It's official. Under 21 football in Louth is a pure disaster. 2001 marked yet another complete flop but Newtown Blues' young attacker-turned-midfielder Eoghan Judge will be involved in the county's next two U21 campaigns so perhaps he can help engineer a long-overdue change of fortune. On Sunday February 18th at Pairc Tailteann in Navan, Louth's underage woes continued unabated when the Wee County U21s were trounced by Meath, 0-13 to 0-4. Nobody was more disappointed than half forward Eoghan Judge. The talented Newtown Blues clubman - who already has two Joe Ward Cup winners medals to his credit - would genuinely love nothing more than to see Louth make progress at underage level and admits that the crushing defeat to the Royals hit him hard. "We were extremely disappointed," he says. "We put an awful lot of work and effort into it, and team spirit and morale were very high but we obviously just didn't have what's required at that level to beat a team like Meath. They had bigger and stronger men, and that always seems to have been the same story when I've played for Louth, from U14 level right through, other counties just appear to be physically a lot bigger. And fitter. "But I know there's work being put into developing Louth's underage talent from U12 level right up, so hopefully that'll bear fruit eventually." Which is all fine and well but not much good to Eoghan, who represented Louth at minor level for two years and still has another couple of 'seasons' left with the county's under 21s. The prospects aren't good. "I know the recent results have been terrible. The U21s have been bad and the minors have been even worse! I played minor in 1999 and 2000 and we had big hopes each year but didn't achieve anything." Eoghan believes the county's minor and under 21 teams will never have a chance unless they are given greater priority by the County Board. The current situation where club matches take priority above intercounty ones is not, he feels, conducive to underage success. "First of all, we have fellas simply unable to play for the county under 21s because of work commitments. We need to have everyone on board if we're going to compete. There's no emphasis on the county U21 team and it takes second place even to the clubs. And the club U21 championship in Louth is a total disaster. We won it in 1999 and were involved in some great games and then we only got one match in 2000! Even in '99, we played the first match in March and the final was in October." And this year the final was played on a Friday night in mid-October! "Personally, I have two more years left with the Louth U21s and achieving something with them is a definite priority. The County Board should place a greater emphasis on it and try to get lads to play with their county rather than with their clubs. "I also played with the Louth juniors in 2001, a team which I thought was supposed to be seen as a stepping stone to the county seniors. We played Meath in Navan on a Wednesday evening and I played in a senior match with the Blues the previous night. And the same applied to most of the team. What kind of preparation is that for an intercounty championship game? The most we trained was five or six times and we only had ten or eleven at those sessions. The players and management have done their best but the support just hasn't been there from the County Board. There wasn't even a bus for the junior team going to Navan - the players had to drive to the game themselves!" It all sounds like a sad state of affairs. The purpose of this article is not to stir the proverbial but perhaps when these problems are recognised they will be addressed. Perhaps. But for the time being, it's just one setback after another: "In 1999, we played Laois in the minor championship and we knew we were up against it. I was captain for that game which was a great honour but we just couldn't live with them. "Last year with the minors, we had the players and we had Westmeath on the backfoot for a long time but let it slip. It's disappointing and it doesn't do the county's chances at senior level any good. But there are some good prospects coming through to the under 21s and seniors over the next few years and hopefully we'll be able to put it together. "It's not good to keep going out and get beaten. I've played for Louth at all levels from U14 right up to senior and, including challenges, I wouldn't say I've won ten games!" With Newtown Blues, Eoghan has won U16, U21 and (two) senior county championships as well as U14, U16, minor and junior leagues. He has also won U14 and U16 Louth schools medals. He represented the county at all levels, captaining the minor team under Mickey Heaney in '99. He's also on the verge of a breakthrough onto the Louth senior team. "Hopefully, that'll be the next thing ," says the man who partnered Keith Lynch in Newtown Blues' powerful 2001 midfield engine-room. "I'd love to one day become a regular for Louth. I have been in the panel before and played one game but just haven't had time to put in the effort. In the long term, though, that's a definite aim." The name Judge is synonymous with Newtown Blues and Louth football. Eoghan's father Ciaran won six or seven senior county championships and virtually all his uncles, brothers and cousins have worn the famous sky blue jersey. Former county selector Eugene Judge is a cousin. Another cousin Peter is a Blues selector and Peter's brother Bosco is on the team. The Phillips family are also related. If only they could all play for the Louth U21s next year. Well, at least one of them can! Tweet

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