Meath Forum

Club Championship 2023

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Replying To Richieq:  "Again, I would refer you to the semi final involving Summerhill before wondering if they are going to "save us all" the inadequacies of that game are being largely ignored, as for crucial flash points going against Tones i find that debatable but then that's just my opinion, ultimately Tones had several chances with a gale behind them in the second half that they missed, hence they lost, regardless of how people view the officiating Tones had adequate chances."
Agree, there will always be controversial decisions in matches, and in a lot of cases these decisions could be argued for either way, on Sunday there were probably 5/6 of these and they all went the same way, not one person i have spoken to has put up a defence for some of these decisions, even the local broadcasters of the game brought it up . Tones had their chances as you say and didn't take them, Ratoath are stumbling into a final, hopefully a good final with one of our top officials on duty

Analyst (Meath) - Posts: 1467 - 26/09/2023 11:38:09    2505782

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If Summerhill we're playing Wolfetones in that game they would have done exactly the same
The reason the game was played in that fashion was of the tones playing 15 men behind the ball
Ratoath needed to get inside the 21meter line or even closer to try for a score against that wind and that was next to impossible with all the bodies tones had in there

Summerhill game as proven in the past will be much more expansive as both teams want to play football
The tones don't and with the ward's coming to the end of there careers they will struggle
Also for a team who counts themselves as hardy north Meath men they do a lot of rolling around on the ground which the ref bought into on occasion

Awaywin (Meath) - Posts: 100 - 26/09/2023 12:16:00    2505803

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Replying To rubia:  "I was at the tones ratoath game, and the ref was not favouring anyone. He was fair"
I was at the game and have spoken to lots of people from several clubs including Ratoath,, everyone agrees that Ratoath got several big calls especially in the first half that allowed them get a 4 point lead. You are the only person to say he was fair.

latouche25 (Meath) - Posts: 520 - 26/09/2023 12:45:16    2505810

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Can people stop with the comical witch-hunt about how bad Meath football is and suggesting that Ratoath should be lynched for planning damned football. Bryan McMahon and Dathi McGowan are the two leading scorers in the competition. The Offaly final finished 1-5 to 0-6 on Sunday and the QF in Kildare was 0-6 to 0-4. The State of the game is a GAA problem, not a Meath one. Games on Sunday were played in hurricane conditions! Anybody who left the comfort of their armchair can relate to this but most of the comments here are from people who read the match report! Bonkers! I'm amazed at the number of "neutrals" at the game, given only a few hundred bothered to go at all.

As a genuine "neutral" both Senior semi finals left a lot to be desired, but you couldn't fault the effort. All 4 teams were cagey. Conditions on Sunday were horrendous, it was a hard watch. Ratoath seemed unwilling (or unable!) to even try to break through the Tones mass defence against a Gael-force breeze. The Tones "neutrals" should look at their own game plan before criticising the Ref for their own shortcomings. Embarrassing. For 25 minutes, they were a point behind playing with a wind and resorted to dumping long balls into the square. McGill and Shane Duffy overpowered the threat impressively. Felt sorry for Cian Ward - injuries taking their toll. Summerhill while behind at the break, always seemed in control somehow - or certainly best placed to win. A better spectacle than Sunday's game for sure. Eoghan Freyne is the best player to watch in Meath at the moment. Scoring aside, all 4 teams were physical and well-conditioned, a reflection of where the game is at presently...not just in Meath!

Can't see beyond a Summerhill win in the final - they look hungry, consistent and Ratoath are really out of sorts. Either way, both teams are flooded with top players, and I will be much happier in Navan, than throwing stones from the sitting room! Looking forward to the marquee occasion in the Meath Gaa calendar.

As an aside, something we can all agree on and be proud of... Navan pitch - what a pitch to take that amount of abuse and hold firm.

GenderNeutral (Meath) - Posts: 112 - 26/09/2023 13:24:59    2505824

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Replying To Awaywin:  "If Summerhill we're playing Wolfetones in that game they would have done exactly the same
The reason the game was played in that fashion was of the tones playing 15 men behind the ball
Ratoath needed to get inside the 21meter line or even closer to try for a score against that wind and that was next to impossible with all the bodies tones had in there

Summerhill game as proven in the past will be much more expansive as both teams want to play football
The tones don't and with the ward's coming to the end of there careers they will struggle
Also for a team who counts themselves as hardy north Meath men they do a lot of rolling around on the ground which the ref bought into on occasion"
With the conditions the way they were and whats at stake it was never going to be an open expansive free flowing game.
If you looked at results all over the Country they were all low scoring games e.g Cork , Offaly

I always liked the Tones and how they played football from the time they went from Junior to Senior so the actions of one individual going around trying to provoke a reaction wont change that opinion

lagoreX (Meath) - Posts: 220 - 26/09/2023 13:25:44    2505825

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I was at the Ratoath match and Wolfe tones supporters surprised me. I never associated Sour Grapes with North Meath People but I suppose times change. The officiating was top class. There were no issues to dispute. Ratoath got frees which alleviated pressure because Tones committed fouls. Is the ref not supposed to give frees because a team wants to play on. I anything Ratoath were punished for getting caught while Tones escaped. Even the highlights on TG$ showed Tones escaping an obvious black card and other fouls . In first half everyone in the stand saw 27 digging off the ball at no 6 several times across the pitch and when pushed back fell as if shot. No 6 got the card for that, just one example.
WHAT HAPPENED TO 'WE DONT WHINGE'

Both teams put in a great effort in the circumstances and losers would be disappointed in fairness.

Ashrules (Dublin) - Posts: 518 - 26/09/2023 17:00:39    2505879

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Replying To GenderNeutral:  "Can people stop with the comical witch-hunt about how bad Meath football is and suggesting that Ratoath should be lynched for planning damned football. Bryan McMahon and Dathi McGowan are the two leading scorers in the competition. The Offaly final finished 1-5 to 0-6 on Sunday and the QF in Kildare was 0-6 to 0-4. The State of the game is a GAA problem, not a Meath one. Games on Sunday were played in hurricane conditions! Anybody who left the comfort of their armchair can relate to this but most of the comments here are from people who read the match report! Bonkers! I'm amazed at the number of "neutrals" at the game, given only a few hundred bothered to go at all.

As a genuine "neutral" both Senior semi finals left a lot to be desired, but you couldn't fault the effort. All 4 teams were cagey. Conditions on Sunday were horrendous, it was a hard watch. Ratoath seemed unwilling (or unable!) to even try to break through the Tones mass defence against a Gael-force breeze. The Tones "neutrals" should look at their own game plan before criticising the Ref for their own shortcomings. Embarrassing. For 25 minutes, they were a point behind playing with a wind and resorted to dumping long balls into the square. McGill and Shane Duffy overpowered the threat impressively. Felt sorry for Cian Ward - injuries taking their toll. Summerhill while behind at the break, always seemed in control somehow - or certainly best placed to win. A better spectacle than Sunday's game for sure. Eoghan Freyne is the best player to watch in Meath at the moment. Scoring aside, all 4 teams were physical and well-conditioned, a reflection of where the game is at presently...not just in Meath!

Can't see beyond a Summerhill win in the final - they look hungry, consistent and Ratoath are really out of sorts. Either way, both teams are flooded with top players, and I will be much happier in Navan, than throwing stones from the sitting room! Looking forward to the marquee occasion in the Meath Gaa calendar.

As an aside, something we can all agree on and be proud of... Navan pitch - what a pitch to take that amount of abuse and hold firm."
Best post I've read about the semis!
I think Summerhill looked more experienced and more controlled than Ashbourne! Frayne is a good prospect and 11 is a position we could do with someone in!

Ratoath are playing badly for them! But they are still in final! They started well and I thought McCabe was doing well early on! A little surprised he was the first forward subbed

As for the ref - he was supported by Cormac Reill and David Gough - they didn't call anything much out! I guess all 3 of them missed whatever was going on!!! So did I to be honest!!

At this point The Hill look a better bet - but interesting to see Joe WAllace and Cian Rogers come on late for Ratoath!

Royalblufill (Meath) - Posts: 482 - 26/09/2023 18:05:26    2505890

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Terrible conditions for matches. That been said hope the final lives up to its billing. Totally neutral but there is a little part of me that would be very happy for Connor Gillespie if the hill won. That been said whoever prevails I will look forward to going to their Leinster matches to
Cheer them on.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 26/09/2023 19:01:18    2505895

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Replying To latouche25:  "I was at the game and have spoken to lots of people from several clubs including Ratoath,, everyone agrees that Ratoath got several big calls especially in the first half that allowed them get a 4 point lead. You are the only person to say he was fair."
Unlike his day job the poor old ref hadn't a prayer of pleasing everyone
As a neutral I thought he was fair

denniswise (Meath) - Posts: 101 - 26/09/2023 19:22:33    2505899

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Replying To Belt:  "Moynalty are Slane's bogey team but the Junior B is Moynalty's bogey competition.

Slane to hand another Junior B final defeat to Moynalty."
Was at that group game which Moynalty won by 2
However their best player was Johnny Lynch the goalkeeper who made two very good saves and one save that was even better than those
In short Slane could easily have won
They probably will this time

denniswise (Meath) - Posts: 101 - 26/09/2023 19:34:36    2505901

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Replying To Ashrules:  "I was at the Ratoath match and Wolfe tones supporters surprised me. I never associated Sour Grapes with North Meath People but I suppose times change. The officiating was top class. There were no issues to dispute. Ratoath got frees which alleviated pressure because Tones committed fouls. Is the ref not supposed to give frees because a team wants to play on. I anything Ratoath were punished for getting caught while Tones escaped. Even the highlights on TG$ showed Tones escaping an obvious black card and other fouls . In first half everyone in the stand saw 27 digging off the ball at no 6 several times across the pitch and when pushed back fell as if shot. No 6 got the card for that, just one example.
WHAT HAPPENED TO 'WE DONT WHINGE'

Both teams put in a great effort in the circumstances and losers would be disappointed in fairness."
Tones have a habit of rolling around on the ground alright. Not a good look for supposed hard men..agreed

Ed2010 (Meath) - Posts: 93 - 26/09/2023 21:36:26    2505907

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Replying To Ashrules:  "I was at the Ratoath match and Wolfe tones supporters surprised me. I never associated Sour Grapes with North Meath People but I suppose times change. The officiating was top class. There were no issues to dispute. Ratoath got frees which alleviated pressure because Tones committed fouls. Is the ref not supposed to give frees because a team wants to play on. I anything Ratoath were punished for getting caught while Tones escaped. Even the highlights on TG$ showed Tones escaping an obvious black card and other fouls . In first half everyone in the stand saw 27 digging off the ball at no 6 several times across the pitch and when pushed back fell as if shot. No 6 got the card for that, just one example.
WHAT HAPPENED TO 'WE DONT WHINGE'

Both teams put in a great effort in the circumstances and losers would be disappointed in fairness."
Have you been living under a rock for the past few years? Sour grapes and North Meath go hand in hand at the moment. Always someone else's fault with them be it the referee or the big 'Dublin border clubs'.

BigJoe14 (Meath) - Posts: 937 - 27/09/2023 08:39:20    2505929

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Replying To lagoreX:  "With the conditions the way they were and whats at stake it was never going to be an open expansive free flowing game.
If you looked at results all over the Country they were all low scoring games e.g Cork , Offaly

I always liked the Tones and how they played football from the time they went from Junior to Senior so the actions of one individual going around trying to provoke a reaction wont change that opinion"
Yes that individual was very visible in his provocation, something I would not associate with Tones and disappointing to see

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 27/09/2023 09:38:27    2505936

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Replying To Ashrules:  "I was at the Ratoath match and Wolfe tones supporters surprised me. I never associated Sour Grapes with North Meath People but I suppose times change. The officiating was top class. There were no issues to dispute. Ratoath got frees which alleviated pressure because Tones committed fouls. Is the ref not supposed to give frees because a team wants to play on. I anything Ratoath were punished for getting caught while Tones escaped. Even the highlights on TG$ showed Tones escaping an obvious black card and other fouls . In first half everyone in the stand saw 27 digging off the ball at no 6 several times across the pitch and when pushed back fell as if shot. No 6 got the card for that, just one example.
WHAT HAPPENED TO 'WE DONT WHINGE'

Both teams put in a great effort in the circumstances and losers would be disappointed in fairness."
Ref was fine. Nothing more/worse than that. Tones fans were aggrieved at their own inabilities so took it out on the ref and come on to this forum as "neutrals" hoping somebody will listen to them. Their siege mentality, us-against-the-world vendetta is boring at this stage. But at least they showed up. Ratoath for the size of the area - had a very poor support!

GenderNeutral (Meath) - Posts: 112 - 27/09/2023 09:40:12    2505938

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I think most people in Meath are aware of no.27's temperament and his discipline record this year. There was a lot of off the ball towards him which I get, you want to see how he will react after coming back from suspension.

Tones style of play was shocking, everytime Ratoath attacked they had 14 behind the ball, their shot selection was poor to say the least and they had no direct runners. It probably spelled the end of Cian Ward and Stephen Sheppard.

I do get the issues people are having with the ref but overall he had a good game, he missed the dig by 27 and I think it was no.5 for Ratoath who clotheslined a Tones player midway through the second half. Both of these were off the ball and if either were picked up it would have been red cards.

Some Tones folk might be taking issue with the 5 or 6 yellow cards Ratoath got for off the ball stuff but the ref dealt with them and they were no more than yellow cards. The Tones players probably thought otherwise.
The talk of Tones players going down very easy is a cheap shot though. Yes they did get a lot of soft frees and so did Ratoath (maybe not as much) but 3 Ratoath players hit the floor with about 5 minutes to go and no one here is criticising that, again I've no issue with it, waste time it's the way senior football is played now days.

The S&C of both teams came to show today, a number of big and fair hits but Ratoath probably had that little extra in terms of strength and speed which allowed them to get those 4 points on the board early on.

The other semi final was a slightly better spectacle but didn't have the talking points or drama. Summerhill seemed to be in control and had an extra gear when needed.

UsernameInvalid (Meath) - Posts: 355 - 27/09/2023 10:26:59    2505956

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It's rather amusing seeing people saying that Summerhill will have to save Meath football in the final. They played Donaghmore/Ashbourne in far better conditions on Saturday and only managed three more points than Ratoath did in abysmal conditions.
Also, in the 2019 final, Summerhill (naively) came out and tried to play open football against Ratoath and the game was all but over at half time, conceding 3-15 by full time. Since then, they've tightened up each time they've faced Ratoath and conceded 1-14, 0-14 and 0-12 in the following years thanks to their defensive efforts. They will likely be miserly in defence again on Sunday week but they undoubtedly have the firepower to pick us off at the other end. They're not going to come out all guns blazing going forward as they won't be that naive. Every team will play to their strengths while also doing their best to curtail their opponents strengths in order to give themselves the best chance at winning. Tones did that on Sunday and both Summerhill and Ratoath will do that in the final.

On a separate note, huge congratulations to Kilbride in making their first Junior decider since 1960. I hope they can reap the rewards of their underage progress and win it outright.

Ratoath Royal (Meath) - Posts: 1362 - 27/09/2023 13:46:17    2505999

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Replying To Ratoath Royal:  "It's rather amusing seeing people saying that Summerhill will have to save Meath football in the final. They played Donaghmore/Ashbourne in far better conditions on Saturday and only managed three more points than Ratoath did in abysmal conditions.
Also, in the 2019 final, Summerhill (naively) came out and tried to play open football against Ratoath and the game was all but over at half time, conceding 3-15 by full time. Since then, they've tightened up each time they've faced Ratoath and conceded 1-14, 0-14 and 0-12 in the following years thanks to their defensive efforts. They will likely be miserly in defence again on Sunday week but they undoubtedly have the firepower to pick us off at the other end. They're not going to come out all guns blazing going forward as they won't be that naive. Every team will play to their strengths while also doing their best to curtail their opponents strengths in order to give themselves the best chance at winning. Tones did that on Sunday and both Summerhill and Ratoath will do that in the final.

On a separate note, huge congratulations to Kilbride in making their first Junior decider since 1960. I hope they can reap the rewards of their underage progress and win it outright."
I thought you guys pushed jack Flynn and Daithi McGowan out very wide and very forward on Sunday - basically taking them out of the key middle area! If I had these two I would have them in around the middle of the park where their ball winning ability would be used best! I think if you win midfield against Summerhill like you did last year you will win the game and I think with Flynn and Daithi and Ben McGowan in the middle you have the players to do that - if used right!!

Royalblufill (Meath) - Posts: 482 - 27/09/2023 14:53:34    2506013

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Eoghan Frayne might the only player in Meath i enjoy going to watch play, 20 years old and he's dominating the senior championship. Still stunned O'rourke didnt play him in the tailteann cup.

Sheridan2010louth (Meath) - Posts: 147 - 29/09/2023 22:47:35    2506322

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Replying To Ratoath Royal:  "It's rather amusing seeing people saying that Summerhill will have to save Meath football in the final. They played Donaghmore/Ashbourne in far better conditions on Saturday and only managed three more points than Ratoath did in abysmal conditions.
Also, in the 2019 final, Summerhill (naively) came out and tried to play open football against Ratoath and the game was all but over at half time, conceding 3-15 by full time. Since then, they've tightened up each time they've faced Ratoath and conceded 1-14, 0-14 and 0-12 in the following years thanks to their defensive efforts. They will likely be miserly in defence again on Sunday week but they undoubtedly have the firepower to pick us off at the other end. They're not going to come out all guns blazing going forward as they won't be that naive. Every team will play to their strengths while also doing their best to curtail their opponents strengths in order to give themselves the best chance at winning. Tones did that on Sunday and both Summerhill and Ratoath will do that in the final.

On a separate note, huge congratulations to Kilbride in making their first Junior decider since 1960. I hope they can reap the rewards of their underage progress and win it outright."
Are any of the 2020-21 minors getting a look in with this Ratoath senior team?

UpDaYard (Meath) - Posts: 3 - 02/10/2023 15:49:12    2506658

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Replying To UpDaYard:  "Are any of the 2020-21 minors getting a look in with this Ratoath senior team?"
There are a few on the panel but unlikely any will start. Ronan Byrne did well in early rounds and might feature at some stage

ASaminthehand (Meath) - Posts: 422 - 02/10/2023 18:26:17    2506684

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