Leinster SFC semi-final: Louth 0-17 Kildare 0-13
Ger Brennan joked around afterwards about having an old Dublin jersey in his bag, and he was off to the Hill with a few cans to cheer on his former team. This being shortly before Dublin’s subsequent 20-point dismantling of Offaly.
Truth is Brennan knows as well as anyone what he faces next in his first season as Louth manager. He wasn’t around last year (when Dublin won with 21 points to spare), but will embrace the occasion in his own way, knowing as he also does now how rare they come around for a team like Louth.
After inflicting a four-point defeat and further misery on Kildare, ending their hopes of keeping alive a summer of Sam Maguire football, it sets up Louth with a second successive Leinster final for the first time since 1957-58. There was a nervy ending when Kildare got it back to three points in added time, still it was a game Louth never looked like losing.
“It is what it is, only really a bit of a sideshow, the fact that I am a Dub,” Brennan said of that final, back in Croke Park on Sunday week. “And look it, context is hugely important for teams like Louth, who aren’t in Leinster finals that often. So this is a massive achievement for the whole group, and the work that’s gone into it.”
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Louth were unquestionably the better team here, playing with greater confidence and intent compared to Kildare, who are enduring one of their worst seasons in living memory. They needed to make the Leinster final to avoid being sent into the draw for the Tailteann Cup, and while manager Glenn Ryan didn’t hide his “extreme disappointment”, he appeared at a bit of a loss to explain it.
“None of us wanted to be in this position, but we are,” he said. “And it’s not by accident, we didn’t get our names pulled out of a hat. We’re in the situation now because of results which haven’t been good enough, so that’s something we have to accept.”
Kildare squeezed past Wicklow in the quarter-final, raising some temporary spirits perhaps; only the more this game wore on the more their shortcomings were revealed, particularly in front of goal.
“It’s not a performance I was expecting,” added Ryan. “I thought the way we’d gone about the last two weeks, I really thought they were primed for a good showing, a showing that would reflect them, but we didn’t get it.
“We created more scoring chances than we’ve done all year, but that conversion rate, which has been an issue all year, manifested itself. I think in the second half we won 50 per cent of their kickouts, which isn’t a stat you usually see in the modern game. So there was a lot of good stuff out there, but ultimately the poor outweighed the good.”
Kildare did raise something of a game in the second half, after trailing by four points at the break, still Louth never let them within a sniff of victory. The excellent Sam Mulroy led the way, finishing finished with 0-7, including two from play, while Conor Grimes was also in fine form.
Ryan reckoned Kildare had a third more shots than Louth, by the end. At times, though, their quality of shooting was dismal, and no one player was to blame. Kevin Flynn and Daniel Flynn and later Darragh Kirwan all showed flashes of potential, but any consistency fell through the floor. They finished with 10 wides.
“In the second half, Kildare did come out flying in the third quarter, but in fairness to our guys, they stuck at, showed great leadership, kept the scoreboard kicking over,” added Brennan.
“And we did remind the lads of the 16-point drumming they got [against Kildare] in the quarter-final, two years ago, a lot of the same lads were playing today. So the lads were very much on their toes, even though they were still a bit nervy at times.”
Louth finished the first half four points up, 0-10 to 0-6, already with eight different scores. Conditions were ideal, still Kildare somehow found the need to also rush their shots, or squander them altogether.
Feely hit Kildare’s first point on eight minutes, but was then guilty of some wayward shooting in that opening quarter as Louth began to establish some dominance. Against that run of play Kildare did manage to draw level, thanks to a Shane Farrell free, then edged a point in front. That was short-lived as Louth then hit five unanswered points, Grimes and Paul Matthews the pick of them.
Flynn did occasionally threaten the Louth goalmouth, his first score on 31 minutes ending Louth’s run of points, but he butchered a couple of goal chances too. In the end, two frees from replacement Paddy Woodgate briefly got them back to three points, but Louth stayed calm.
“I imagine it will be hard,” Ryann said of the challenge to raise spirits again for the Tailteann Cup. “But these fellas will regroup. No doubt about it.”
LOUTH: N McDonnell; D McKenny, D Corcoran, P Lynch; C McKeever, A Williams, N Sharkey (0-1); T Durnin (0-1), P Matthews (0-1); C Lennon (0-2), C Keenan, C Grimes (0-2); R Burns (0-1), S Mulroy (0-7, four frees, one 45), C Downey (0-1).
Subs: L Grey for Sharkey (52 mins), C Early for Burns (55), B Duffy for Corcoran (57), C Byrne for Matthews (68), C Murphy (0-1) for Downey (72).
KILDARE: M Donnellan; R Burke, S Ryan, M O’Grady; J Sargent, E Doyle, P McDermott; A Masterson, A Beirne; K O’Callaghan, N Kelly, S Farrell (0-3, all frees); K Feely (0-4, two frees), D Kirwan (0-2), D Flynn (0-1).
Subs: B Kelly for Beirne (40 mins), P Woodgate (0-2, both free) for Kelly (50 mins), T Archibold (0-1) for Burke (55 mins), L Killian for O’Callaghan (59 mins), S O’Sullivan for Masterson (68 mins)
Referee: Conor Lane (Cork).
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