Louth Footballers continue their upward curve with fourth win on the bounce

Allianz National League Division Two Round Six

Louth 1-10 Cork 0-10

It has been quite a while since celebrations such as this came following a home victory for the Louth Footballers. But at a sold out Pairc Mhuire Ardee, emotions among the fanbase were high as they witnessed another big win for their side. A fourth in row in this league campaign.

The home side came under pressure early on, having had to endure a purple patch from Cork that could’ve saw them go out of sight early. But Mickey Harte has once again instilled a never say die attitude in his troops, who rarely ever look beaten.

They recovered superbly to record a well-deserved three point victory, as a late first half goal from Ryan Burns reignited their flame.

Their barren run of form in front of the posts meant it was over the hour mark before they took the lead, but they never relinquished it. Some dogged defending at the death seeing them over the line and teeing up a promotion spot should they end the league with a win over Dublin on Sunday.

With a large breeze backing them up, it was the Rebels that dominated possession in the early stages of this contest.

Throughout the opening period they were content to play it patiently, over and back, happy to wait for the best scoring chances to appear.

For the first three minutes they kept the ball nicely and had other prolonged periods on the ball throughout the half. But while clinical when getting off their chances, on many occasions Louth forced turnovers and their pace in turning defence into attack was a huge asset.

Conor Corbett and Rory Maguire blasted over two scores from distance through this patient approach to play, but despite not getting forward often Louth still replied via Liam Jackson and Conor Grimes.

The Wee County pounced on any frailty in attack from the visitors, a mix of direct passing and pacey solo running being effective tactics against the elements in first 10 minutes. However, from here they went 20 minutes without a score, with two efforts that went short being all they produced.

In contrast Cork hit a purple patch, notching scores from five of their eight attacks via Sherlock (3), Luke Fahy and Chris Og Jones, who all raised white flags to open up a five-point lead.

And only for the interventions of James Califf there could’ve been goals for Sherlock and Jones too. After two more patient build ups, both had chances from close range only for the Dreadnots clubman to deny them with what turned out to be vital saves.

Louth needed an answer and one fast or risk the tie getting away from them. That answer came in the form of a goal on the half hour mark.

Following a good team move involving five different players, Liam Jackson was found just outside the square. He was duly brought down with the referee Fergal Kelly then pointing to the spot.

Ryan Burns was the man tasked with rattling the net and despite having his effort saved by Micheal Aodh Martin, he reacted quickly to the rebound, fisting it home to dubious scenes from the vocal home support.

Life got even tougher for the visitors soon after when full back Daniel O’Mahony was red carded for a high challenge on Conor Grimes, who despite only going off for a head injury assessment never returned to the field. He was replaced by veteran Bevan Duffy, who had a very strong game too.

In between O’Mahony’s dismissal came two more scores from Jackson and Tommy Durnin. Despite a late point from Tommy Walsh keeping the Rebels one in front, 1-4 to 0-8, at the break, all the momentum seemed to be with the home side now who were sure to come out with plenty of fire for the second half.

With an extra man and the wind to play with, the Wee County were expected to come out all guns blazing. And for large periods of the second half they were all over the visitors. They weren’t as slow and patient as Cork had been, but it didn’t stop the chances falling their way.

The problem was they weren’t making these opportunities count, with six of their first seven attempts failing to hit the target. The only score in the first 19 minutes of the second half coming from a monster effort from distance via Conor Early.

Chances were slim for Cork, but they were making them count, points from Sherlock and Fahy keeping them two in front despite only living off small bites of possession.

Against the elements, they struggled to create opportunities, despite a Donal McKenny Black card on 47 minutes evening out the numbers on the field for 10 minutes.

Louth were a well drilled defence and they made sure the Cork forwards were kept well away from the posts. Such was their dominance; the Munster men didn’t get another point in the final 20 minutes of play.

This was not from a lack of trying, as they launched plenty into the danger zones, but the likes of Peter Lynch were really on their game on Sunday, hoovering up any loose ball that came their way and continuing the first half trend of forcing turnovers.

While Harte may have the unwanted tag of a being a conservative type of manager in the past, against Cork he was not afraid to switch to a more attack focused philosophy.

This was seen in him sacrificing McKenny for Conal McCaul upon the end of his spell in the sinbin, while Craig Lennon and Jay Hughes were also deployed as he looked to add more arrows for his team's bow.

It worked a treat as their strike rate increased hugely in the final 15 minutes, taking five out of the seven opportunities that came their way. The scores coming via Lennon, Daire McConnon, Ciaran Downey, Tommy Durnin and a Downey free (the only score on day from Louth not from open play).

Durnin had a superb game for the Wee County, serving as a great option around the middle on a day where it was a keenly contested area of the pitch. Chipping in with two scores of his own being the icing on the cake.

It was the third of those five scores in a row which put Louth ahead for the first time on 62 minutes and they never relented it from here. Cork huffed and puffed, throwing everything late on in the hope of keeping their own promotion hopes alive.

However, it was Louth that were showing more hunger late on, getting to the ball first and winning some vital aerial possession when it mattered most to secure a well-earned and deserved three-point victory.

Next up is a date in HQ, with Louth entering into a huge final round tussle with Leinster kingpins Dublin this Sunday (Throw in 2PM). Can the Wee County once again upset the odds and secure history by making it three promotions in a row?

LOUTH: James Califf; Dan Corcoran, Peter Lynch, Donal McKenny; Leonard Grey, Ciarán Murphy, Conall McKeever; Conor Early (0-1), Tommy Durnin (0-2); Niall Sharkey, Liam Jackson (0-2), Conor Grimes (0-1); Dáire McConnon (0-1), Ciarán Downey (0-2, 0-1 frees), Ryan Burns (1-0). Subs: Bevan Duffy for Grimes (35), Craig Lennon (0-1) for Burns (45), Oisín McGuinness for Jackson (54), Conall McCaul for McKenny (57), Jay Hughes for McConnon (66), Paul Mathews for Durnin (74).

CORK: Micheál Aodh Martin; Maurice Shanley, Daniel O’Mahony, Tommy Walsh (0-1); Luke Fahy (0-2), Rory Maguire (0-1), Sean Meehan; Colm O’Callaghan, Ian Maguire; Eoghan McSweeney, Sean Powter, Ruairi Deane; Chris Óg Jones (0-1); Steven Sherlock (0-04, 0-2 frees, 0-1 45’), Conor Corbett (0-1). Subs: Brian O’Driscoll for McSweeney (54), Killian O’Hanlon for Jones (62), John O’Rourke for Corbett (62), Cian Kiely for Fahy (73), Mark Cronin for Sherlock (73). 
Referee Fergal Kelly (Longford)