This Louth look to be made of sterner stuff

LEINSTER SFC SEMI-FINAL Louth 1-15 Westmeath 2-10:LOUTH'S LONG march back to a Leinster final is complete. Their last appearance was 1960, when they lost to Offaly; their last title came three years before that. And then a 53-year famine.

The value of this revival cannot be measured just yet, but the delight on the faces of the healthy following that finally got to make the journey down to Croke Park is promising.

Like many counties starved of success, the football people, and there are plenty in Louth, desperately want something they can believe in. It is a matter of putting the structures in place so the talent can flourish.

Paddy Keenan, their captain and valiant midfielder, has been around for several years so he understands the magnitude of the achievement. Yet equally, he realises a heavy defeat to Meath on July 11th would be damaging.

“There have been so many false dawns for Louth football,” said Keenan.

“There were probably better teams than us in the 1990s that lost four or five semi-finals.

“It is great for young kids looking on to see that today.

“We ground it out. Other Louth teams would have lost it by a point or two.”

What makes this so special is the potential, as Keenan touched upon, to create a legacy.

At half-time the announcer stated the official attendance was 60,035. A few stunned Dublin fans lingered on Hill 16, at least until the sun disappeared behind clouds, but really the place had long since emptied.

Or so we thought. The thousands of Wee County supporters in the lower Hogan and Cusack stands were about to find their voice.

That Westmeath were on the cusp of a provincial final was remarkable considering the disastrous 2010 they have already experienced with a player revolt ousting Brendan Hackett as manager just eight weeks ago.

Former selector Pat Flanagan has come in, while Dessie Dolan, Denis Glennon and John Keane all returned as victory over Wicklow ensured back-to-back winless league campaigns were suddenly forgotten.

Louth raced into a four-point lead as Brian White and Keenan took a grip on midfield with both also getting among the scoring. White is the free-taker, and quick ball into Shane Lennon – a player who deserves the elite stage only Croke Park can provide – did serious damage.

Lennon had Westmeath’s veteran fullback Donal O’Donoghue in all sorts of trouble.

Keane, an All Star defender but injury-prone, eventually replaced O’Donoghue to shore matters up 10 minutes into the second half.

Another hugely significant arrival was Martin Flanagan seven minutes later.

But between these two changes a terribly inept intervention by the officials gifted Westmeath a lifeline. Louth were in complete control, leading 0-11 to 0-7, but Glennon wriggled free and raced towards goal. He went to ground after contact with centre back Michael Fanning. It occurred outside the penalty area.

Referee Syl Doyle very hesitantly spread his arms before consulting his umpire. The result was a yellow card for fullback Dessie Finnegan, who was a good two metres away from the incident. Paul Bannon finished the penalty to make it a one-point game.

A heroic point from Keenan was followed by a score from another lively sub, Derek Maguire, as Louth reasserted their authority.

Maguire’s trickery tore open the Westmeath defence moments later as he set up Colm Judge for their goal. But Westmeath, perhaps sensing Louth might fold or maybe motivated by fearing such a defeat on their record, upped their game dramatically.

Paul Greville landed two points while Flanagan was proving a nightmare on the square’s edge, and with six minutes remaining he outmuscled Finnegan before calmly finishing to the net.

Even the midfield breaks were swinging Westmeath’s way now as a Glennon point, again, brought it back to the minimum.

This Louth team refused to limp off the stage as a Judge point guided them into the promised land.

LOUTH: 1. N Gallagher; 2. E McAuley, 3. D Finnegan, 4. R Greene; 5. R Finnegan, 6. M Fanning, 7. J O'Brien; 8. P Keenan (capt, 0-3), 9. B White (0-4, 3f); 11. M Brennan (0-1), 10. A McDonnell, 12. A Reed (0-1); 13. C Judge (1-2, 0-1f), 14. S Lennon (0-2), 15. JP Rooney. Subs: 18. P Smith (0-1) for A McDonnell (half-time), 22. D Maguire (0-1) for JP Rooney (52 mins). Yellow cards: D Finnegan 48 mins, P Keenan 60 mins.

WESTMEATH: 1. G Connaughton; 2. F Boyle, 3. D O'Donoghue, 4. K Maguire; 5. M Ennis (capt), 6. K Martin, 7. D Harte; 8. D Duffy, 9. P Bannon (1-1, 1-0 pen); 10. D Heavin, 11. C Lynam, 12. G Egan (0-1); 13. P Greville (0-5, 2f), 14. D Dolan (0-1), 15. D Glennon (0-2). Subs: 20. J Smyth for D Heavin (22 mins), 24 J Keane for D O'Donoghue (45 mins), 21 M Flanagan (1-0) for C Lynam (52 mins), 25 T McDaniel for G Egan (60 mins), 19 D Healy for K Martin (63 mins). Yellow cards: M Ennis 54 mins, D Harte 69 mins.

Referee: S Doyle(Wexford).