Sunday, 16th July 2017: Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Football Championship Final; Louth v Dublin, 2pm, Croke Park.

The minor footballers of Louth and Dublin don’t buy into the idea that a good start is half the battle.

A failure to hit the ground running in most games in this season’s championship hasn’t thwarted either team’s ambitions of winning Sunday’s final at Croke Park.

Louth are now enjoying the build-up to their first appearance in the final since 1971, having endured some anxious moments along the way. In both the semi-final against Wexford and the quarter-final versus Offaly, they trailed by 1-5 to 0-1 before finding their form and clawing back the deficit.

Previously, in the first round away to Laois, they were taken to extra-time before securing a 2-11 to 0-15 success.

For their part, Dublin looked dead and buried in the first round when trailing Meath by ten points at half time, but a remarkable comeback eventually resulted in a two point win, after extra time.

And while they hit 6-12 and 1-16 in their quarter-final and semi-final, respectively, they were held scoreless for the opening 14 minutes in both games.

So managers Wayne Kierans (Louth) and Tom Gray (Dublin) may have a similar message for their troops before the throw-in: get stuck in from the start to avoid the requirement for another comeback victory.

Ben Mooney and John Gallagher were Louth’s goal scorers in their first outing in Portlaoise, while Gallagher also held his nerve to slot over the match-winning free against Offaly. Conor Gillespie and Gerry Garland scored two goals each as they edged out Wexford in a pulsating semi-final by 4-10 to 2-15.

Dublin looked destined for the back-door in their first outing at Parnell Park, but a late goal by James Doran helped force extra-time against Meath, and Ciaran Archer then came to the fore with some excellent points as they progressed by 1-15 to 1-13.

A scoreless opening 15 minutes against Longford didn’t cause any difficulties as Dublin still led by 1-6 to 0-1 at the interval. Ross McGarry scored 2-1, while Adam Byrne, James Madden, James Doran and Sean Hawkshaw also raised green flags as the Dubs won by 25 points.

McGarry also netted the only goal of the semi-final, helping Dublin to bounce back from a 0-3 to 0-0 deficit after 15 minutes to lead 1-7 to 0-7 at the break, and they always held a narrow lead in the second half.

Dublin, therefore, ended Kildare’s three-in-a-row bid and are now in contention for their fourth provincial title this decade. For Louth, a win on Sunday would bridge a gap of 64 years since their most recent triumph in 1953.

2017 ELECTRIC IRELAND LEINSTER MINOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Preliminary Round: Offaly 3-18, Wexford 0-6
First Round: Offaly 0-13, Westmeath 1-4; Dublin 1-15, Meath 1-13 (aet); Louth 2-11, Laois 0-15 (aet); Longford 1-19, Wicklow 3-8; Kildare 2-13, Carlow 0-9.
Qualifiers: Laois 0-11, Meath 0-10; Wexford 2-14, Wicklow 3-7; Carlow 2-12, Westmeath 0-17
Quarter-Finals: Kildare 1-14, Laois 2-6; Dublin 6-12, Longford 0-5; Louth 0-15, Offaly 1-11; Wexford 1-12, Carlow 2-8
Semi-Finals: Louth 4-10, Wexford 2-15; Dublin 1-16, Kildare 0-14

Leinster G.A.A. Minor Football Championship Roll Of Honour