At different times in the 2001 championship Louth were either good, bad or just plain ugly. But once they got into their stride, they were a revelation. Gerry Robinson reflects on a topsy-turvy odyssey which ended with heads held high. Two-thousand-and-one was as eventful and hectic a season for Louth's senior footballers as this particular correspondent can remember. There was seemingly no let-up in the drama and controversy both on and off the field. While there is certainly plenty to reflect upon and write about, unfortunately the bottom line is that 2001 will be remembered as another season when the Wee County promised much and performed admirably (particularly towards the latter stages of the premier competition) but, despite playing four championship matches, they ultimately failed to deliver meaningful silverware. It's been 41 years now since Louth graced Leinster final day with their presence - a legacy which leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of all Wee County GAA followers. Paddy Clarke's team exploited the back door rule to good effect in '01, grabbing the opportunity of redemption and progressing from a mediocre championship side to an impressive one within the space of a few short weeks, but as usual it all ended prematurely. As has been their wont in recent seasons, they were, in the end, somewhat unfortunate to be eliminated from the competition. The game in which they eventually came unstuck - against Westmeath in Navan - was one that could have gone either way. However, Lady Luck deserted Louth at the crucial moment and a rare handling error in what had otherwise been a watertight defence gifted the maroons a goal as well as their passage to the next phase of the Qualifiers. Westmeath went on to grab national headlines with a laboured defeat of listless Mayo and an epic two-game saga against their neighbours and would-be All-Ireland finalists Meath. The Wee County, meanwhile, were forgotten in the clamour to heap praise upon the midlanders. Indeed, football truly is a game of fine margins. Having said all that, there's no point complaining. When all is said and done, Louth really have nobody else to blame but themselves. There seems to be something lacking in their game when push comes to shove . . . some crucial ingredient that a team needs to win close matches. Confidence, perhaps, or killer instinct. Perhaps Paddy Carr has the answer. The simple truth is that Louth have had too many close shaves in recent years to justify continually cursing their luck. Remember the 1997 Leinster semi-final defeat to Offaly in Pairc Tailteann? Or the one-point loss to Meath at the same stage the following year? Same thing against Kildare in 2000. On all three occasions, the Wee County's luck seemed to desert them when it mattered and the general perception was that they had been hard done by in the awarding of crucial decisions perceived as the defining moments in those matches. I agree that they had little or no luck in any of those matches - nor did they exactly lead a charmed existence against Westmeath in June 2001 - but to lay the blame for each year's defeat at the door of Miss Fortune is surely a case of over-simplification and - dare I say it? - wishful thinking. There is a saying that you make your own luck, and this is true. The trick is to stay in contention long enough so that your luck turns! It's not enough to merely be a team that wins when things go your way. An exceptional side can dig deep and eek out a result even when fate seems to have conspired against them (read Meath's miraculous escapes against Westmeath). It is imperative that Louth start to get into a winning habit and that the us-against-the-rest-of-the-world psyche that exists in some quarters of the county is erased. Of course luck does play a part, but only a minimal one. Only when Louth are good enough will they return to a Leinster final. The legendary golfer Gary Player understood fully the incidental role of luck in sport when he quipped, with his tongue wedged in cheek, "y'know, it's kinda funny, the more I practise, the luckier I get." All that said, it would be very unfair to be ultra-critical of Louth's overall endeavours in 2001. Let's put their whole season into context: the Foot & Mouth crisis wreaked havoc with the very livelihoods of the county's entire community and sparked a national emergency. While it may have been a 'national' situation, the epidemic was localised in and around the Cooley area to a large extent and Louth suffered more than any county in terms of the penalties and restrictions imposed. Effectively, a curfew was implemented and this directly affected the county footballers' championship preparations. Firstly, Louth were kicked out of the latter stages of the national league; then they were told that they couldn't engage in proper collective training, as the players from within the inclusion zone weren't allowed to participate. Naturally, in this era of super-fitness and semi-professionalism, such limitations had drastic effects on Paddy Clarke's preparations. Louth were ill-prepared for the Leinster championship opener against Longford and their ring-rustiness was wholly apparent when they ran out of steam and fell asunder during the course of a humiliating second half. Considering the progress that had been made under Clarke's guidance in the previous three years, this was a terrible result. But, to be fair, there were extreme mitigating circumstances and the majority of people in the county were too busy exhaling a collective sigh of relief that the FMD outbreak had been contained to grumble about an unfavourable football result. There was little or no improvement for Louth's first ever foray into the Qualifier and they only just about managed to scrape past Tipperary. It was from here on that they really got into their stride. Some of the football they played against both Offaly and Westmeath was a joy to behold. It was a pity it all had to end just when it was really getting interesting. For what it's worth, I believe Louth would have beaten Mayo much more convincingly than Westmeath did and I also feel they would have given the Royals a run for their money. Then again, I'm hardly an objective observer... Early misses; late fade-out Longford 1-11, Louth 1-9 Louth's Leinster championship campaign began - and ended - against Longford at Pairc Tailteann, Navan on Sunday May 6th. Louth had beaten the midlanders in seven of their previous eight championship encounters but were unable to prevent Michael McCormack's team from gaining their first major win over the Wee County since 1972. Two things cost Louth dearly on this occasion: - first of all, they failed to capitalise on a litany of early chances that should have had their opponents out of sight after 20 minutes. They started brightly, their liveliness belying their lengthy FMD-induced lay-off, and the movement of JP Rooney and Ollie McDonnell had the Longford rearguard at sixes, sevens and eights, but they didn't take their chances and this impotency allowed Longford to squirm off the hook and come back to deliver a killer blow. - secondly, Louth's second half fade-out was of cataclysmic proportions. They didn't manage to add to their half-time tally until Mark Stanfield landed a free in the 57th minute and their only other score of the half was a Martin Farrelly point six minutes from time. Longford, meanwhile, registered six second-half points, turning their two-point half-time deficit into a two-point winning margin. Judging by the early exchanges, it looked as if Louth were simply going to run away with it. Longford fired over a point in the third minute but the Louth response was emphatic. David Reilly delivered a ball into the danger area; Mark Stanfield flicked it on; and JP Rooney finished brilliantly to the back of the net. Twice inside the next 23 minutes the Wee County would move five points clear, but their real failing was in not putting the match beyond Longford. Shortly after JP's major, Ollie McDonnell almost got in for a second goal but his attempt was smothered by some excellent defending. Louth hit two points in the space of a minute - the first from McDonnell, the second a lovely shot from distance from Rooney - to move four points clear by the eighth minute. Lannleire pair Nicky Malone and Martin Farrelly added two more points but Longford stayed in touch through a brace of frees from Padraic Davis. Louth led by 1-4 to 0-3 with ten minutes left in the first half and Mark Stanfield converted a 27th minute free to extend their advantage Minutes earlier, Rooney had turned from hero to villain when he uncharacteristically missed an excellent chance, somehow conspiring to send an open goal opportunity wide of the post. Christy Grimes excellently picked out the Naomh Mairtin sharpshooter but - normally lethal from such a range - he inexplicably misfired. In the 29th minute, Louth's wastefulness was punished in clinical fashion when Davis gathered possession from Niall Sheridan and gave Colm Nally no chance with a blistering shot to the net. Suddenly, Louth - who had been dominant throughout - led by a mere two points. Christy Grimes replied for Paddy Clarke's men but Longford struck two more points to edge within a point. Three minutes before the short whistle Rooney scored his second point after Stanfield's free rebounded off the post and there was time for Farrelly to also hit the woodwork before the sides went in with Louth holding the slimmest of half-time advantages, 1-7 to 1-5. It should have been more. The second half was a different matter entirely. David Hannify took a complete stranglehold of the midfield sector for the midlanders. Ten minutes after the break, they began to eat into the slender Louth lead - four unanswered points later they led by 1-9 to 1-7. Stanfield's 57th-minute free gave Louth some hope but two more Longford points ensured that Martin Farrelly's 64th minute strike (which was goalbound only to be brilliantly deflected over the bar by the Longford goalie) proved little more than a consolation. Paddy Clarke tried everything, availing of all five permitted substitutions but, try as they may, Louth couldn't pull this one out of the fire. Trip to Tipp Louth 0-13, Tipperary 1-8 Defeat at the hands of Longford condemned Louth to an earlier-than-anticipated entry into the Qualifier system. The draw paired them with Tipperary, who had been hammered (3-17 to 1-4) by Kerry, and, while there was no complacency in the Wee County camp, there was every reason to expect a comfortable victory. The expected victory materialised, although it was certainly a bit too close for comfort. In fairness, Louth were in a no-win situation and the most important thing was emerging from this fixture unscathed, which they managed to do. But only just. The Louth party travelled to Clonmel on Saturday June 9th and duly escaped with a 0-13 to 1-8 victory. While they were made to fight all the way by a Premier County outfit that refused to die, Louth had just too much guile for the Munster men. Once more, squandermania was rife as Louth missed at least three great goalscoring chances and racked up a total of 17 wides. Preparations were far from ideal and a number of injuries (JP Rooney and Seamus O'Hanlon were ruled out while Martin Farrelly was unable to start) meant that a major reshuffling of the deck was needed. In came Stephen Melia and Alan Page; captain Nicky Malone was shifted to midfield. The home team settled much quicker and led by 1-2 to 0-2 after seven minutes, Louth's points arriving inside the space of a minute from corner forward Mark Stanfield and centre forward Christy Grimes. Even though they could only add one more point to their first-half total, Tipp still went in with a half-time lead of 1-3 to 0-5. The makeshift Louth team looked low on confidence and both Colin Kelly and David Reilly pointed when goal chances presented themselves. In between these scores, Darren Kirwan dissected the posts. It had been a mediocre first half at best but the second period started in much more explosive fashion with four points in the first five minutes, three of them going to Louth. Two Stanfield scores either side of a Christy Grimes point saw the Wee County move ahead, 0-8 to 1-4. But Tipp points in the 41st and 42nd minutes proved that Louth weren't going to get it all their own way and it wasn't until the 56th minute that they finally sneaked back in front as Stanfield struck two more points inside three minutes. Tipp equalised with ten minutes remaining. The critical period in the game arrived on the hour when Louth registered three successive points within as many minutes . . . David Reilly, Mark Stanfield and Simon Gerrard supplying the ammunition. Trailing by a goal as the game seeped into injury time, Tipp did manage to conjure up a consolation point but Louth held on for an uninspiring victory. And, as if their injury problems weren't already pronounced enough, Nicky Malone reported to the treatment table after the match with a broken hand. Critically, the Louth captain would play no more part in the 2001 championship. An Offaly good improvement Louth 0-12, Offaly 1-8 Offaly provided the opposition for the next round. The match took place in Navan on Saturday June 23rd. Six days earlier, the Faithfuls had played Dublin off Croke Park in the provincial semi-final but failed to take their chances. They were warm favourites to account for the Wee County but Louth played with marked determination and deservedly avenged the '97 defeat with a one-point success. The final score was almost identical to the Tipperary one (0-12 to 1-8 this time) but this was an infinitely more creditable performance, coming as it did against one of the game's recognised powers. Louth's sheer determination was the telling factor in seeing off the Offaly men. Ciaran McManus opened the scoring for the losers in the first minute but this point was followed by some great Louth possession which produced three minors in the next ten minutes but should have yielded considerably more. Colin Kelly (from a free), Christy Grimes and Cathal O'Hanlon did the necessary to put Louth into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead. Offaly pointed at the start of the second quarter but Louth responded with fine points from Ollie McDonnell and O'Hanlon before McManus popped over his third point. Four minutes from the break, Louth came agonisingly close to getting a goal. Ollie McDonnell played a perfect pass across the face of the goal for the onrushing Grimes who seemed odds-on to flick to the net. But the Mattock man had to over-stretch and his effort went marginally over the bar for the Wee County's sixth point. There was still time for Offaly to pull another one back (their first point from play arriving in injury time) and Louth went into the interval with a 0-6 to 0-4 advantage. They were showing those characteristic signs of inaccuracy, however, and their fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst. Claffey pointed for Offaly on the resumption but this score was cancelled out by Grimes in the 40th minute. When the Faithfuls pointed again, it was Colin Kelly who steadied the ship with two neat finishes - a 42nd minute point from play and a converted '45' in the 45th minute (appropriately). Louth were then guilty of hitting three successive wides before Offaly stunned them with a goal and a point to move ahead for the first time since the opening minute. With 15 minutes to play, Louth trailed by 0-9 to 1-7. Within a minute of the goal (which came as the direct result of an injury to Brendan Reilly), Louth struck the best score of the match. David Reilly gathered possession wide on the right wing following good approach play from midfielders Seamus O'Hanlon and Martin Farrelly and drove a mighty left-footed point straight and true to give his team a major boost. From here on Louth showed unbelievable spirit. Kelly pointed a free four minutes from time to edge them back ahead; Seamus O'Hanlon followed this up with a terrific surge and finish. In injury time, an Offaly attempt on goal flashed over the bar and then, with virtually the last kick of the game, Vinny Claffey's 21-yard free drifted wide when it looked for all the world as if the Faithfuls would equalise and force extra time. Louth's season had begun in earnest. Unfortunately, it ended just as quickly. No shame in defeat Westmeath 1-13, Louth 0-13 Louth extracted a great deal of credit from their defeat at the hands of Luke Dempsey's grossly under-rated Westmeath charges. The match was played in Navan on July 7th and the Wee County were in the lead with fifteen minutes left before a rare defensive error at that stage allowed Martin Flanagan in for the goal that was ultimately to prove their undoing. Louth fought gamely throughout the 70 minutes, with every starting player and substitute giving service above and beyond the call of duty . . . none more so than veteran campaigners Stephen Melia and Seamus O'Hanlon. At the time of the all-important goal Louth appeared to have got on top and it was a cruel irony that the mistake was made by Breen Philips who had been a pillar of consistency all through the championship. Martin Farrelly opened the scoring in the sixth minute but the maroons responded with three points in five minutes. Louth were nothing if not determined and made their intentions to fight tooth and nail perfectly clear when levelling through points from Mark Stanfield and Colin Kelly (free). A brace from Fergal Wilson had Westmeath two points clear by the 18th minute but the Wee County then got to grips and struck three in a row, Christy Grimes and Seamus O'Hanlon (2) answering the call to arms. With twelve minutes remaining in the first half, Louth led 0-6 to 0-5. The Lake County registered the evening's next three scores but Louth finished the half strongly with points from Kelly and Stanfield to go in on level terms at the interval, 0-8 apiece. Ger Heavin drew first blood in the second period but successive scores from Ollie McDonnell and Martin Farrelly gave Louth a 0-10 to 0-9 cushion with 15 minutes to go. Then came the handling error at the back and Flanagan made no mistake in finding the net. To their credit, Louth continued to battle and points from Kelly and David Reilly closed the deficit to the minimum, 1-10 to 0-12, with eight minutes to play. But Westmeath scored three of the game's last four points (Darren Kirwan obliging for Louth) and, even though they had plenty of possession in the closing stages, Louth just couldn't get back on terms. The Louth team on duty against Westmeath: Colm Nally; Breen Phillips, Aaron Hoey, Denis Reilly; John Neary, Stephen Melia, Simon Gerrard; Seamus O'Hanlon, Martin Farrelly; Christy Grimes, David Reilly, Mark Stanfield; Cathal O'Hanlon, Ollie McDonnell, Colin Kelly. Subs: Niall Flynn for Reilly, JP Rooney for C O'Hanlon, Darren Kirwan for Grimes, Cathal O'Hanlon for Kelly, Brian Keenan for McDonnell. Tweet

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