Louth's senior hurlers reached the knockout stage of both the national hurling league (Division Three) and Nicky Rackard Cup in 2007. While this was a commendable achievement in its own right, the injury-ravaged Reds never really challenged meaningfully for honours and managed to only beat Cavan, Warwickshire, Leitrim and Donegal in major competition. The year started with 2-22 to 0-5 defeat to Wicklow in the Kehoe Cup at Arklow in late January, but the main focus of the Wee County's attention under new manager Pat Clancy would be the league and championship. The Reds reached the knockout stage in both competitions. Though well beaten by Roscommon in their Nicky Rackard Cup semi-final, Louth could consider themselves unlucky to lose their Division Three quarter-final to Tyrone after extra time. All in all, it was a fairly good year for the county's small ball merchants. National Hurling League In the group league, Louth emerged from their section with two wins and a draw. This was enough to book a quarter-final date with Tyrone, a match they lost in agonising fashion, after extra time. The victory over Donegal was arguably the high-point of Louth's year, while narrow defeats to Sligo and Tyrone ensured that they would not be in the shake-up for promotion to Division Two. Leitrim The Wee County opened their 2007 NHL campaign with a hard-earned 3-14 to 2-7 Division 3A defeat of Leitrim at Drogheda on February 18. Corner forward Collins Connolly netted in either half for the hosts, who responded well to Breain Carroll's first-half major. Aidan Carter also goaled for Louth to give the winners a slender 2-6 to 1-7 interval cushion. Clement Cunniffe finished the match as top scorer with 1-6 but Louth had plentiful firepower with seven of their players getting on the scoresheet. Donegal In their second league outing, substitute Paul Donoghue sent over an injury-time point to give the Wee County a thoroughly deserved 1-12 to 1-11 win over Donegal in Letterkenny on Sunday March 4th. Five minutes of injury time had elapsed when Donoghue popped up to supply the winner in an entertaining contest played in wet and windy conditions. The home side held a three-point advantage at half time, 0-8 to 0-5, with Collins Connolly hitting four Louth points during the opening 35 minutes. With ten minutes remaining, Louth were awarded a penalty, which Shane Callan duly converted to leave the visitors in the driving seat, but Donegal came back to level matters with a Conor McLaughlin goal. However, with 75 minutes on the clock, Donoghue remained calm to fire over the winning point after a mistake in the Donegal defence. Sligo Sligo ended Louth's 100% winning start to the 2007 NHL with a 2-9 to 1-7 Division 3A victory at Markievicz Park on March 25. This result effectively meant Louth would not be able to top the group and clinch an automatic semi-final berth. The Yeats County moved to the summit of the section, thanks to second-half goals from Morgan Fitzsimmons and sub Dara Cox. But the game went right down to the wire, as Fitzsimmons' decisive major didn't arrive until the fifth minute of added time. Prior to that, there was always the possibility that the Reds could sneak a second successive away win in the north west. Cox found the net eight minutes from time, but Louth replied with a Shane Callan major (from a free) to put the issue in doubt on the stroke of full time. It could have been a different story had not both Eddie McCarthy and Paul Dyas narrowly missed good goal-scoring chances for the losers. Collins Connolly top-scored for the Leinster county, with 0-5. Monaghan Louth completed their Division 3A programme and booked a place in the knockout stage of the league when drawing with neighbours Monaghan in Dundalk on April 1. The Wee County left it late as an injury-time free from Collins Connolly guaranteed them a share of the spoils, 1-18 to 2-15. Monaghan got their goals in the first half and those strikes from Barry McGuigan and David Connolly fired them into a comfortable 2-8 to 0-7 interval lead. But the Reds stepped it up on the resumption and Paul Donoghue's goal was instrumental in getting them back into contention. Louth finished the game with 14 men as full back John Carter picked up a second yellow card three minutes from the end. In truth, this was a disappointing performance but the result was all that really mattered. The result meant that Louth finished in second place on the 3A table with five points, two less than winners Sligo. This was still enough to earn a Division Three quarter-final meeting with Tyrone. Tyrone Louth gave as good as they got in this game and were decidedly unfortunate to lose by 1-21 to 2-15 after extra time at St Tiernach's Park on Sunday April 8. The Wee County had enjoyed a degree of superiority against the O'Neill men in recent meetings but they were pipped on this occasion as Tyrone dug deepest to earn a semi-final meeting with Roscommon. Normal time was especially entertaining but the Reds ran out of steam in extra time, when they were outscored by 0-5 to 0-2 as their league campaign ran out of fizz. The losers held a two-point advantage with time almost up but their northern counterparts dug deep to force the extra 20 minutes. After early points from Paul Donoghue and Collins Connolly, Louth received a great boost when Niall McEneaney hit the net in the fifth minute. They still led by four midway through the half but Tyrone dominated the second quarter to lead by 0-10 to 1-6 at the break. A second goal from Connolly on 39 minutes made it 2-8 to 0-11. After Tyrone had struck their goal, Louth settled themselves with scores from placed balls by Connolly (2) and Shane Callan. But Tyrone forced extra time with a late, late strike and Louth managed only points from Connolly and Niall Byrne thereafter. Leinster Shield Attention now switched to the Leinster Shield, wherein Louth competed with Leitrim, Warwickshire, Down and Longford for subsidiary honours. The competition served as a final opportunity for Pat Clancy to tweak his side before the real action commenced, but was truthfully little more than a few run-outs for the players. Louth had the bare 15 for their visit to Ballinmore to face Leitrim and Niall McEneaney's last-gasp goal gave them a 1-10 apiece draw. Next up was Warwickshire at Drogheda and Collins Connolly accounted for 1-7 as the hosts stormed to a facile 1-16 to 0-6 success. And Louth exited the race for provincial Shield honours when conceding three goals inside the opening five minutes before falling to a 3-11 to 2-10 away defeat to Longford on Saturday May 19. Still, it had been a spirited display in defeat - particularly in the second half, and there was much cause for optimism going into the season's prime competition. Nicky Rackard Cup The main thrust of the season was the championship. Louth participated in the Nicky Rackard Cup for the third time and once more progressed to the knockout stage. However, as in the league, their run was ended in their first meaningful elimination game, this time when they succumbed to a very powerful Roscommon side at Dowdallshill on July 21. The result meant the Louth hurlers would not be returning to Croke Park, the scene of their historic Rackard Cup final appearance against London two years earlier. While it was a good achievement to get to the last four, Louth did so without beating anyone of note. The draw was kind to them and they only had to defeat Warwickshire (twice) and Cavan - two poor sides - to reach the penultimate stage. Perhaps they could have done with more meaningful tests along the way as they weren't ready for opposition as powerful as that which awaited them in the semi-final. Injuries were a key factor all year. Louth were missing regulars for the entirety of the season and they also lost Aidan Carter on the morning of the 'semi', due to a family bereavement. However, it is unlikely that the Wee County could have given Roscommon a game, even if they are at full strength. Some teams are simply too strong to be playing at this level. Roscommon In truth, Louth were always second best against a Roscommon side that started the year as competition favourites and went on to justify this estimation by winning the 2007 Nicky Rackard Cup. At St Brigid's Park on the third Sunday of July, the Primrose & Blue prevailed by an emphatic 2-13 to 0-5. It was hard not to feel some sympathy for the losers as - like the Exiles two years earlier - Roscommon were punching considerably below their weight in this competition (as they have always been a mid-tier team in the small ball game). The presence of sides like London, Derry and Roscommon in the base championship on successive years devalues the competition and makes a mockery of the Association's idea of introducing a three-rung knockout in the first place. Roscommon were eleven points ahead at half time thanks to goals from Tom Reddington and Colm Kelly. They maintained superiority throughout and only Eddie McCarthy and midfielder Shane Callan managed Louth points from play. Warwickshire II Louth had opened their group campaign in the Rackard Cup with a real journey into the unknown. On Saturday June 23, they flew to Birmingham to play Warwickshire. The Byrne brothers Ronan and Sean were ruled out with ligament damage and Paul Dunne, Paul Donoghue, Conor Kerrigan and Shane Fennell were also ruled out but the depleted Reds romped to a comprehensive 1-22 to 3-8 win at Pairc na nGael. The only drawback was that centre half back Johnny Carter broke a finger and was ruled out of the following weekend's visit of Cavan. Cavan Louth had ten points to spare over Cavan but it was far from a vintage performance as they prevailed by 0-17 to 0-7 in their second group outing at Dowdallshill. Shorn of six regulars, the hosts hit 21 wides over the course of the match and only really pulled away in the closing ten minutes. Having said that, the Breffni County posed no real threat. Midfielders Shane Callan and Trevor Hilliard registered a brace apiece and the ever-dependable Collins Connolly was on target seven times. A second successive victory assured the Wee County of a place in the quarter-final draw. It was an open draw, so anything could happen. Warwickshire III Amazingly, Louth were drawn against Warwickshire, who had beaten Cavan to finish second in their group. It was a soft draw, even if Pat Clancy was reluctant to admit it at the time and home venue practically assured the Wee County of passage to the last four of the All-Ireland. During their two-week lay-off between games, Louth had challenge victories over Kildalkey from Meath and Kildare's Eire Og. They overwhelmed the Exiles by 4-15 to 1-3 in a painfully one-sided exercise at Dowdallshill on July 14. The winners packed far too much style and spirit for the visitors, with all six attackers and both midfielders getting on the scoresheet. Collins Connolly (1-6), David Dunne (1-4), Paul Donoghue and the returned Shane Fennell supplied the all-important goals. Louth had hardly been tested en route to the semi-finals, playing Warwickshire twice and Cavan. Roscommon would provide the first true test of their mettle and - in contrast - the Connacht county represented a really difficult draw. The Reds may have had home advantage but Roscommon had just come down from the Christy Ring Cup and were clearly the outstanding side in the 2007 Nicky Rackard Cup. Though it was always going to be a tough task, the 14-point margin of defeat ended the year on a disappointing note. Louth - 2007 Nicky Rackard Cup semi-final V Roscommon: Stephen Smith; Tony Teefey, David Mulholland, Adrian Wallace; Donagh Callan, Brian Hassett, Diarmuid Murphy; Shane Callan (0-2), Trevor Hilliard; Shane Fennell, Eddie McCarthy (0-1), David Dunne; Collins Connolly (0-2), David Donohue, Paul Dyas. Substitutes: Conor Kerrigan, Gerard Smyth, Dee McCarthy, David Reid, Niall McEneaney. Tweet

Most Read Stories