In the first of Sunday’s Leinster Senior Football Championship semi-finals at Croke Park, Louth sealed a four-point triumph over Kildare, securing their spot in the Leinster final. For the first time since the full seasons of 1957-58, Louth is progressing to consecutive Leinster finals. The pathway to victory could arguably have been smoother, as Louth remained in dominant position throughout the game.
Falling four points behind at the midway point, Kildare fought back in the later half but were unable to overturn their situation, being denied any sight of victory by a confident Louth. Man of the match, Sam Mulroy, took the lead, contributing seven points, two of which came from active play, whereas Conor Grimes also gave a notable performance.
Following a tense quarter final against Wicklow, Kildare arrived with some hope, but struggled to achieve consistency in their playing strategy in the early stages. Louth triumphed by four points following the first half, with eight individual scorers, securing their leading position of 0-10 against Kildare’s 0-6. Quick to settle into the game, Tommy Durnin, following six minutes of play, initiated Louth’s score tally with a shot from midfield.
Despite having ample game possession, Kildare’s aiming and choice of shots was poor at times. Despite excellent weather conditions, they also had a tendency to rush their shots. With a more confident start, Louth, who had previously beaten Kildare in the final league round, began to secure dominance. Kildare’s Kevin Feely scored the team’s first point after eight minutes of play, but faced several missed opportunities in the opening quarter, allowing Louth to take the lead. Ryan Burns quickly responded with a point after Mark Donnellan came to Kildare’s rescue, saving a Grimes’ shot, which was immediately followed by Craig Lennon’s point.
Kildare managed to level the score against the run of play, owing to a free from Shane Farrell. They then moved a point ahead. However, Louth put a quick end to this lead and scored five unresponded points. Among these, the most salient were by Grimes and Paul Matthews.
Despite the situation, Daniel Flynn occasionally posed a threat to Louth’s goal, managing his first score at 31 minutes, thus halting Louth’s series of points. Before the end of the first half, Ciarán Downey put in the last score, making him the eighth Louth scorer to contribute by the halfway point.
The Louth team lined up as follows: McDonnell in the goal, with McKenny, Corcoran, Lynch, McKeever, Williams, Sharkey (0-1), Durnin (0-1), and Matthews (0-1) as outfield players. Lennon (0-2), Keenan, Grimes (0-2); Burns (0-1), Mulroy (0-7, 4f, 1 45), and Downey (0-1) were also part of the squad. Substitutes included Grey for Sharkey at 52 minutes, Early for Burns at 55 minutes, Duffy for Corcoran at 57 minutes, Byrne for Matthews at 68 minutes, and Murphy (0-1) for Downey at 72 minutes.
Kildare’s squad included Donnellan in goal, with Burke, Ryan, O’Grady, Sargent, Doyle, McDermott, Masterson, and Beirne as outfield players. Also on the pitch were O’Callaghan, Kelly, Farrell (0-3, all frees); Feely (0-4, two frees), Kirwan (0-2) and Flynn (0-1). Substitutes included Kelly for Beirne at 40 minutes, Woodgate (0-2, both free) for Kelly at 50 minutes, Archibold (0-1) for Burke at 55 minutes, Killian for O’Callaghan at 59 minutes, and O’Sullivan for Masterson at 68 minutes. The referee was Conor Lane from Cork.