07-05-2025
Clerkin's delight as Louth dump Dublin out of Leinster
Completing the treble line-up were the Louth minors who dumped Dublin out at the semi-final stage, 2-17 to 1-8, of the Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Football Championship at Naul on Thursday evening, in a powerful display that made Dublin, who were restricted to a solitary point in the second half, look very ordinary.
Louth will now face Offaly, a team they beat in the group stages, in the final on Monday May 5 (venue and time TBC) and will attempt to win the Fr Larry Murray Cup for the first time in 72 years.
Louth hit the ground running to lead 1-3 to 0-0 after 10 minutes but Dublin hauled themselves back into the game and only trailed by a point at the break 1-8 to 1-7, after a strong second quarter.
However, if anyone thought the Dubs would just push on after the break, they were badly mistaken. Louth dominated the second half and even the loss of Anthony Reilly to a black card had no impact as they upped their game, scoring 1-3 while the Naomh Fionnbarra man was off the pitch. Dublin's only score in the second half didn't arrive until the 52nd minute.
Louth manager Johnn Clerkin, understandably couldn't hide his delight after the final whistle and was full of praise for his young charges who got off to a perfect start.
'We've sort of been threatening that performance all year. We got the start we wanted which we didn't get the first day; I think maybe after the first day, the aura of Dublin was gone on us coming here, and that's something that we did talk to the boys about and to a man, we've 31 lads, and to a man they just all showed up today,' said the Louth minor manager.
'When you're playing one of the bigger teams and we're knocking on the door, the start was so different from when we played [Dublin] a couple of weeks ago in Parnell Park, and we had been starting well in games up until the Dublin game; [it's] something we did a bit of work on during the week, you get in, get going early and you get to feel comfortable in the game.
'And then you have a better chance of maybe managing the game when you're ahead. Yes, there are times when Dublin are going to come, no matter who you play, they'll have their wave, they'll have their purple patch. It's how you manage that.
'But credit to the lads, it's something that sometimes can happen accidentally or a group of people can come together and they buy into something and they believe in something and we're all here to move mountains and those boys certainly moved mountains tonight.'
Dublin came back strongly towards the end of the first half. They got a goal and reduced the deficit down to a one-point game at the break but at the start of the second half, Louth again hit the ground running.
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'That's what these boys do, they can manage games,' said Clerkin.
'Any team you're going to play is going to have a purple patch, it doesn't matter who you're playing, You're going to have to weather a storm somewhere along the line. And to be fair to the lads, probably in the last 10 minutes [of the first half] a couple of decisions weren't wonderful when we were on the ball and we let Dublin back in. They took a quick free kick for the goal, that sort of stuff and that's concentration.
'But look, they're kids. We've three 15 year olds and most of them are 16 and a couple of them are 17. To come up with a performance like that at their age. It can in these sort of games, in these environments, and these teams is only going to benefit Louth under-20s and Louth senior teams because these lads are going to be open to playing in a high pressure environment and to be fair to them, they take it their stride…brilliant.'
One player that needed singling out for his kicking was 15 year old Conall Kelly. He was given a roving role, he was all over the field but his long range free-taking – kicking over, with plenty to spare, from 48, 49 metres out and pressure kicks at that, but delivering them with assurance and confidence was something to behold.
'Conall's in the field [practicing] probably every day of the week, he could be in it twice a day some weeks and he's the most unassuming, quietest young fella you'll ever come across' said Clerkin.
'He came into this, him and Finn [McEneaney] and young [Conor] Marron have come on to this team and they're silent assassins, as I call them. They go about their business and they're a great bunch and sometimes there's things you can't coach, some things you can, and I believe sometimes that you just have to let a fella do his own thing and by Jesus, Connor Kelly did it tonight.'
When Andrew Reilly was dismissed for 10 minutes to a black card early in the second half, there was the fear this would open the door for Dublin but they couldn't capitalise. Indeed, it was Louth who played the better football, scoring 1-3 in Reilly's absence. This was something Clerkin wanted to highlight,
'We upped it and I think we scored 1-3 in that period but look, this team, we talk about making good decisions under pressure and playing along with teammates, and every one of them saw that the pressure was on. I didn't see what happened with Andrew [but] nevertheless, it was a black card and do you know what they did? They just pulled each other in, looked each other in the eye and said let's go at it.'
