They started 2007 on the crest of a wave on the back of one of the most successful seasons in years. A Division Two title and a Tommy Murphy Cup, not to mention a thrilling encounter with then All-Ireland champions Tyrone, had raised hopes in a county which for too long had underachieved. By James Rogers. Division One football would undoubtedly be tougher but a seemingly favourable draw in Leinster had many people talking about a first provincial title since in 47 years before a ball had even been kicked. What transpired was a real rollercoaster of a campaign from the highs of a rare win over Meath and a run to the last 12 of the All-Ireland to the lows of a last gasp defeat to Armagh and relegation to Division Three for 2008. One man very much involved with everything Louth did throughout the year was Colin Goss. A virtual ever present in the number three shirt, the St Patrick's clubman was as hopeful as anyone at the start of the season that the Wee County could make a big impact in a year that just so happened to be the 50th anniversary of the county's third and last All-Ireland triumph. Things seemed to start off well too when in their opening game of the season, Louth triumphed over old rivals Meath in the O'Byrne Cup on a 1-11 to 0-13 scoreline after extra-time in Drogheda. It was a victory which Goss claims gave the side genuine confidence for what lay ahead. "The conditions weren't great on the day but to get the win was brilliant. "It was a bit of a battle against our local rivals but we were keen to get a good result and it turned out to be a great win in the end. "It had been a long time since we had beaten them in anything so it was good to finally end that hoodoo so early in the year, especially after the way they had beaten us in the championship the previous summer," he said. That O'Byrne Cup campaign was ended a week later when a very depleted Louth side went down to Laois in Portarlington by the narrowest of margins but even so both players and supporters entered February confident that their side would make a real go if things in Division 1B of the National Football League. Things started well with a 2-14 to 1-13 victory over Down in Drogheda but a major blow was suffered a week later when Louth were denied what looked like a certain victory over Armagh in Crossmaglen when Steven McDonnell's late goal handed Joe Kernan's men a 1-9 to 0-11 victory. A draw against Laois in Portlaoise was followed by victory over Westmeath in Dowdallshill but the wheels began to come off in Newbridge at the end of March when Kildare came away 0-14 to 2-7 winners in a match in which the Wee County hit no fewer than 18 wides. Defeat to Galway in the penultimate round of games left Louth needing to go to Derry and win to secure their survival but a 3-18 to 1-11 hammering meant that they were relegated to Division Three for next season. It had been a tough campaign and one which Goss feels could have went a lot differently with a little more luck. "There were a few results in the league where we were beaten by a point and if anyone of those matches had gone our way then we could have finished a lot higher up than we did. In the end I thought we were unfortunate to go down to Division Three," he said. "The defeat to Armagh was a real hammerblow. The conditions weren't great on the day but we were the better team over the course of the hour. It just shows that you can't afford to take your foot off the pedal at this level and we learnt that the hard way. "We thought we had recovered from that defeat but then when we lost to Kildare we seemed to lose our confidence a bit. We fell behind in the first half and let them play too much. In the second half we came out a lot better but we wasted too many chances and they proved costly. "In the last game against Derry our minds were off a bit. I suppose we knew that as a whole the campaign had been disappointing. We felt a few things hadn't gone our way and we were feeling sorry for ourselves. "It wasn't the right attitude to have at all and we paid the price for it," said Goss. Looking back, it is now apparent that the scars of that 13 point defeat at Celtic Park hadn't healed by the time the championship came around. Louth were up against a Wicklow side who have never won a provincial title but who were now under the stewardship of the legendary Mick O'Dwyer. Many predicted an easy win for the Wee County but in the end McEneaney's men had to ride a few storms just to get a second replay where they eventually finished the job on a convincing 2-18 to 0-11 scoreline. In hindsight Goss admits that maybe his side took Wicklow for granted. "We had a lot of distractions going into the championship such as Peter McGinnity's wedding and one or two other things but we couldn't use them as excuses. "We tried not to take them for granted but when everyone is talking about you winning comfortable it is only human nature for things like that to play on your mind and soon you begin to believe them. "We definitely got a rude awakening though and I can tell you that Wicklow are not as bad a side as they are made out to be. They were well organised and we were just delighted to be able to come through those games because they were definitely very tough," he said. Having finally seen off the Garden County, Louth were finally paired up with Paul Bealin's Wexford who had been waiting in the wings while the saga with Wicklow unfolded. The fact that the opposition hadn't played competitively since April was supposed to work in the Wee County's favour but in the end it was Eamon McEneaney's side who looked short of practice as they disappointingly went down by 0-16 to 2-8 at Croke Park. Once again Goss admitted that perhaps Louth had taken things for granted. "We thought that having come through the three games against Wicklow that that would stand to us but if we're honest about it we let ourselves down against Wexford. "We thought that having come through such a battle against Wicklow that it was probably just a matter of turning up on the day but they'd been waiting for us a long time and they were ready for us. "We didn't make a good start which had been a problem for us throughout the year and we got what we deserved," said the St Patrick's man. Things seemed to go from bad to worse after that defeat. Although the Qualifiers beckoned for the county, a number of players seemed to have enough. A number of them failed to get on the team bus after the game and within a week Naomh Mairtin duo JP Rooney and Nicky McDonnell, Mattock Rangers' trio Mark Brennan, David Brennan and David Reid and Newtown Blues defender Jamie Carr had all left the panel. A number of new faces including Colm Judge and Mick Fanning were called up in their place but suddenly things looked bleak and a year which had promised so much looked like ending in complete and utter disappointment. Suddenly Louth began to turn things around though and after a heroic 0-14 to 0-13 away to Limerick, the side went to Newbridge and came away with a 1-16 to 1-10 success to put themselves in the last 12 of the All-Ireland against eventual finalists Cork who ended the county's glorious back door run on a 0-16 to 0-14 scoreline in Portlaoise. Goss feels it was the panel's unity in times of adversity that helped them come through that highly difficult period and praised the fans for sticking by the team when all hope looked lost. "After the Wexford game there was a lot going on in the press and throughout the county questioning the panel and the management team. "We took a lot of flak from the outside but instead of letting it get to us we decided to knit together and we decided that there was only one way to respond and that was by winning. "Some new boys came in from the development squad and created more competition for places which really lifted everyone. "We knew we just had to get a win under our belts to end the year on a bit of a high. It was always going to be tough travelling down the country to a place like Limerick but we showed we were capable of going away from home and winning. "That set us up nicely for the Kildare game and it was a brilliant feeling to beat them. "We went in as underdogs which actually suited us but after losing to them in the league we were just determined to rectify the situation and put up a good show. Luckily enough everything went well on the day and we were delighted to reach the last 12. "We couldn't have done it without the backing of the fans though and they were superb towards us throughout the Qualifiers. Louth has had a lot of bad times but they always turn up to support the side in huge numbers and the receptions they gave us in Limerick and Kildare was out of this world. "It was great to then push Cork so close but we felt a bit aggrieved that we had to play three games in the space of a fortnight. "Our fitter players started to tire in that game and it took its toll on our performance because usually we would finish a game strongly and we just didn't have the energy to do that for a third week. "Hopefully that run will stand to us though in the coming year. We'd like to move back up a division in the coming year and hopefully work towards the Dublin match in the summer. We'll be underdogs for it but that will suit us," he said. Although Goss finished the championship campaign by holding the full forwards of Wicklow, Wexford, Limerick, Kildare and Cork scoreless he was not looking to take any plaudits for that impressive feat. "Defending is a team effort and any score against the defence counts. We are a unit at the back and you don't keep any one player scoreless on your own," he said. Louth were perhaps slightly naïve at times this season but Goss feels they will learn from that in the year ahead. "We've definitely learnt that we can take nothing from granted which we probably unintentionally did at times this season against the likes of Armagh and Wicklow. "We got thought a hard lesson this year but we feel we've learnt from it and hopefully we can show people the benefit of that in 2008," said Goss. It certainly was a rollercoaster year for the Wee County. After an impressive finish to the season Louth football appears to be on the way back up again, however, and if Colin Goss has anything to do with it then there'll be more positives than negatives when he weighs up another campaign in 12 months time. Tweet

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