Reynolds hat-trick helps impressive Longford capture fourth O'Byrne Cup crown

Whether your taste is for style, substance or statistics, the Longford footballers gave you something for you to appreciate last Saturday afternoon at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park.

O'Byrne Cup Final 2023: Longford 3-13 Louth 0-12

The stats keepers will remark that Longford left their county ground with a fourth ever O’Byrne Cup, and as one of just two counties – alongside Cork – that could celebrate three match wins in the month of January.

The style gurus will say that Longford rifled in three goals to crown some flamboyant, fast-paced football that featured pace, power and heavy use of the high ball into the opposition goalmouth, particularly from wide positions where most modern teams would look to recycle the ball and start from scratch.

But in terms of meat on the bones, Longford produced a solid team display where they had strong performances in every line of the field, and where their fitness and teamwork stood up well to the challenge of a Louth side that were happy to draft in several heavy hitters for their first start of the year.

Sam Mulroy, Bevan Duffy and Ryan Burns were among the recognisable faces that were brought into the starting team, and early points for Mulroy and Burns, struck into the light breeze ensured that the Wee County started the game on the front foot.

Momentum briefly shifted when Craig Lennon lost his footing coming out of the Louth back line, and once Mickey Quinn pounced to snaffle up the loose ball, possession was worked into Reynolds for the first of his three goals, but that reprieve was to be brief as Louth quickly settled back into the game to retake the lead at 0-6 to 1-2, Oisín McGuinness delivering a spectacular strike for the lead score.

Longford Make Dominance Count
After the game, Mickey Harte spoke about how his team were the better side in the first 20 minutes, but that they failed to make it count on the scoreboard.

For the 20 minutes either side of half-time, Longford showed the men in red exactly how it was done, as they racked up 1-9 to Louth’s 0-3, establishing a commanding eight-point advantage.

Darren Gallagher and Fergal Sheridan were imperious in the middle, Iarla O’Sullivan and Joseph Hagan got through a mountain of work on the wings and up front, David McGivney and Reynolds seemed to be able to win their own ball most of the time, regardless of whether it came in high or low.

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Their finishing was mixed – Longford also racked up nine wides – but with the chances flowing freely, it never looked like they would pay for their profligacy.

1-7 to 0-7 at the break, Louth made a solid start to the second half with points from Mulroy and Jay Hughes either side of a McGivney free, but their brief flash of resistance was quelled when Daniel Mimnagh and McGivney scored in quick succession, and then yet another error in the Louth backline allowed O’Sullivan to play in Reynolds, and the Seán Connollys clubman duly placed a perfect low shot inside Martin McEneaney’s near post.

It was a sumptuous finish and the act of a man who is relishing his switch to a new role closer to goal.

High Praise for Reynolds
Afterwards, Paddy Christie – who worked with Reynolds at DCU – paid his attacker a fine tribute when he compared him to a three-time All-Ireland and All-Star winner.

“He reminds me of Alan Brogan, from the time when I was in the Dublin panel,” said Christie.

“(Alan) was only a little kid and he was playing corner back and wing back and the rest is history. Like Alan, Dessie is a fine footballer and he looks to go by his man so we want to have more of that.”

Now in a deep hole, Louth tried to rally but they struggled to get separation up front, with Andrew Farrell and captain Barry O’Farrell producing several turnovers for Longford, and the contest was settled when one of several excellent diagonal deliveries into the Louth parallelogram was fielded by Dessie Reynolds and rifled into the top corner of the net.

It could have been even more brutal for Louth as Mickey Quinn blasted the ball over the bar when he might have gone for goal if the game situation was a little bit different, while Iarla O’Sullivan also had a wonderful opportunity to crown a fine performance with a goal, only to shoot too close to Martin McEneaney in the Louth goal.

Those misses were never going to prove consequential however as a dismal afternoon for Louth was rounded off when they were awarded a late penalty that was sent high and wide by Mulroy, a painful but fitting finale for a game where there could be no doubt as to which side was the one that brought all of their attacking instinct and flair to the table.

SCORERS
Longford: Dessie Reynolds 3-3, David McGivney 0-4 (0-2f), Darren Gallagher 0-3 (0-2 45s), Fergal Sheridan 0-1, Daniel Mimnagh 0-1, Michael Quinn 0-1

Louth: Sam Mulroy 0-6 (0-3f, 0-1 45), Jay Hughes 0-2, Ryan Burns 0-1, Tom Gray 0-1, Oisín McGuinness 0-1, Conall McCaul 0-1

TEAMS
LONGFORD: Paddy Collum (Fr Manning Gaels); Barry O’Farrell (Carrickedmond), Andrew Farrell (Cashel), Ryan Moffett (Killoe); Peter Lynn (Longford Slashers), Gary Rogers (Mullinalaghta), Iarla O’Sullivan (Rathcline); Fergal Sheridan (Colmcille), Darren Gallagher (Granard); Dylan Farrell (St Brigid’s), Joseph Hagan (Dromard), Michael Quinn (Killoe); Dessie Reynolds (Sean Connolly’s), Daniel Mimnagh (Killoe), David McGivney (Mullinalaghta).

Subs: Aaron Farrell (Dromard) for D Farrell (56 mins); Robbie Smyth (Abbeylara) for Quinn (61 mins); James McGivney (Mullinalaghta) for Mimnagh (64 mins); Jack Macken (Colmcille) for Reynolds (66 mins); Peter Foy (St. Loman’s, Mullingar) for O’Sullivan (68 mins); Brian Masterson (Abbeylara) for Lynn (68 mins); Rúairí Harkin (Colmcille) for Rogers (68 mins); Tadhg McNevin (Longford Slashers) for Gallagher (70 mins); Conor Keenan (Fr Manning Gaels) for Hagan (70 mins); Jayson Matthews (Mullinalaghta) for D McGivney (70 mins).

LOUTH: Martin McEneaney; Alan Connor, Bevan Duffy, Páraic McKenny; Oisín McGuinness, Liam Jackson, Craig Lennon; Tommy Durnin, Conall McCaul; Shane Matthews, Ciarán Keenan, Ryan Burns; Jay Hughes, Sam Mulroy, Tom Gray.

Subs: Niall Sharkey for Lennon (41 mins); Gerard Browne for McKenny (54 mins); Jack Murphy for Matthews (64 mins); Conor Clarke for Connor (66 mins); Evan Maher for McCaul (68 mins).

REFEREE: Keith O’Brien (Westmeath)

PICTURES | Gallery of great photos as impressive Longford celebrate O'Byrne Cup glory

HIGHLIGHT
Everything about Dessie Reynolds’ third goal; the leap, the deft sidestep to give himself the space to shoot, the immaculate shot to the top corner of the net, the roar of the crowd, and above all, the sense of relief when the young attacker got back up after initially it looked as if he might have been hurt in the process.

LOWLIGHT
Mickey Harte’s comments after the game, criticising figures involved with Offaly who spoke about Louth conceding their group game in Wexford, seemed to get more airtime than this fantastic win, which was achieved by playing enjoyable, fast, attacking football. It felt as if the soap opera aspect of the O’Byrne Cup was taking precedence over the games.

TURNING POINT
How would Longford have fared if Craig Lennon hadn’t lost his footing to enable the first of their three goals? It’s hard to tell, but there’s no doubt that the score came against the run of play, when Louth were in very good shape.

MAIN MAN
While purists within the county would have a lot of time for the performance of the midfield duo of Darren Gallagher and Fergal Sheridan, it would be farcical to point to anyone other than the player who scores 3-3, all from play, Dessie Reynolds.

REF WATCH
Keith O’Brien is one of the up and coming referees in the province of Leinster, and the Moate man didn’t do himself any harm with this display. His mobility and his physical stature give him a very good head start when it comes to earning the respect of the players around him.

FOURTH SUCCESS
Saturday's fine victory was Longford's fourth success in the O'Byrne Cup. The previous trumphs came in 1965, 2000 and 2020.

WHAT'S NEXT
St Joseph’s GAA club in Ederney next Saturday afternoon will play host to Longford’s opening fixture in the Allianz football league. Paddy Christie’s men will now start as clear favourites for the contest, throwing in at 2pm.