With Kevin McDonnell calling the shots, Louth's hurlers reached the knockout stage of both the national league and Rackard Cup in 2006, but failed to reproduce the heroics of '05. Defeats to Armagh and Longford denied the gallant Wee County stickmen a crack at major silverware but we witnessed some impressive displays from the Reds, which augurs well for next season. Louth's hurlers took part in four main competitions in 2006: the Keogh Cup, the national hurling league, the Leinster junior shield, and the Rackard Cup. They advanced to the business end of the two primary ones - the league and championship - and also contested the shield decider. Despite a creditable effort, the Wee County were beaten in their one and only Keogh Cup assignment. All in all, it was an eventful and reasonably successful year for manager Kevin McDonnell and his backroom acolytes - Dundalk-based Garda Sergeant Aidan Costello, county committee liaison officer Gerry O'Hare and Tipperary-based trainer Pat Williams, who laid down a good foundation upon which Louth can hopefully build further in '07. Keogh Cup Having experienced the thrill of playing at Croke Park in the previous year's inaugural Nicky Rackard Cup decider, Louth went into the new year determined to progress. The squad commenced training on January 2nd in preparation for a tricky opening competitive assignment - against Athlone IT in the first round of the Kehoe Cup at the Roche Emmets grounds on Sunday January 22. The students had reached the final of the subsidiary intercounty competition in '05 and it was no surprise when they marched to a 1-16 to 0-9 victory over the Louth lads. This represented a massive improvement for the hosts as they had lost the corresponding fixture by 24 points in '05. Athlone, bolstered by the inclusion of some very strong Galway hurlers, were made to battle all the way and the result might have been closer but for Louth's concession of a soft goal just before the short whistle. At the fulcrum of a decent-looking defence, centre back Paul Dunne landed six points from frees and Dee McCarthy and Shane Callan battled well at centrefield. The manager was upbeat after a match that was played in heavy underfoot conditions: "We are looking good for the season ahead and will hopefully get off to a good start against Leitrim and take it from there." Louth's 2006 Keogh Cup team: Stephen Smith (Pearse Og); Johnny Carter (Wolfe Tones), Alan Mynes (WT), Shane Darcy (Knockbridge); Donnach Callan (PO); Paul Dunne (KB), Ronan Byrne (KB); Dee McCarthy (WT), Shane Callan (PO); Trevor Hilliard (KB); David Dunne (KB); Mark Rafferty (PO); Shane Fennell (KB), Aidan Carter (WT), Gerard Smith (PO). Subs: Declan Madden, Niall McEneaney, Brian Minogue, Shane Kennedy, Mick Martin National Hurling League In the national hurling league, Louth would finish second on the Division 3A table, with five points from four outings and a scoring difference of +13. They were just a point behind table-toppers Donegal, whom they actually beat with a stirring display in Dundalk in late February. That win essentially assured the Wee County of a Division Three quarter-final place and they duly dispatched Fermanagh by 14 points at Clontibret on April 9, before losing heavily to Armagh at the penultimate stage in Castleblayney a week later. The backroom team exuded enthusiasm as Louth prepared to travel to Carrick-on-Shannon for their 2006 national hurling league opener against Leitrim on Sunday February 19. According to the manager: "Preparations have been excellent since the Kehoe Cup. We beat Cavan and DKIT. The panel is picked and everyone is fighting for a place. Things are going very well and we are looking forward to starting against Leitrim. It's a difficult one, with a two-and-a-half-hour drive to get there, but it will be interesting. We are taking nothing for granted as there were three Leitrim players on the Athlone team." McDonnell's caution was not misplaced as Louth had to fight all the way to come away with a draw. Gerard Smith was the Reds' outstanding player with a return of 0-11, including the point that had Louth ahead for the only time in the match on 61 minutes. But Leitrim salvaged a point when Clement Cunniffe converted an injury-time free. Final score: Leitrim 1-9, Louth 0-12 Next up were high-flying Donegal at Clan na Gael Park on Sunday February 26 - and what a brilliant performance from Louth to claim a sensational 4-12 to 3-12 victory! Playing with strong wind assistance, Louth led by 3-8 to 3-5 at the break and they did superbly to hold their Ulster opponents against all odds in the second period. Goals from Shane Fennell and David Dunne had the hosts ahead after 25 minutes, while Paddy Coyle popped up with the vital third major that assured the winners of an interval advantage. Containment was the name of the game after the break with Donnach Callan moving to centre back, David Dunne to midfield and Paul Dunne to the edge of the square. The latter placed Paul Donoghue for the decisive fourth goal 23 minutes into the half and Louth held out for a second successive victory in Division 3A. Having beaten the best team in their section, Louth were very disappointed to lose their next outing to Sligo exactly four weeks later - 0-8 to 1-4 at Clan na Gael Park on March 26. The game was played in dreadful wet conditions and both sides battled gallantly against the elements. Thirteen minutes passed before Brian Minogue opened the scoring with a Louth goal. Paddy Coyle fired a brace and Louth, who had played against the wind, trailed by just a point at the break, 0-6 to 1-2. Brendan Madden had Louth level within minutes of the restart but the second half was a non-event. Louth had a series of wides and Ronan Byrne got their final score eleven minutes in. There would be only one more point - a decisive Sligo winner at the three-quarters stage. The conditions - as much as the opposition - contributed to this surprise defeat. Normal business was resumed as the rampant Reds booked their place in the Last Eight with a convincing 3-13 to 0-9 victory over neighbouring Monaghan in Scotstown on April 2. Louth had achieved their objective of a knockout place, losing only once en route. Brian Minogue was the matchwinner against Monaghan, with a goal either side of the short whistle as well as four good points. Shane Callan got the other goal and David Dunne bagged four points. Dee McCarthy had a great game as stand-in full back in place of Alan Mynes. Seven days later, on Sunday April 9 at Clontibret, Louth hit form again to dispose of Fermanagh in a one-sided quarter-final, progressing to the Last Four by virtue of a 2-18 to 1-7 win. Two of the best upcoming hurlers in the county were outstanding in the Fermanagh game: Paddy Coyle contributed nine points (five from frees) and wing back Ronan Byrne got four from distance. Fermanagh only had one score in the first half and Louth led by just two at the interval, despite dominating possession. Restricting the opposition to three second-half points, Louth cruised in the second half as goals inside a minute of each other by Paul Dunne and sub Paul Donoghue added sheen to the scoreline. The semi-final was equally one-sided. Unfortunately, Louth were on the receiving end this time as neighbours and deadly rivals Armagh inflicted a 3-13 to 0-8 beating at Castleblayney on April 16. The Orchard seized the initiative with 1-3 from Declan Coulter in the opening quarter and never looked back. When Paul Dunne saw his close-range shot blocked by Armagh goalie Paddy Moran, Louth might have guessed it wasn't going to be their day. The winners took control to lead by 2-8 to 0-3 at the interval. There was no way back and Louth's league challenge ended there and then. They had done well enough and the omens looked good for another decent Rackard Cup run. (But the spectre of Armagh would come back to haunt them again.) Leinster junior hurling shield Before the championship began, Louth met Longford in the 2006 Leinster junior hurling shield final. A thrilling contest in Drogheda's Gaelic Grounds ended in a 2-11 to 0-14 win for the midlanders after extra time. It was a repeat of Longford's first-round victory over Louth, who recovered to qualify for the final with wins over Cavan and Down. Louth failed to take full advantage of strong wind backing in the first half and led by just two points at the turnaround - 0-6 to 0-4. Gerard Smith got four of those scores, while Shane Callan and Niall McEneaney were also on target. Longford were reduced to 13 men in the second half and Louth led by 0-12 to 1-7 with time almost up. But Longford hit two late points to force extra time. Ultimately, a disputed goal in the second period of extra time separated the sides. Nicky Rackard Cup So, Louth went into the Nicky Rackard Cup on the back of disappointing defeats to Armagh and Longford. Ironically, those same two teams would scupper their championship dream… The Wee County contested Group 3B of the third-tier All-Ireland, coming up against Leitrim, Cavan and Armagh in the group stage. They finished second in the group (losing the deciding game to Armagh), which was sufficient to book a quarter-final play-off spot. Following a great win away to Sligo, and with the games coming thick and fast, they finally fell to Longford (another away game just a week later) in a quarter-final proper in late July. The midlanders subsequently lost to Donegal, who lost the final to Derry… Leitrim provided the first hurdle and Louth had little difficulty compiling a 3-12 to 0-10 victory in Ballinamore. Despite playing against the breeze, Louth registered goals from Donnach Callan and Declan Madden in the first half to put themselves in a commanding position. Shane Callan and Paul Donoghue also contributed vital scores as the Wee County moved 2-5 to 0-8 ahead, with wind advantage still to come. When Leitrim tried to stage a revival with two quick points, Donoghue and Paddy Coyle steadied Louth before David Dunne finally broke the hosts' resistance with the third major. Any time Leitrim looked like raising a green flag, they found goalkeeper John Carter to be completely unbeatable. All in all, it was a good day for Louth hurling and a satisfactory result with two home games to come, against Cavan and Armagh. Cavan didn't even offer token resistance at Drogheda on June 24. It was one-way traffic from start to finish as the Reds annihilated the country's weakest hurling base on a scoreline of 8-25 to 2-3. Aidan Callan (2-4) and Niall McEneaney (2-3) were the main scorers for the Reds, who were also boosted by 1-3 from Donnach Callan, 1-2 apiece from Collins Connolly and Shane Callan, and six points off the stick of Paul Donoghue. Elsewhere, Armagh beat Leitrim by 4-20 to 1-9 in a match that would have equal significance for the Wee County… Armagh and Louth went head-to-head in the group decider at the Gaelic Grounds on the Saturday afternoon of July 8 and it was the Orchard raiders who emerged with the points and a path straight through to the semi-final stage. The 1-15 to 1-7 defeat meant that Louth faced the most difficult route possible - two more games on successive weekends - if they were to reach another Rackard Cup semi-final, never mind a final. Thus, this really was a defining match: the winners progressed to the last four; the losers moved two steps away from the last four! Most disappointing for Louth was that only Ronan Byrne from their starting XV managed to get a score from play. Substitute David Dunne struck their only other two scores from play on a day when Kevin McDonnell's charges were plagued by bad conditions and wayward shooting. Though Armagh led by 0-9 to 0-3 at the end of a one-sided first half, a Dunne goal helped the hosts close within a point. Shane Callan's free reduced the gap once more to a manageable 0-12 to 1-7 with time almost up, but the winners fired 1-3 in injury time. Seven days later, Louth were back on track when they recorded a superb 1-18 to 1-13 quarter-final play-off victory over Sligo at sun-kissed Markievicz Park. The excitement at the end of this contest was almost palpable as a huge crowd flocked into the Sligo venue to take in the third-round senior football qualifier between the Yeats County and Westmeath. Second-half substitute Aidan Callan was Louth's hero with a tally of 1-2 in the final quarter and those scores were the difference between the sides at the long whistle. Louth had led by two with two minutes remaining, when Callan effectively decided the issue with a close-range finish. Even though the hosts replied with a point, Shane Callan, who was outstanding at midfield, iced the cake with a brilliant point in the fourth minute of added time. Full forward Collins Connolly weighed in with seven points for the Wee County, who also had goalkeeper Diarmuid McCarthy to thank for a vital reaction save in the last minute when he kept Ciaran Brennan's drive out. Sligo, whose perennial top scorer Paul Severs landed 0-10 in total, led by two points at the break, 1-7 to 0-8, but were unable to withstand the visitors' fierce finish. Kevin McDonnell was furious when Louth were asked to travel again for the quarter-final against Longford on July 22 - their third match in 15 days - and the manager's worst fears were realised when the midlanders took a 1-19 to 2-7 win at the expense of a drained Wee County side. Louth's goals from David Dunne and Niall McEneaney came either side of the break and the visitors were just a point adrift at the turnaround. Even the dismissal of Longford goalscorer Sean Browne failed to rouse the 2005 competition finalists who, quite simply, ran out of steam. Louth, 2006 Nicky Rackard Cup quarter-finalists: Dee McCarthy; Alan Mynes, Paul Dunne, David Mulholland; Gerard Smith, Ronan Byrne, Declan Madden; Shane Callan (0-4), Donnach Callan; Trevor Hilliard, David Dunne (1-0), Collins Connolly (0-2); Aidan Callan, Paul Donoghue, Niall Byrne. Subs: Niall McEneaney (1-0), Paddy Coyle, Brian Minogue, Johnny Carter, Brian Hassett Tweet

Most Read Stories