White fits the midfield mould
December 30, 2009Unfortunately for supporters of the Wee County the 2009 end-of-term report reads no different and a year that began with silverware before the end of January ended with Louth County Board searching for a new senior team manager to replace the departed Eamonn McEneaney.
Despite signalling their intentions by winning the O'Byrne Cup with a 1-17 to 1-10 win over DCU at the end of January, it proved to be a very frustrating year for a playing panel that was desperate to show a significant improvement after the disappointments of 2008.
The early season promise suggested that Eamonn McEneaney's charges would be making a push for promotion from Division 3 and while that challenge failed to materialise they did manage to avoid the dreaded drop to Divison 4.
It didn't get any better in the Leinster Championship as a first round victory over Carlow was followed by a poor display against Laois as Louth made their exit in Parnell Park at the quarter-final stage.
There was even more disappointment to follow as the Qualifiers saw the Wee County drawn against a rejuvenated Tipperary. Even a home draw wasn't enough to give Louth the edge as the Premier County booked their passage through to the second round.
Overall there was a feeling of great disappointment that the team had under-achieved during the season, but, looking on the bright side, one of the few positives was the emergence of Brian White as a first choice on the county team.
The Cooley Kickhams man has been involved with the county panel for a number of years but he will have good reason to remember this campaign as the one that saw him cement his place in the side.
Up to this year he had been used primarily in the forward line, but his move to the midfield sector has undoubtedly seen him produce his best form in the red jersey.
"I was picked at midfield for the Qualifier game against Tyrone last year and the manager decided to give me a run this season. I have to say that I enjoyed it because I prefer playing in the middle as I like getting on the ball and trying to pick out a player in attack.
"Naturally you see a lot more of the ball in midfield and it is easier to get into the game. Sometimes when you are in the forwards and the ball is not coming it can be difficult to get involved," explained Brian.
It was clearly evident in the early part of the year that the Cooley man was enjoying his new role and his form, allied with his ability to take scores, was a significant factor in Louth's O'Byrne Cup success, which at the time gave everyone in the squad great encouragement.
"Naturally we were delighted to win the O'Byrne Cup and although it is not one of the main competitions, there aren't many cups in county football so it was great to win it," he added.
Although it was still very early in the season, many people were expecting Louth to push on from there and really challenge for promotion to Division 2, and Brian states that the feeling in the camp was that they did have the ability finish in the top two.
The sense of optimism among players and supporters was on the increase after a comprehensive 1-14 to 0-6 win over Limerick at Drogheda in the first round of the league at the beginning of February.
As a result, the Wee County made the short trip to Newry with plenty of confidence, knowing that victory would set them up for a serious challenge for promotion.
However, despite an encouraging performance Louth ended up on the wrong side of a 1-13 to 1-12 scoreline and while many felt that there were many positives to be taken from the game, it proved to be the beginning of Louth's poor run of form.
For Brian it remains difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong from that game but it is a great source of frustration that they couldn't build on the O'Byrne Cup form.
"There was a good deal of optimism at the start of the year because when we looked at our division we felt we were capable of beating each one of the teams if we performed to our best, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way.
"We had been going really well up to the Down game. The training was really good and everyone seemed to be enjoying it. Added to that was the fact that we were winning games and also putting up good scores, but after Newry it all seemed to go downhill for us.
"We competed very well against a good side on that night but were caught with a late goal. We didn't have Darren Clarke and he had been in great form up to that and we missed a few crucial frees - myself included. We also missed a penalty in that game and this was to prove to be the story of our season.
"Despite that loss, we felt we had a chance to get back to winning ways against Offaly. However, on a really bad day we let them build up a good lead and then fought back to draw level before a very dubious free allowed them snatch a one-point victory," explained White.
At that stage Louth were left with a battle to remain in the promotion hunt but their hopes disappeared when Roscommon left Drogheda with both points in the fourth game and Brian believes it was the Connacht men's superior strength that was crucial.
"Even before the Roscommon game we still thought we had a chance of going up but that defeat seemed to knock the confidence out of us. They were a big, strong side that really overpowered us on the day.
"After that it was a matter of us battling to stay up so it was a big game against Longford in the next outing. We were trailing at half-time but thankfully we came back to win. Everybody took confidence from that into the next game against Cavan and we won again so it was a big relief to avoid the drop down to Divison 4."
All involved with the Louth camp were hoping to put that league form behind them as they prepared for the championship and after seeing off Carlow narrowly in the opening round at Parnell Park, the Wee County could prepare for a quarter-final meeting with Laois.
Although it was a tough prospect, Brian points out that Louth went into the game believing they had the ability to win, but once again they didn't perform on the day.
"After the win over Carlow there was a good deal of confidence in the squad and we were also playing well in challenge matches so we did feel we could get past Laois. Again I don't know what happened to us on the day but we left ourselves with far too much to do and although we did come back in the end, it was too late. We really have to learn how to stop teams from dominating us and building up big scores like they did that day," explained Brian.
The Wee County did have the opportunity to redeem themselves in the Qualifiers at home to Tipperary but against an emerging side based on a strong U-21 team, Brian and his colleagues again turned in a disappointing display and made their exit from the championship.
Overall it was a disappointing year, but the Kickhams player is hoping that the players can rally and have another go next season.
"Everyone always looks forward to the start of a new season and I suppose we have to aim to get out of Division 3. Once again we know we have the ability to compete with the teams there but we just have to perform and hopefully we can go into the championship with a bit of confidence on the back of good performances."
Hopefully, for Brian and his team mates, the review of the 2010 season will see Louth deliver on the optimism that goes with the start of every new campaign. Tweet
