Mickey Harte taking it one game at a time as Louth prepare for Croker Showdown

If you ever wanted an example of a tale of two halves, a clear example was found last Sunday afternoon in Navan.
Louth looked dead and buried as they disappeared down the tunnels and underneath the packed stand at Pairc Tailteann. One filled largely with those in red, who were simply shellshocked by what they had witnessed.

But if there is one thing this group has taken on board since coming under the tutelage of Mickey Harte, it is a never say die attitude. Those words have probably never appeared more on this site than they have over the past three years.

Eight points down, The Wee County found a second half flurry to take down a Westmeath side that had been coasting along. Somehow, backed by 2-4 in the second half, the roller coaster of emotion that is Louth Football ended with a big Leinster victory.

“Maybe it is good for your heart - if you can stick that you can stick anything” laughed Harte when asked if days like this were a detriment to our most vital organ.

“It was just one of those games. Westmeath came out of the traps fast, they got a good number of scores and were building up a decent lead without getting a goal. Then they got their goal just before half-time, which almost seemed to seal the deal for them.

“In many ways, it was probably the worst thing to happen to them because without that goal they still would’ve been in a strong position and probably would have been more reflective on how they needed to play in the second-half.

“And maybe we wouldn’t have had this real desire to come out and get some sort of credibility out of the game because at that stage, at half-time, that was kind of what it was about.

“We were playing for honour as much as anything. You didn’t talk about the outcome or the result.”

After such a torrid opening 35 minutes, many managers would delve into the Alex Ferguson playbook. Try giving their charges the old ‘hairdryer treatment’ as a way of motivating their stars back into action. In others shout at them. And shout loudly.

While the Tyrone man did keep his players back for longer than the allocated time the GAA sets them, leaving the opposition stirring out on the field, this wasn’t because of any scuffles amongst the backroom team and players. They instead focused on reflecting on the game up to this point.

“There were no tea-cups (thrown)” he admitted.

“There was a sense of reality about it all. We talked to them about the things that happened in the first-half, showed them a bit of evidence about what we missed, about how we were a bit passive in our defensive side of the game.

“We really gave them a belief that anything was possible, and I think that was the main thing, to give them the belief that we could still go at this game.

“If you played with a real heart and drive, which I knew those players had, then they’d come in with their heads held high and while it mightn’t have been the result we wanted, at least we would have been proud coming in off that field again.

“So they really restored the pride in the jersey in that second-half and then they got the bonus of winning. It’s a good ending I’ll tell you that.”

The prize for this comeback is another date in Croke Park, as they head back to the Semi-finals of the Leinster Championship for the first time since 2010.

While most pundits would’ve expected a clash with Meath, instead The Wee County will collide with Offaly this Sunday (Throw in 1:45PM).

The Faithful Men hosted the Royals not long after Louth had booked their place in HQ, with the result in O’Connor Park bringing about the largest Offaly roar since they landed the U20 All Ireland crown.

Of course, that shock was not known to Harte when speaking after Louth’s win. He instead focused on his troops needing to get back into gear, forget about this match and concentrate on making the most of another date in HQ.

“The prep time is the same as the opposition, they’ve no more time then us” added Harte.

Two late goals see Meath account for Louth Minors

Two late goals see Meath account for Louth Minors

“There is little time to enjoy these successes, you just need to take any learning you can from it and begin to focus on the next challenge.

“I’ve said it over the years, whatever team I’m with, you always want to be in Croke Park as often as you can, you want to get that experience. It doesn’t matter if it is not the biggest game in the world. There is no better place to play.

“It is what it is (the short turnaround), I really don’t care at this stage as just being in the semi-final is what matters most. We will try and get the bodies recovered in the next week and if we can go out and acquit ourselves with pride, whatever the outcome it will be good.”