All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Group 1, round one
Louth v Cork (Saturday, Pairc Tailteann, 3pm)
WITH Kerry and Mayo being the other two teams in the group, Saturday afternoon's contest has the feel of a ‘must win’ for both Louth and Cork, if they want to survive in the All-Ireland Championship.
For Louth, despite having a bank of 10 competitive games played, it’s hard to know what level they are really at.
The season so far has brought plenty of optimism for the Wee County, even if Dublin twice stood in their way of reaching targets which they probably wouldn’t even set for themselves at the beginning of the year.
As the league rumbled on and Louth picked up a string of victories, the question asked was ‘could they really be promoted to Division One?’ However, defeat against Dublin put an end to their hopes.
In the Leinster Championship, they ground out wins over Westmeath and Offaly, and the question asked was ‘could they really win the Leinster Championship?’ Once more, Dublin stood in their way. This time in particularly brutal fashion, as they hammered home five goals in a 21-point win.
However, Louth won’t be too discouraged, as they are only at the beginning of their development and there will be lessons along the way, according to their boss Mickey Harte.
"It is a harsh lesson for the players,” he said after the loss.
It is one thing getting beaten, it is another thing getting battered and that is what happened to us today.
"But sometimes, that happens in football and you have to learn from every outcome.”
Despite that shellacking two weeks ago, Louth will have enough experience from throughout the season to tell them that they’re capable of mixing it at the top table in the All-Ireland Championship.
Not least with their win over Saturday’s opponents, Cork – which was one of four they claimed in Division Two.
Louth had got off to a slow start that day and looked to be in trouble, but a red card for Cork’s Daniel O’Mahony just before the break would turn the tide.
Harte’s men flipped the game on its head in the second half, taking the lead for the first time in the 62nd minute and stormed home to win 1-10 to 0-10.
Since their league campaign, Louth’s captain and key player Sam Mulroy has returned from injury and he has put the team on his back, scoring 1-20 across their three championship games to date – including 0-10 against the Dubs.
On the other side, whilst I stated earlier that it’s hard to know what level Louth are really at, the exact same can be said for Cork.
John Cleary’s men have played eight competitive games in 2023, winning three, drawing one and losing four. Any time it seems as though they’re about to find their form, they put in a disappointing performance in their next showing.
Their greatest disappointment of the season came when their Munster Championship campaign was over before it ever really started, as they were unceremoniously dumped out by Clare in the quarter-final.
Whilst Louth built up some momentum in Leinster before having their doors blown off by Dublin, Cork have had seven weeks to prepare for this weekend.
With both sides at a similar level, it remains to be seen whether momentum or rest will prevail.
