Louth U21s endured a thoroughly disappointing provincial championship campaign in 2004. It amounted to one game - a humiliating thumping by Offaly at Tullamore on St Patrick's Day. Selector Colin Kelly admits he was as bemused as anyone by how things went so horribly pear-shaped, but says it would be wrong to question the effort or commitment of the players. When Louth travelled to Tullamore on St Patrick's Day 2004 to face Offaly in the first round of the Leinster under 21 football championship, they did so in hope. The Wee County had retained the bulk of the side that fared so impressively in the previous year's competition and boasted more than a smattering of senior intercounty experience. The general feeling was that they would come away from O'Connor Park with a win and many pundits felt Louth could go on to challenge for provincial honours. However, inexplicably, it all went wrong and the Faithfuls inflicted a heavy 4-6 to 0-8 defeat on the fancied visitors, much to the obvious dismay of everybody associated with Louth football. Nobody was more stunned than the players themselves; none more taken aback that the management triumvirate of Colm Nally, Niall O'Donnell and Colin Kelly. The trio had taken the county U21 team to new heights in '03, when Louth put it up to would-be All-Ireland champions Dublin, but now it had all blown up in their faces. Louth leaked three goals in the ten minutes after the resumption and there was no way back into contention from there. The lesson was clear: football can be as cruel as it is unpredictable. As one of Louth's most promising sides in years fell forlornly to the wayside, there was a sudden outbreak of brow-furrowing, head-scratching and teeth-gnashing. Much soul-searching followed, but the answer to where and why it all went wrong was not forthcoming. Though a relative rookie to the coaching business, former Newtown Blues and Louth stalwart Colin Kelly had seen it all during his glorious playing career. Still, he struggles to put a finger on this one … How disappointing was the Offaly result given how much better the 2003 team performed? "It's like everything else - there's not a lot we can do about it now. Last year, myself and Niall and Colm were new to the scene and there was a great deal of enthusiasm in the county when three ex-players took over the county U21 team. "We did well in '03. We beat Kildare in the first round and we put in a very solid performance against Dublin, without ever quite threatening to win the game, to be honest. So, things were certainly looking good for us going into the 2004 campaign. "We retained 20 of the panel and that was a major plus, but it wasn't to be. The players trained and prepared exceptionally well but things just went against us and, on the day, we were second best, no doubt about it. "It's frustrating. Without making excuses, a couple of small things went against us in the run-up to the Offaly game. Paddy Keenan was struggling with an injury and there wasn't much confidence surrounding football in the county at the time." The manner of the defeat in Tullamore was a shock. Kelly concedes: "It was a game I hadn't considered losing. I thought we'd win. It wasn't complacency. I just felt we were fitter, better prepared and had better footballers. We had a decent team. "We weren't over-confident in any way, but I had the utmost confidence in our team. We had superb players like James Fagan, John Doyle and Emmet Kelleher on the line. These are all outstanding performers with their clubs and the fact that they weren't even on our starting fifteen shows the strength of our team and the depth of the panel. That's why it was all so disappointing. "It's a pity we didn't get another game. We never got to know if we were really as bad as we looked against Offaly. We looked terrible, and we never got a chance to set things straight. Maybe if we'd played again we'd have been better. In championship football, if you prepare well, you have a serious chance of winning, but you can't do it if you don't get a bit of luck on the day as well." The co-selector wouldn't dream of suggesting that Offaly didn't deserve to win. To the contrary, he says they were clearly the better team: "Even though we had five county seniors, they made us look like boys on the day. But our guys are learning all the time. They know how county football should be played and how county footballers must prepare and behave. As I said, it's just a pity we couldn't have had one more game to evaluate how good this team was because I don't believe we were as bad as we looked against Offaly." In the wake of defeat, blame is inevitably laid at management's doorstep. Colin Kelly realises and accepts this: "We have to take it on the chin. People are obviously going to ask did the three managers get it wrong. I don't think we did. The team was well prepared and we picked our best side but we were just beaten all over the pitch. From 2 to 15, I don't think we won a single contest. On the day, Offaly looked excellent. They had a great day. "But they were well beaten by Meath in the next round… They were hungrier than us and they were first to every ball. We were definitely second best, but sometimes when your team is beaten it's very difficult to know exactly what went wrong. As managers, Colm and Niall and myself have to take responsibility. At the end of the day, we were running the ship and it sank! Hopefully we'll all learn from this. "We're in charge for another year and we'll have a lot of good guys at our disposal again. It's also a learning curve for Colm, Niall and myself, but it's a very enjoyable job and all the lads we've worked with so far have been excellent. "We held trial matches in October/November and the team trained together for twelve weeks after that. That's what most teams are doing now and you have to put that effort in just to be in with a chance. The support we had from the County Board was second to none and we know the result in Tullamore left a lot to be desired. "We're under no illusions that what happened against Offaly in 2004 wasn't acceptable, so the task facing Louth at U21 level now is to go out and try to raise the bar again. Louth football is in a major transition period at the moment but there are a lot of good young players in the county." Will we witness a strong U21 team in 2005? "The Development Squad initiatives are starting to bear fruit and we've had some good minor teams, so hopefully we'll get some success at U21 level." The Louth team that took on Offaly in the 2004 Leinster U21 football championship: Shane McCoy (Roche Emmets); Dessie Finnegan (St Patricks), Paul Malone (St Marys), Ged Kellet (Newtown Blues); JJ Quigley (Clan na Gael), Owen Zamboglou (St Patricks), David Mackin (St Brides); John Kermath (Oliver Plunketts), Paddy Keenan (St Patricks); Ronan Carroll (St Marys), Darren Clarke (St Marys), Conor Sheridan (Glyde Rangers); David Reid (Mattock Rangers), Mark Brennan (Mattock Rangers), Mark McGeown (Clan na Gael). Sub: James Fagan Tweet

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