Since 1995, the Reds have bettered Division 1 opposition just once in the summer series and that was a fairly hopeless Westmeath outfit a decade ago. So it could be argued that the 2010 victory over Kildare is the Wee county’s most recent success of significance.
They had Monaghan by the goolies midway through the second half on Sunday afternoon, ahead by five points and totally controlling the affair. And while it wasn’t quite a case of choking, considering they rescued a share of the spoils courtesy of a well-struck free by Sam Mulroy, they were certainly guilty of gifting the Farney natives a route back into the contest.
Leading 2-9 to 1-7 after 53 minutes, Ciarán Downey had a 25m mark, straight in front of the posts, to widen the margin to almost unassailable territory. With his teammates having retreated in anticipation of the ball going dead at the very least, the Newtown Blues clubman, whose right knee was heavily strapped, dropped his shot weakly into the grasp of Rory Beggan.
Cue a Monaghan attack.
In front by 2-9 to 1-8 on 63 minutes, goalkeeper Niall McDonnell gave Dan Corcoran possession but the full-back, who had performed so well in snuffing out the influence of Jack McCarron, sent a wayward kick crossfield, into the path of Micheál Bannigan and with nobody minding the net, the receiver buried it from 30m or so.
Cue a Monaghan revival.
A play later, Louth won a free on the right side of the target, along the 20m line. Mulroy, who was otherwise flawless from his set-piece efforts, opted to use his weaker left foot in a bid to convert but he pulled the shot and it came out off the upright. Again, his colleagues had withdrawn and in position to concede the restart.
Cue a Monaghan offensive which ended with Conor McManus levelling the contest from a free of his own.
In any game, there will be dozens of events that can be reflected upon as contributors to a particular outcome. But, for Louth, had any of the three been more favourable, the probability is that they would have departed the Clones venue with the statement victory Wee have long craved.
“It was there for the taking and the stats still remains,” said manager Ger Brennan. “You’re aware sometimes of the legacy that’s there and we got ourselves into a position to win the game but did fight back not to lose.”
That they did, after Beggan’s late free looked set to trigger another Monaghan get out of jail exhibit. Indeed, even post-Mulroy’s levelling punt, it took a heroic piece of defending by Conor Grimes, in hurling himself at the feet of Ryan O’Toole, to put the Farney kicker off as he attempted to curl over a last-gasp point.
THE ISSUES
While Louth are carving opponents apart, inspired by the genius of Ciarán Keenan up front, and prolific at poaching goals, the lack of a scoring spread is worrying. Just five players registered in the win over Meath, while Monaghan, with 10, shared the burden among twice as many as the Reds did.
Now, there are two ways to assess that particular statistic. Mulroy is being granted free-taking chances due to the effectiveness of Louth’s weaving patterns of play, which lure desperate challenges, while, at the opposite end, there is a palpable discipline to how the Reds are tackling and ensuring marquee forwards are nullified.
But of their 20 points across both All-Ireland matches, 13 of them have come from the captain, who is yet to notch a minor from play. Keenan, meanwhile, was man-of-the-match and absolutely pivotal to the first half goals scored by Craig Lennon and Grimes but he didn’t register himself, leaving Ryan Burns (2) and Downey to complement Mulroy’s tally alone.
Louth finished with three wides and two shots which dropped short, so it’s not even as though they are being erratic in front of the posts.
This could all be construed as nit-picking but the reality remains that if the Reds had mustered just a point or two more in the general exchanges, regardless of the source, they would have prevailed and unless this is addressed, it is certain to be costly and possibly fatal, particularly when faced by the Sam Maguire Cup’s most clinical pursuers.
“We’re looking to broaden the spread of scorers… It would certainly help.”
Amen.
MONAGHAN: Rory Beggan 0-1 (1f); Ryan Wylie, Killian Lavelle, Ryan O’Toole 0-1; Conor McCarthy 1-0, Kieran Duffy 0-1 (1m), Jason Irwin; Gary Mohan 0-1, Joel Wilson 0-1; Michael Hamill, Micheál Bannigan 1-1, Stephen O’Hanlon; Ryan McAnespie, Jack McCarron 0-1 (1f), Ciarán McNulty 0-1. Subs: Karl O’Connell for Duffy (HT), Conor McManus 0-2 (2f) for McCarron (46), Andrew Woods for O’Connell (54), Seán Jones for Hamill (63), Micheál McCarville for Wilson (70).
LOUTH: Niall McDonnell; Donal McKenny, Dan Corcoran, Peter Lynch; Niall Sharkey, Anthony Williams, Conall McKeever; Tommy Durnin, Conor Grimes 1-0; Ciarán Downey 0-1, Bevan Duffy, Craig Lennon 1-0; Ciarán Keenan, Sam Mulroy 0-7 (6f, 1 45), Ryan Burns 0-2. Subs: Leonard Grey for Lennon (55), Ciarán Byrne for Downey (55), Paul Mathews for Sharkey (66), Tom Jackson for Burns (67)
REFEREE: Fergal Kelly (Longford).
