'Westmeath showed us a way': Louth inflict historic back-to-back championship defeats on Dublin
Craig Lennon scored a crucial 67th minute goal for Louth against Dublin. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Strange times for Dublin football folk. Successive championship defeats in the same season for the first time in their history.
Almost as strange for Louth who reeled in 53 years to bridge the gap to their last senior championship win over Dublin.
Almost as significant was the 29 days in which they transformed themselves from distant 10-point losers to Dublin in a Leinster semi-final to three-point victors.
Not since Ger Brennan’s watch – last year’s Leinster final when they bagged three against Meath and the All-Ireland opening group defeat to Monaghan as they hit the net four times – had Louth gone this goal-crazy.
But James Maguire’s brace in as many minutes early in the second half transformed the game and it was Craig Lennon’s 67th minute major that won it for them.
For Dublin, they will lament just how frail they were for those Louth chances. There had been a change of goalkeeper before throw-in and Hugh O’Sullivan started but Evan Comerford will come into the frame for their second round do-or-die game.
You have to go back 16 years and the Leinster semi-final loss to Meath for the last time Dublin were sliced open for goals like this. The majority of them were avoidable, particularly Lennon’s.
Perhaps the losers' side of the draw and the potential return of Brennan to the sideline can rehabilitate them. They were good for large parts of this game but confidence is clearly an issue with just four wins from 11 games this season.
Earlier this year, Kevin McManamon admitted he was careful in talking about the current team for fear that he would be another voice from the county’s illustrious past coming back to haunt them. But any team with as many fledgling players as Dublin would find this season challenging.
The crowd may have been poor in size – 16,160 – but they were treated to an entertaining game that was nothing like the Portlaoise affair where Dublin won by double scores. Lennon availed of Dublin’s failure to deal with a Ciarán Downey two-point effort that came off the post and Dublin’s only response was a Cormac Costello free that was cancelled out by Paul Matthews having the last say.
For Maguire’s first goal in the 42nd minute, he received a ball down the line from Dáire Nally, drew a foul from Seán Bugler but referee Noel Mooney waved advantage and the midfielder duly took that, drilling the ball past O’Sullivan on his inside.
The second, Conor Grimes’ attempt to hook over a point fell into the square and Maguire was there to palm the ball to the net. Substitute Ciarán Byrne tagged on a point and Louth were four to the good. A 10-point turnaround from the interval.
The difference was three in the 50th minute when Brian Howard was set up by Bugler for a chance to level the game but Niall McDonnell kept it out.
Bugler drew over a two-pointer shortly afterwards and Niall Scully coupled it with a point to bring Dublin level in the 53rd minute. Dublin twice had to restore parity in the next three minutes as the game opened up.
Then it was Louth’s turn to tie matters on two occasions, Ciarán Kilkenny and Costello points immediately followed by Byrne’s third and Kieran McArdle’s first. The tit-for-tat nature was well and truly ended by Lennon’s goal. Dublin substitute Liam Smith will be kicking himself for putting it on a plate for him.
Despite being in a medical boot in the build-up, Louth captain Sam Mulroy was named to start and began the game. He was also off the mark inside the opening 10 minutes but the terms had seen laid down by Dublin.
They led 0-7 to 0-2 by the 11th minute, Costello’s two-point effort finding its range after Charlie McMorrow had picked off a couple of early points.
A Mulroy two-point free was a strong reply for Louth who then had two shots cleared off the line after they turned over Dublin’s kick-out following Mulroy’s score.
David Byrne was level to Craig Lennon’s strike and then Seán MacMahon had the awareness to keep out Maguire’s follow-up attempt. Costello then stung the gloves of McDonnell but the ball was at least parried over the bar.
Louth had their best spell with 1-2 in less than three minutes. Two white flags were raised before they feasted on another Dublin kick-out, Mulroy fed McArdle and he was given too much space to beat O’Sullivan.
Con O’Callaghan had a shot blocked by Dáire Nally but opened his scoring account with a fisted point in the 25th minute and then delivered a goal four minutes later. His Cuala club-mate Eoin Kennedy sent in a diagonal ball and O’Callaghan shrugged off the attentions of Donal McKenny to find the opposite corner of the net with the outside of his boot.
It was a goal we had been from the Dublin captain before and served as a reminder of his brilliance. It also electrified his team. Dublin posted three more points, a third from McMorrow, and the margin at the break was six, 1-12 to 1-6.
Louth were being bettered but Gavin Devlin had no fear. “I think Westmeath showed us a way,” he said of their provincial final win over Dublin.
“I think there was a period in the first half of the Leinster final and again in the second that Dublin got two five-point leads, but Westmeath stayed true and kept grinding and just kept to the process, next job, and they reeled Dublin back.
“We took a look at that in depth and we felt that if we got to that place and we were in it at half-time, we were six down, that we just got to stay with it to get down the stretch.”
C. Costello (0-8, 1 tp, 2 frees); C. O’Callaghan (1-3); S. Bugler (0-4, 1 tp); C. McMorrow, P. Small (0-3 each); K. McGinnis, N. Scully, C. Kilkenny (0-1 each).
S. Mulroy (0-5, 1 tpf, 2 frees); J. Maguire (2-0); C. Lennon (1-2); K. McArdle (1-1); C. Byrne (0-3); R. Burns (1tp), C. Downey, D. McDonnell (tp) (0-2 each); P. Matthews (0-1)
H. O’Sullivan; G. McEneaney, S. MacMahon, D. Byrne; C. McMorrow, N. Doran, E. Kennedy; C. Kilkenny, B. Howard; S. Bugler, K. McGinnis, N. Scully; P. Small, C. O’Callaghan (c), C. Costello.
L. Gannon for E. Kennedy (41); E. Dunne for K. McGinnis (inj 43); C. Murphy for G. McEneaney (45); L. Smith for N. Doran (inj 58); T. Lahiff for C. McMorrow (65).
N. McDonnell; D. Nally, E. Carolan, D. McKenny; C. Lennon, D. McDonnell, C. McKeever; S. Callaghan, C. Early; J. Maguire, S. Mulroy (c), C. Grimes; C. McCaul, C. Downey, K. McArdle.
R. Burns for C. Early (h-t); T. Durnin for S. Callaghan, C. Byrne for C. McCaul (both 42); P. Matthews for C. Grimes (52); L. Gray for J. Maguire (64).
N. Mooney (Cavan)
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
