy that ensured the Reds were far more competitive than they were at this stage 12 months ago.

“We had a discussion and Ger knows Dublin very well. He felt like he knew how to get at them and the management team came up with the best way they thought we could go toe-to-toe with them and keep in the game for as long as possible, to take the game down the home stretch.

“Unfortunately, they probably got away from us a little bit earlier than we would have liked – but that’s just Dublin. We knew how dangerous they would be on the counter-attack, once the game started to open up. They’re just so quick and can punish you from anywhere.

“Ger is all about championship. He wanted to come here and win this game. That’s the type of attitude Dublin have in that they’re in this competition to win it and relentless in that way.

“We really wanted to win the game, more than anything, and it’s just bitterly disappointing to fall short. But the way the squad is and the way the group is, there’s no reason why we can’t put our shoulder to the wheel and give the Leinster competition a bit rattle again next year.

“Though we still have so much to look forward to this year and tasty challenges. We’re not just in this All-Ireland to take part. We’re in it to get out of the group and push on.”