Meath Forum

Meath V Donegal

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Replying To Furlong1949:  "Also to emphasis how new this Meath was and this was basically their first time in Croke Park. Of the first 15 players who started for Meath yesterday only 3 were on the Meath team who last played in Croke Park in 2016 v the Dubs. They were Donal keoghan Michael Newman and Cillian Sullivan. 12 of the 15 who started yesterday were not on Meath team who last played in Croke Park two and half years ago. The Meath players who were on the Meath team that last played in Croke Park the last time played we played there 2 and half years ago and who r no longer on the panel for different reasons r Paddy O Rourke, Declan Symth, Alan Douglas , Donnacha Toibin, Cian O Brien, Harry Rooney, Andrew Tormey , Eamon Wallace, Dalton McDonagh , Ronan Jones, Joey Wallace and Cathal Finn. All these Meath players played v Dublin when we last played in Croke Park in 2016.

To go 8 points up and 5 points up half time and leading the game all the way up to the near the 60th minute and then lose by 2 points v the Ulster champions and a top 6 yeam ( who yes have a young team also , but a young team who played division 1 football and reached super 8 and played Dubs in Croker last year and won Ulster last year and have players who beat kerry and Dublin in Croke Park and players who have won Sam in Croke Park, basically the best Ulster county of the decade and had one of the teams of the decade eg 2012 Champions , a county that have spent the whole decade at the top table of gaelic football ) is a good sign for Meath.
For basically so many of these Meath player it was their first outing in Croker and yesterdays game was basically a new Meath team which is only playing months together ( Remember 6 players who started yesterday for Meath did not play v Tyrone in last years championship) . Yesterdays maiden outing in Croke Park for this young Meath team was very good one if u look at it in reality."
Replying to Furlong 1949............ Yes you spell out the reality very well. In fact this match may yet prove to be a keystone in the development of this Meath team. An invaluable learning tool overall. Just take our full back Mc Gill for example a player who is a natural full back ,has developed greatly in the last year .How many training sessions would give him the experience of dealing with a top forward like Michael Murphy?? Not to mention the confidence building some of our forwards gained by yielding such dividends against a " rated" team . Newman for example must be believing " i can do this again" Plenty of mistakes and gaps to be filled still of course.. Maybe our bench is not as strong as we thought a month ago?? We still have a make do midfield ...no disrespect to the lads who would be certain starters on the team anyway at this point. Great to see there is movement on the team learning curve.

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1211 - 01/04/2019 14:52:09    2176999

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Would have been great to win a national title in Croker against a decent team, especially in terms of experience for the next big game in Croker. However it's for the best we lost. If we played Dublin we could well be up at half time but there is zero chance our fitness levels would be high enough to sustain the second half onslaught and we'd lose as we've seen many times before.

Reality check for the team. Job done and well done but the hard work starts now. Lose to Ofally in Navan and it will be a far bigger disaster then losing to Longford away.

If we beat then it's Carlow 2 weeks later in Portlaoise. I'd rate Carlow in championship higher then Ofally and the match can't be taken for granted. The winner of that plays the winner of Westmeath and Laois. Both teams promoted to Division 2.

So despite what some fans may think unless the team nuckle down now and drive on they won't make the Leinster final and probably not the super 8's either.

Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 01/04/2019 15:38:17    2177017

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A great learning curve for this team, played some outstanding football for 40 odd minutes but did loose our way a bit in the second half and Murphy ran the show for Donegal, he was the difference and the winning of the game fir Donegal as he has been so many times before, he also sailed pretty close to the wind in my opinion and was damn lucky to stay on the field in the second half. Really good to Getz Croke Park experience into this team and I think this gave will bring our players on, a refreshing break back with the clubs will do no harm either. A little bit more divilement and cuteness is needed in our play but that will come and games like Saturday highlight that need, onwards and upwards and time to look forward to May and Offaly, it will be here before we know it.

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 01/04/2019 16:12:21    2177025

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Replying To Jack_Goff:  "Would have been great to win a national title in Croker against a decent team, especially in terms of experience for the next big game in Croker. However it's for the best we lost. If we played Dublin we could well be up at half time but there is zero chance our fitness levels would be high enough to sustain the second half onslaught and we'd lose as we've seen many times before.

Reality check for the team. Job done and well done but the hard work starts now. Lose to Ofally in Navan and it will be a far bigger disaster then losing to Longford away.

If we beat then it's Carlow 2 weeks later in Portlaoise. I'd rate Carlow in championship higher then Ofally and the match can't be taken for granted. The winner of that plays the winner of Westmeath and Laois. Both teams promoted to Division 2.

So despite what some fans may think unless the team nuckle down now and drive on they won't make the Leinster final and probably not the super 8's either."
Sorry jack couldn't disagree with you more, that is the bloody fittest Meath team we have ever had, all the hard work paid off, I recall many here saying we would be lucky to survive in division 2, how we weren't ready for div 1, how we were 5th /6th in Leinster behind dubs , Kildare, Westmeath, Longford , and even Laois. Sorry as a supporter I give huge respect to everyone who HAS knuckled down and done the hard graft, did they tire at end? Yes, and so would any team after the effort of not only Saturday but the other 7 games, what they need now is a break, so I sincerely hope their clubs afford them a bit of leeway and don't have them
Doing silly things that could lead to injuries. As for loosing to Offaly or Carlow? There's more chance of me having a sex change and changing my name to Megan Markle

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 01/04/2019 16:15:03    2177026

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Just don't get the negativity at all about the game. We played absolutely outstanding football at times during the game. I was sitting right beside the Donegal subs and that was the key difference. They could call on All Ireland winners where we are at a much earlier stage in our development. We brought on 2 20 year olds, Michael Murphy would be on the shortlist for player of the decade and he ultimately won the game for Donegal. There is no disgrace in that. Brian McMahon going off was a huge blow to Meath on a number of levels, he was causing havoc with the ball and the amount of ground he covers and work he gets through was a huge blow. Biggy is a different player and ideally would have came on with about 25/30 mins to go instead of after 20 mins. We do need to get a bit cuter but that comes with playing this sort of team all the time. I was very heartened by the performance as I have been from the league in its entirety. We are completely different team than that of 12 months ago. The group is together and working extremely hard. Nobody thinks for a minute that we are the finished article so this talk of a reality check is a nonsense. We created 3 really good goal chances and only took 1. We are small details behind Donegal, that takes time.... we are certainly moving in the right direction. We are a well coached team and we are going places. Patience needed but we will get there.

longroadback (Meath) - Posts: 324 - 01/04/2019 17:01:55    2177040

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Here is the way I would like to approach the championship.
With our main goal for this year achieved getting to Div 1. I see the chamioship now a chance to try out some fringe players. I am NOT saying throwing lads in willy nilly.
But what I do is to give likes of Conlon, Eoin Lynch Maybe Harnan and etc. I wouldn't lump them all on against Offaly but I would start Conlon maybe one other. So slight changes give lads game time for preparation game time for what will be a mammoth task of staying in Div 1. I reckon staying in Div 1 will be main aim next year.
I said on here 8 or 9 years ago that we should not have the championship as our main priority and just consecrate in getting promoted. ie getting fit for the league instead of Championship. I think this might of actually happened this year.

The stats where clear even back then nobody wins the All-Ireland from div 2. You cant even get a All-Ireland appearance from div 2. If fact the winners of this years All-Ireland will probbaly come from top 4 in Div 1. You need to be playing in Div 1 regularly to have any chance of winning an All-Ireland. So we should start building for it now.

bobkarlgees (Meath) - Posts: 1263 - 01/04/2019 17:42:02    2177046

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Replying To longroadback:  "Just don't get the negativity at all about the game. We played absolutely outstanding football at times during the game. I was sitting right beside the Donegal subs and that was the key difference. They could call on All Ireland winners where we are at a much earlier stage in our development. We brought on 2 20 year olds, Michael Murphy would be on the shortlist for player of the decade and he ultimately won the game for Donegal. There is no disgrace in that. Brian McMahon going off was a huge blow to Meath on a number of levels, he was causing havoc with the ball and the amount of ground he covers and work he gets through was a huge blow. Biggy is a different player and ideally would have came on with about 25/30 mins to go instead of after 20 mins. We do need to get a bit cuter but that comes with playing this sort of team all the time. I was very heartened by the performance as I have been from the league in its entirety. We are completely different team than that of 12 months ago. The group is together and working extremely hard. Nobody thinks for a minute that we are the finished article so this talk of a reality check is a nonsense. We created 3 really good goal chances and only took 1. We are small details behind Donegal, that takes time.... we are certainly moving in the right direction. We are a well coached team and we are going places. Patience needed but we will get there."
That's it in a nutshell.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 01/04/2019 18:28:07    2177058

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Replying To thelutch:  "dont think its official or legal however how else did they make the decision ? referee was clearly talking to someone through his earpiece"
It was probably M Murphy, he certainly had his say about everything else.

seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2135 - 01/04/2019 19:29:05    2177073

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It was great going into croker again on Saturday have to say I was impressed and actually pleasently surprised how well we played and got some brilliant scores our forward play in the first half was excellent and if Dardis' effort in the 2nd half had rolled the other side of the post you'd never now what might have happened
Our forwards did lack movement and were very static in the last 15m where maybe fitness was an issue as we couldn't cope when Donegal stepped it up but if you offered me a 2 point defeat in the league 2 final in January I'd have taken your arm off so all in all a very positive league with definite improvements being achieved

runnerin (Meath) - Posts: 202 - 01/04/2019 20:00:19    2177078

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Replying To thelutch:  "dont think its official or legal however how else did they make the decision ? referee was clearly talking to someone through his earpiece"
Now this is comical stuff it's not legal or official but it can change the game at any given time. Not having PoP at u. But are we the only sport in the world with a hidden 4 th official to help the ref in croke park it seems yes.i was at colmcilles Westport fee year ago same thing happened Westport goalie tripped cilles player after he crossed his path. Goalie set up to kick out after definitely 30 seconds ref ran in arms open penalty after waiting for kickout.this has been goin on now with no ruling on it.if it suits use it if ref makes boo boo play on. Nothing to see here.murphy should have seen line and that little voice in refs ear could have reinforced that. It will cost trouble yet and another embarrassment to gaa.

Reco (Meath) - Posts: 419 - 01/04/2019 20:30:44    2177087

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Replying To seadog54:  "It was probably M Murphy, he certainly had his say about everything else."
Take your beating and move on

thestrapper49 (Louth) - Posts: 313 - 01/04/2019 21:20:18    2177102

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Replying To bobkarlgees:  "Here is the way I would like to approach the championship.
With our main goal for this year achieved getting to Div 1. I see the chamioship now a chance to try out some fringe players. I am NOT saying throwing lads in willy nilly.
But what I do is to give likes of Conlon, Eoin Lynch Maybe Harnan and etc. I wouldn't lump them all on against Offaly but I would start Conlon maybe one other. So slight changes give lads game time for preparation game time for what will be a mammoth task of staying in Div 1. I reckon staying in Div 1 will be main aim next year.
I said on here 8 or 9 years ago that we should not have the championship as our main priority and just consecrate in getting promoted. ie getting fit for the league instead of Championship. I think this might of actually happened this year.

The stats where clear even back then nobody wins the All-Ireland from div 2. You cant even get a All-Ireland appearance from div 2. If fact the winners of this years All-Ireland will probbaly come from top 4 in Div 1. You need to be playing in Div 1 regularly to have any chance of winning an All-Ireland. So we should start building for it now."
Replying to bobkarlgees....... I would disagree.our target for this year should be to find the best available 15 players to start and best 5 subs......ie play to our full POTENTIAL
To do so and achieve this realistic objective......I believe 1. establish a team that is settled as much as possible asap.2.Facilitate a suitable game plan/s for this panel asap. 3.attend to individual related training needs for playing panel 4. Ensure that players are adaquately catered for to compensate for losses financially and career wise where possible.and appropriate.5. ALL AREAS OF PLAYER WELFARE IS A PRIORITY !!
All fringe players will have the opportunity to prove they deserve their place on the team at training sessions as is normal. In a nutshell develop to our full potential now ,and see where that leaves us. Forget about labels such as div i or div 2 for now... We have achieved that PART of our overall objective. To be fair to the group of players who have "soldiered"for the last few years and are still there but with time passing on give them and all others the chance to see with full support where we can go. Anything is possible.!! What would the result be for example if we played like we did not for the first 25 mins but for the entire match ?? We CAN do that, and we have to believe that !! We can make it happen with full preparation ,and continuing to learn from our mistakes.

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1211 - 01/04/2019 21:41:50    2177110

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Replying To thestrapper49:  "Take your beating and move on"
How did Louth get on on Saturday??

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 01/04/2019 23:05:33    2177147

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No bull can you not play 6 subs?

Despite saying we're not fit enough I'm glad the team emptied the tank in the first half. Might as well go for it and find out where we are. In fairness I don't think any team would use as much energy as we did in the first half. Very unlucky Newman didn't take one step back because we deserved to go in 8 points up.

I would say we showed are inexperience. If Donegal were 9 points up after 15 minutes they would have dropped everyone back and tiered Donegal out. Instead we continued to go all out and were the ones who emptied the tank. There were times when we had a big lead, Donegal completed retreated and we drove at them, lost the ball and they got a score back.

The team should pass the ball around, get a breather and tire Donegal out by making them chase it down. When they push up out of frustration the gaps will appear and the counter attack should start then. It was only the league however and this sort of tactic should be saved for a Leinster final v Dublin or a knock out match to get into the super 8's.

Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 02/04/2019 02:19:18    2177165

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Replying To Furlong1949:  "For Meath allot of positives after a sucessful campaign. Alot to work to do. But thats all part in parcel of team development. To get to the top table and stay ( super 8/ division 1 level ) there will many up and downs and moral victories and lessons learned. Meath football is definitely on an upward curve. I definitely feel and if u look at everything from underage we r entering a new period in Meath football and the post Boylan era of 2006 to 2016 is over. And while its impossible to predict actually what level of sucess Meath will have. I think if u anyalsis Meath football from top to bottom , u can conclude Meath will be much stronger in the next ten years, in the 2020s then we have been in the last ten years. There will be ups and downs and everything will be very hard and tough to achieve . But Meath football is definitely going the right direction ."
In some ways, and I hope this doesn't sound defeatist but I would snap your arm off if you told me we would be consistently operating in Div 1 and the S8's for the next 10 years without winning any silverware. We had fallen so far and essentially dropped out of the picture on a national scale so a period where we are competing at the top level would be a huge improvement. And there will be ups and downs - that is to be expected.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 88 - 02/04/2019 09:08:08    2177181

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Replying To nobull456:  "Replying to bobkarlgees....... I would disagree.our target for this year should be to find the best available 15 players to start and best 5 subs......ie play to our full POTENTIAL
To do so and achieve this realistic objective......I believe 1. establish a team that is settled as much as possible asap.2.Facilitate a suitable game plan/s for this panel asap. 3.attend to individual related training needs for playing panel 4. Ensure that players are adaquately catered for to compensate for losses financially and career wise where possible.and appropriate.5. ALL AREAS OF PLAYER WELFARE IS A PRIORITY !!
All fringe players will have the opportunity to prove they deserve their place on the team at training sessions as is normal. In a nutshell develop to our full potential now ,and see where that leaves us. Forget about labels such as div i or div 2 for now... We have achieved that PART of our overall objective. To be fair to the group of players who have "soldiered"for the last few years and are still there but with time passing on give them and all others the chance to see with full support where we can go. Anything is possible.!! What would the result be for example if we played like we did not for the first 25 mins but for the entire match ?? We CAN do that, and we have to believe that !! We can make it happen with full preparation ,and continuing to learn from our mistakes."
I dont think I can forget about Div 1 or Div 2 considering it has taken 12 or 13 painful years to get promoted. So I think staying in Div 1 should be main priority. It might be a "moral victory" to run Tyrone and Donelgal close in recently. But you dont get any points for moral victories in Div 1 you will get relegated. We need to beat them or we are straight back down which could kill any momentum we have built up. So for me with promotion achieved its main aim to stay there we have a opportunity in the coming championship to built a squad giving some lads a opportunity and experience.
Training is great but you cant recreate the pressure like there was in Navan against kildare its games like that you learn at lot about a players metal.

bobkarlgees (Meath) - Posts: 1263 - 02/04/2019 09:15:36    2177182

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Replying To thestrapper49:  "Take your beating and move on"
You know Meath are on the up we are attracting comments like above :) I love it.

bobkarlgees (Meath) - Posts: 1263 - 02/04/2019 09:17:13    2177183

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I got the sense from listening to McEntee after the game that he is still on the lookout for players. He can see as well as we can that we are short a midfielder and a ball winning forward. It's an awful pity that Donal Lenihan isn't available this year.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 88 - 02/04/2019 09:17:52    2177184

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Lads something i have to add on the disallowed goal.

McMahon was being fouled in the lead up, arm over the shoulder from Donegal player. Why was no free given?

I think this was missed in the whole furore over the disallowing of the goal.

And yes newman was in the square before the ball and the score was rightly disallowed.

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1954 - 02/04/2019 09:38:00    2177188

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Replying To thestrapper49:  "Take your beating and move on"
Says a guy from a county who are still banging on about 2010...

SheridansTry (Meath) - Posts: 180 - 02/04/2019 12:32:42    2177238

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