STONE-COLD ASSASSINS

THE insane emotion at the end of Louth's Leinster Final victory over Meath at the weekend couldn't have been any further from the cold pragmatism Ger Brennan's side had taken all the way to the final whistle, just seconds earlier.

- BY KARL O'KANE

Meath have got more controlled as a team this year, but they're not at Louth's level yet. The first sign of this was how quickly the Wee County got 12 men behind the ball when they were turned over or lost a kick-out.

This was a team with a clear gameplan. Everyone was immediately taking up their role in the team's defensive shape. They did it time and time again and at impressive pace. No prima donnas.

No-one waiting for someone else to get back. Everyone doing the horrible, dirty work.

Meath, with the wind at their backs and a huge amount of front-foot possession off the Louth kick-out, picked holes in the first half, but they also ran into plenty of trouble around the arc and D.

The second sign that Louth are on the road longer than Meath was the patience with which they attacked. It was snail's pace at times, but they were setting their attack up and getting the right men in the right positions. They probed left and right and it was no accident that Craig Lennon, their paciest ball carrier, was often the pivot they worked the ball too.