Mickey Harte tactics for Louth's Leinster final 'baffle' Tomás Ó Sé

Tomás Ó Sé says that Mickey Harte's tactical approach in Sunday's Leinster final defeat to Dublin baffled him.

The Wee County entered their first provincial decider in 13 years with a genuine hope that they could stick with a Metropolitan outfit that had failed to impress in their semi-final victory over Kildare.

But it turned into an afternoon to forget for the manager and his players as they shipped five goals, and lost by 21 points at Croke Park.

Ó Sé, who lost All-Ireland finals to Tyrone teams under Harte in 2005 and 2008, told the RTÉ GAA Podcast that the approach made little sense.

"It did surprise me how Mickey Harte's team set up," he said.

"It baffles me in some ways. I used to have this argument with Joe Brolly inside in the studio, 'why defend like that, why have numbers behind the ball?' Because Joe, if you set up the way Louth set up yesterday, things like that can happen - 5-21!

"No wonder teams set up like that. And all it takes is a Donegal to see it successful, and win, and it's always going to be the way. Teams are always going to set up that way.

"I was very, very surprised at how open they were. You can call it brave, you can call it stupid as well, but they pushed up aggressively on kick outs, they pushed up everywhere all over the pitch.

"That was their game plan, they had to be happy with it. They were brave and they stuck to it. Yes they hurt [Stephen] Cluxton at times but, by God, did Dublin absolutely wipe them out in primary possession in the middle of the park.

"That was the difference. They were wide open. They had fellas ridiculously committed forward. The first goal showed that.

"I don't know how it happened under Mickey Harte's watch because people were saying in his latter years with Tyrone that