Louth hadn't won a Leinster MFC match since 1993. But in 2002, under Paddy Oliver, they won three on the trot Louth made encouraging progress at minor level in 2002. It had been well documented that the Wee County hadn't won a Leinster MFC fixture since '93 but - unofficially fielding their first Development Squad crop - during the season ended they managed to win three of their four provincial championship round-robin games, playing some excellent football in the process and demonstrating clearly that underage football in the county could at last be ready to turn the corner. The transition in fortunes is phenomenal and, having had cause to criticise countless under-par Louth minor teams in the past, it is heartening to have been handed this opportunity of passing more favourable judgement on an unequivocal success story - a team that benefited immensely from the county's first-ever participation in the new Leinster minor championship round-robin series (which was established with the express purpose of enhancing the lot of the perceived weaker counties - and certainly succeeded in achieving that objective in the Wee County's case). The reversal in fortunes is a timely one. Last year, Louth minor football plummeted to an all-time low. The 4-13 to 0-6 drubbing at the hands of Dublin in Parnell Park was a huge embarrassment. The efforts of the mentors and players were beyond reproach but the debilitating problems were rooted deeper, within the fabric of Louth GAA. At the time, Minor Board Secretary Gerry Connor recognised this and called for wholesale changes. Thankfully, progress is now being made. Louth's 2002 minor team was the 'unofficial' development squad team . . . stemming from the year before the development squads were officially launched. This group of players had been playing together for four years, coming through together from under 14 level. There really was something tangible for Paddy Oliver and his selectors to work with and, despite getting their campaign off to the worst possible start with a disastrous result against Longford, they bounced back in fine fashion with three great wins on the bounce . . . results which have sent ripples of confidence through underage players and officers the length and breadth of Ireland's smallest county. Even early in the year confidence was high that Louth had a better-than-average side on their hands and that they might avail of the more generous opportunities afforded them by involvement in the round-robin series. Throughout the spring months, speculation from Cooley to Collon was rife that Louth's under 18s were set to emerge from the doldrums. In hindsight - even though Louth failed to qualify for the Leinster championship first round proper (the slip-up against Longford cost them dearly) - such talk proved much more than mere hearsay and ultimately wasn't too far off the mark. Back in March, long before a ball had been kicked in anger, new Louth Minor Board Chairman Tomas O hEochaidh stated that he believed Louth were about to bely their abysmal record in minor championship fare to emerge as genuine challengers in Leinster. In spite of the fact that Louth haven't won the Leinster MFC since 1953, last appeared in the final in 1971, and had failed to win a match in the competition since 1993., he oozed confidence: "This year we have the possibility of things going right for us. We are included in the round-robin section, something counties such as ourselves have been pushing for for a number of years. It will give us the opportunity to play more matches and the winners go on to play Offaly in the competition proper. Naturally we are hoping to come through and that would be a tremendous boost and would give us a springboard for the real competition. "Our preparations are getting better and with the development squad coming through we are quite hopeful of good things this year and even better next year. While there's no reason why we can't reach a minor final this year, we must take one step at a time. We'd expect to come out of the round-robin, which would be a tremendous step forward." The round-robin group included Longford, Wicklow, Kilkenny and Carlow. Louth didn't quite manage to top the pile, but they did finish second, which was an achievement in itself. Louth's minors proved that they were shaping up well for the championship challenges that lay ahead when overcoming underage specialists Laois by 2-9 to 1-6 at Ballyhan . . . their third successive pre-championship win. Andrew Tinley's first-half goal gave them a slender interval lead, 1-1 to 0-3, and, playing with the wind, Louth turned the screw at the start of the second period when quickfire points from Shane Lennon (2) and Barry Kelly sent them on their way. Tinley grabbed his second goal as an insurmountable lead was composed. When Laois rallied, Louth held them at bay almost effortlessly. Things augured well indeed for the championship. On Saturday April 6th, the Leinster minor football championship first round meeting of Louth and Longford proved to be a major disappointment for the Louth lads who were outclassed virtually from start to finish. The result came as a massive blow as the Wee County's minors had been performing so well all year and - after the St Patrick's Day heroics of Dundalk Schools - juvenile fare in the county was at an all-time high. But the unexpected thumping received from Longford virtually ended Louth's dreams of reaching the first-round proper. That result left the Wee County's minors in need of a miracle if they were to reach the knock-out stages. Paddy Oliver's side was simply torn apart by the midlanders in their first outing in the round-robin series. The Longford setback left Louth needing to win all three remaining games against Kilkenny, Carlow and Wicklow while hoping that the midlanders slip up somewhere along the line. In fairness, Louth made amends and kept their part of the deal, but Longford emerged from the group unscathed with a 100% record. The Longford defeat was greeted with anger and disgust at the County Board's next meeting where Leinster Council delegate John Lynch stormed: "This minor team was supposed to be the best prepared in years and then we go down to Longford and are beaten by 15 points by one of the so-called weaker counties. Something has to be done as these are our future senior players." But Chairman Paddy McMahon retorted: "We can talk all night but the problem is with the clubs. If they don't leave minor players off their teams there is nothing we can do about it." Fortunately, a marked improvement was seen on the field of play as Louth saw out their remaining three fixtures with three morale-boosting victories. By virtue of their 2-9 to 0-4 defeat of Kilkenny at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday April 21st, Louth's minors recorded their first championship victory in nine long years. The platform for the historic success was laid at the midway stage of the first half when the Wee County lads fired two goals in the space of a minute. Up until that point, the home side was distinctly lacking in confidence but the goals from Nigel Shevlin and Darren Boyle helped them settle into their stride en route to a comfortable win. It may have came against one of the weakest counties in the country, but a win is a win and getting off the mark left Louth confident for the trip to Carlow a week later. Only 100 spectators turned up for the Kilkenny match and the County Board didn't even deem fit to employ the services of a scoreboard operator for what would be viewed as a massive game in most other counties. After kicking a number of early wides, Louth fell two points adrift inside the opening eight minutes. On 17 minutes, however, they finally got their competitive season up and running when full forward Shevlin volleyed to the roof of the Cats' net. Boyle's goal, less than a minute later, followed terrifically positive approach play from energetic wing back Andrew Tinley. Shane Lennon added a 20th-minute point and the visitors managed one more score before the short whistle sounded with the Wee County ahead by 2-1 to 0-3. Three quick points in the opening four minutes of the second half - from Barry Kelly, Lennon and midfielder Ronan Carroll - effectively finished the game as a contest. Brian McCoy's 39th-minute point was cancelled out by Kilkenny's only score of the half but the home side finished in complete ascendancy with further points from the inspirational Lennon (2), Shevlin and substitute Shane McCoy. The Wee County were so comfortable that they were able to make FIVE substitutions in the last ten minutes! The team that ended Louth's long losing streak at minor level was: Shane McCoy; Conor Sheridan, John Kermath, Patrick Sullivan; Andrew Tinley, Kevin Breen, John O'Brien; Patrick Keenan, Ronan Carroll (0-1); Robert Kearney, Barry Kelly (0-1), Brian McCoy (0-1); Shane Lennon (0-4), Nigel Shevlin (1-1), Darren Boyle (1-0). Subs: JJ Quigley, Shane McCoy (0-1), Pierce Kelly, Donal O'Connor, Padraig Matthews. A second successive championship victory was recorded when Louth's minors defeated Carlow by 2-9 to 0-8 in the Leinster MFC at Dr Cullen Park on April 27th. It took the Wee County a while to come to terms with the slippery conditions and they were two points in arrears by the time Brian McCoy landed their first point from a ninth-minute '45'. Shane McCoy followed up with a goal and his namesake Brian added another point as Louth took control. Shane Lennon punched a second goal as the visitors assembled an unassailable 2-6 to 1-2 half-time lead. The second half was plain sailing. Louth completed their programme by entertaining Wicklow in Drogheda on Saturday May 4th. And the final game for Paddy Oliver's side ended in a one-point victory, 1-10 to 2-6. The Garden County lads - late upon arrival at the venue - were slow out of the blocks as the home side stormed into a 1-7 to 0-2 interval lead. Wicklow pulled back within a point but Louth had improved beyond recognition over the duration of the competition and refused to be denied. It was the kind of victory that successive Louth minor teams seemed incapable of carving out over the course of nine long years. Unfortunately Longford's facile victory over hapless Kilkenny ensured a Louth exit, but a winning habit has been restored and there's every reason to look ahead to next year's Leinster MFC with confidence anew. Although Louth's minors were out of the championship, the 2002 round-robin series was certainly a beneficial experience as Wee County underage football rediscovered the winning touch and hopefully established a platform that can be built upon significantly for years to come. Tweet

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