It was a disappointing year for Louth's junior footballers, who were well beaten by neighbours Meath in the first round of the provincial championship - 1-14 to 1-7 at Dowdallshill on Wednesday night, May 28. The Reds stayed with the Royals for much of the game, but a disputed penalty shortly after the restart effectively put paid to their challenge. Louth had home venue for their opening-round Leinster JFC clash with Meath and went into the St Brigid's Park contest high on confidence. The Wee County deployed eight senior panellists in their starting XV, so there was every reason to expect a big display. But Though the penalty that was awarded against them early in the second half may have been dubious, the Reds were always second-best in a disappointing encounter. The losers started impressively and took the game to Meath early on. When full forward David Dowling hit the net in the ninth minute, things were looking up. It seemed possible that Louth were on their way into the next round and that intercounty football in the region could receive a welcome boost. But the visitors moved ahead with three successive scores and Louth quickly faded, managing only two first-half points and trailing by 0-7 to 1-2 at the short whistle. (It could have been a lot worse but for some wayward Meath shooting before the interval.) The winners went even further ahead when John L Magee dispatched his penalty kick two minutes into the second half - a score which left them in an unassailable position. Substitute Derek Maguire clipped over a couple of frees for Louth, who refused to roll over, but Meath had an even more effective replacement in Dunderry clubman TJ Garry, whose four points (three from placed balls) assured them of a comfortable win in the end. One of the most frustrating aspects of this Louth performance was that only one of their starting forwards got on the scoresheet all evening (Dowling with 1-1), while the midfield pairing also failed to raise a flag between them. Thus, six of their eight scores (75%) came from the half back line and the bench, which is never going to be enough to win an intercounty championship match at any level. Louth received a perfect early fillip when St Brides clubman David Mackin ghosted forward from centre half back to get them up and running with a point after two minutes. Dowling's goal sent the Wee County into a 1-1 to 0-1 advantage and things were looking pretty good at this stage. But the home county didn't push home their advantage and allowed a Meath team comprising mostly of junior club players to battle back into contention. The Royals landed six consecutive points inside ten minutes to turn a three-point deficit into a three-point lead. The penalty goal moments after the restart galvanised them even further and Meath are not renowned for surrendering leads easily. Dowling's major was a peach, arriving at the end of a flowing Louth move that had the home support greatly encouraged. Cooley Kickhams midfielder Brian Donnelly started the move, linking up with Paddy Matthews and Errol Boyle, who picked out Dowling. The No.14 went past the Meath goalkeeper to tap to the net. But Meath stormed back with six points from six different sources and they never looked back after leading for the first time on 20 minutes. Sean O'Mahonys clubman Dowling managed a late point to close the hosts' first-half account but the Reds did already look a beaten team even though trailing by just a couple of points at the break. When the action resumed, everybody in Dowdallshill was bemused when the Dublin referee awarded a penalty for Padraig Rath's so-called infringement on Ian Dowd, and Magee made the most of his opportunity by firing to the net to sicken the Louth men. At 1-7 to 1-2, the game was up. Twice, Louth closed the gap to four, with scores from Young Irelands' Maguire and Armagh-based Benny McArdle, but Meath kept them comfortably at bay with instant replies. When the Reds managed back-to-back minors for the first time between the 46th and 48th minutes (via Matthews and Maguire) they found themselves within striking distance at 1-6 to 1-9, but they didn't score again until Maguire split the posts with an injury-time free. In between, Meath hit five points, two from Garry and three from play by Ger McCullough. Overall, the result raised a few worrying questions about the difference in quality of football in Louth and Meath. As stated earlier, Louth started with eight senior panellists and drew from many senior clubs. Their conquerors, in contrast, boasted just two senior players and still advanced unflustered to a meeting with Wicklow. Of course, it's vitally important to put the game into perspective as things aren't always as straightforward as statistics or sentiment might dictate. While theory suggested that Louth could field their second string, this was not actually the case. Because of a change in the rules, manager Eamonn McEneaney could not feature any player who figured in the Wee County's gruelling seven-match senior championship campaign in 2007, so he was certainly restricted. Senior newcomers Graham Carr, Aidan O'Brien and Chris Smith were thus all available, but the manager only had a few others to choose from and had to bring in new blood to fill the remaining places on the junior team. And the loss of Pat Lynch and Gerard Hoey through injury could hardly be deemed helpful either Louth: Sean Connor (St Patricks); Aidan O'Brien (Newtown Blues), Graham Carr (Dundalk Young Irelands), Padraig Rath (Dreadnots); Chris Smith (O'Raghallaighs), David Mackin (St Brides, 0-1), Benny McArdle (Dromintee, 0-2), Brian Donnelly (Cooley Kickhams), Brian Kermode (Newtown Blues); Eamon Carroll (St Patricks), Daniel Bannon (Mattock Rangers), Errol Boyle (Dundalk Gaels); Paddy O'Boyle (St Nicholas), David Dowling (Sean O'Mahonys, 1-1), Paddy Matthews (Hunterstown Rovers). Subs: Derek Maguire (Dundalk Young Irelands, 0-3), Shane Brennan (Sean O'Mahonys), Barry Flanagan (O'Raghallaighs), Bernard Osbourne (Naomh Fionnbarra), Emmet Judge (Newtown Blues). Tweet

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