by David Rispin

The penultimate round of the Meath Senior Championship Group stage was only one of a number of big sporting events involving Meath teams last weekend. The Meath minors succumbed to an impressive Galway side on Saturday afternoon in Croke Park. Meath were far from their best and the Tribesmen took full advantage and deservedly advanced to the decider in two weeks' time against Kerry.

It's been a great journey for Joe Treanor's men and one they can be immensely proud of after showing Meath supporters that the future is bright for the Royals. Players like James O'Hare, Harry O'Higgins, Cian McBride, Luke Kelly and Luke Mitchell have big futures in the green and gold jersey.

A word also for the Meath ladies who advanced to the last four of the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship after overcoming a dogged Clare side on Saturday evening. Seneschalstown's Stacey Grimes did the damage with nine points in a fine individual display but this is no one woman team. Let's hope the ladies get the support they deserve from Meath supporters in the semi-final!

There was speculation as to whether the final round of fixtures would go ahead next week with the Pope due to visit Ireland. The good news is they do go ahead albeit with a couple of different times than normal. Unfortunately, I won't be writing a blog on Pope Francis' visit to Ireland, well because that would be an ecumenical matter! Here's a summary of some of last weekend's action in the Meath Senior, Intermediate and Junior Championship's… 

Clann na nGael v Drumconrath:

Clann na nGael got their all-important win last Wednesday night in Kilberry in a game which preserves their Junior status for 2019. The type of status, Drumconrath can only dream of at present having shipped 27 and 13-point drubbings in the last fortnight. In fairness to the men in red, they did display more of their typical fight and physicality but a lack in quality was the difference on the night.

Eamonn O Donnchadha's return from his travels was a huge bonus for Tommy Hanley's men and he along with Darragh Brogan and Meath panellist Darragh Griffin, accumulated an impressive 1-10 from play between them. The Athboy-Rathcairn men surely must have had much bigger ambitions at the start of the year as regards progressing but the unavailability of a host of regulars has certainly not helped their cause. Aaron Ennis, Jamie Shaw and Gary Woods are just three key men which spring to mind who have not been available for differing reasons.

Clann na nGael do have potential and are producing good young players who should make a significant difference in 2019 with the O Donnchadha brothers, John Farrell and Cian Swaine all showing a lot of promise. A town with the population of Athboy should not been in the doldrums of Junior football so expect them to make a big push next year.

The Drums on the other hand, face two huge games to salvage their Junior status and it's not going to be easy. They were boosted by the return of some regulars who made appearances off the bench but they are still overly reliant on talisman Stephen Crosby who chipped in with five points from play. They have missed the influence of Wayne Reilly and Brendan Lyons especially and if Terry Skelly is not available, their cause is not aided. Time will tell if the Drums will make a Houdini like recovery or bite the bullet and drop to Junior B for the first time in over 30 years.     

Drumbaragh v Kilmainham:

This was a clash for the old romantics in Meath GAA - a proper derby game, not one of these North/South Meath derbies with 20 kilometres between them! Of course, it was made all the better as it was held in the good old picturesque setting of the Pairc in Kells. What a setting for a game of football it is - old stone walls around the magnificent surface, evergreen trees providing the shelter and grass banks the whole way around the pitch. I ran an Instagram poll on Friday night and a whopping 55% agreed that it was the best club pitch in Meath and I'd absolutely go along with that!

This wasn't a game of high quality, both teams are miles away from challenging for major honours and are scrapping for their Intermediate lives but I'll tell you what it was, a bloody good hard game of football played in great spirit! Look at the old warriors on show, players who wouldn't have been out of place in a game with the gladiators of yesteryears who battled it out in the Pairc many moons ago! Players like Noel Corcoran, Peter Carry, Richie Brady, Harry Newman and Barry Lynch who'd give an arm and a leg for their clubs.

It was an enthralling contest despite being error-ridden with the Drums dominating for large periods but the old grit and experience keeping Kilmainham alive when most teams would have folded. The stakes were pretty high, a win would guarantee Kilmainham Intermediate football for 2019 and condemn their near-neighbours to the dreaded relegation play-offs, something they have become quite accustomed with…trust me I'd know!

Conor Brennan's men seemed more up for it from the start with the powerful John Morrissey and the vocal John D Smith putting in early tackles laying down a marker. Indeed, Smith roars could be heard from Ballinabrackey wherever Ballinabrackey actually is! Morrissey did an excellent job on the classy Mickey Newman who despite being clearly injured managed to come out with 1-2 to his name despite being far from his brilliant best, only Newman could achieve such a feat!

The Drums spurred on by some emerging young talent in Stephen Meegan, Joe Carry, Luke Fagan and Conor Lynch seemed to have done enough to secure an absolutely priceless victory, leading by five points with five minutes remaining on Cormac Reilly's watch. Back came the men in red and black and in his brother's absence, up stepped Mark Newman who inspired his side with two fantastic points to cut the deficit to three. Newman has been to hell and back in recent years with injuries and no one deserves a break more than him and it really is wonderful to see him back playing somewhere near his best.

The big crowd got the pantomime finish they were hoping for in the last minute as Newman lofted in a high and hopeful ball into the square and who met it but former Meath Senior footballer and Kilmainham stalwart Barry Lynch with a vintage finish with the fist. It was a helter skelter climax with both sides squandering chances to nick a win in the dying embers but ultimately it finished in stalemate. 

Kilmainham will be mighty relieved whilst their rivals Drumbaragh will be still ruing what could and really should have been but as the saying goes "it ain't over till it's over". Kilmainham look in good shape to avoid the play-offs now as they maintain their position over the Drums who need to beat high-flying Longwood in their final game to drag their neighbours into the mire which does look rather unlikely it has to be said.

Longwood v Meath Hill:

It's probably got to the stage where County Board Chairman Peter O'Halloran could just hand the keys to Pairc Tailteann to Meath Hill and just tell them to lock up and turn off the lights on their way out and drop the keys into him on their way home. The 2017 Junior Champions were playing a staggering fourth game in a row in HQ in a last-minute switch due to unfortunate circumstances.

In a strange way though, Bective might have suited Davy Cahill's men more and it's not because Cahill is a Bective man but the pitch is much tighter than Navan is. Longwood exploited every inch of space and played their opponents off the pitch in a scintillating hour of football. The Wood were absolutely awesome and look well-placed to have a real crack at the Intermediate Championship.

I'm sure Meath Hill knew how the men in white and black would set up but knowing it and knowing how to deal with it are two completely different things. Longwood are one of these teams who record every league and championship game and they clearly did their homework from their league meeting earlier in the year and I'd give them an A1 on that homework.

Their full back line snuffed out the considerable threat of the Hill with Meath hurler's Damien Healy and Chris Lynch outstanding in the full back line. This provided the foundations for the Wood to go and wreak havoc at the other end of the pitch. The Honey Badger and Meath cult hero, Mickey 'Stoney' Burke, despite his early collision with Meath Hill full back Martin Tully, dictated throughout and set the tempo.

Longwood are making a mockery of the dual club theory at the moment with their hurlers absolutely flying too. One of the many dual players, Ryan Moore was exceptional on the day. Not only does he resemble Arsenal's Hector Bellerin with his distinctive ponytail but he also possesses blistering pace and a better left boot than Bellerin…that wouldn't be hard to be fair! In all seriousness though, Moore terrorised the Hill defence and kicked an outstanding eight points on the day.

They have no problem mixing things up when they have to and Anthony Healy might not have the pace of a Moore or Aaron Ennis but he is also extremely accurate to boot. And what about Ennis, what a performance from the corner forward who was a constant thorn in Cahill's side and his goal into the town end was a real thing of beauty!

Meath Hill will point to a few questionable calls by the referee but if they are honest with themselves, they will hold their hands up and admit they were beaten by the much better team on the day. Admittedly, they were already without household names like Ryan Owens, James Mooney, Dominic Yorke and Tommy Rooney and they also lost young stars Ryan Carry and Thomas Carolan.

Davy Cahill must lift his troops for a final day shoot-out with the Dunderry men with the winner advancing to the knock-out stages it's as simple as that and what a game that will be Friday week in Cortown! Longwood on the other hand, have no such worries and after being in the relegation play-offs for the last two seasons, this will be a welcome break as they look set for a tilt at the Mattie McDonnell Cup.

Gaeil Colmcille v Skryne:   

These two must be sick of the sight of each other as they met last Sunday for the third time between league and championship this season already and don't write off the possibility of them meeting again! Indeed, they met as recently as seven days previous as they served up a cracking league final with the Tara men emerging victorious on that occasion but Kells were stinging from that and were out for revenge.

The first half was a pretty dull and ordinary affair in all honesty with the town team looking the hungrier outfit. Evan Sheridan had a particularly good opening period as did Fionn Reilly who's pace and direct running caused James Reddy's men all sorts of problems. Skryne were struggling to get their intensity going in their game. There was more intensity showed by Kells selector Con Cleary who clocked up some ground running around the pitch dishing out instructions to his troops. Clearly, a former All-Ireland Club Championship winner with Kilmacud Croke's in Dublin showed he could still do a job for Lar Wall's but the only problem is he might need a transfer and I'm not sure Cortown chairman Pat Lynch would be willing to sign it!

Despite their dominance in the opening half, Kells only took a two-point lead into the interval which was a bit of a chance squandered in itself as they really could have been out of sight if the truth be told. Their backs looked on top with Barry Smith, despite conceding a considerable height difference to the man-mountain Paddy O'Rourke, doing an excellent man-marking job on the former County star. Surely Smith ought to be touted for a run on the Meath team though, he is consistently one of the finest full backs in the county.

Skryne were never going to be as bad as they were in the opening period and that was the case and the game ignited into life with a majestic goal from Conor O'Brien. The build up play was delightful and the finish matched the move to give the 13-time Keegan Cup winners an unlikely lead.

This made for a pulsating second half which ebbed and flowed with the deadly Seamus Mattimoe helping the Gaeil's retake the lead. After a quiet first half, the lethal Brian 'Beano' Hanlon was coming to life and lit up Pairc Tailteann with a brace of stunning scores which looked to have set Kells on their way to an invaluable win.

Skryne looked toast but corner back Stephen O'Brien hit an inspiration score and this sparked a late rally from the Tara men. The trusty right boot of O'Rourke pointed a couple of frees with substitute Bryan Davis drawing the sides level with time up. It was left to one of the most unlikely of sources to pop up with the winner, the old warhorse David McGoldrick, Skryne's David McGoldrick, not Republic of Ireland International soccer player.

It was a cruel and sickening blow for Wall's men who would have been good value for their win but if you don't take your chances and kill off your opponents when you are presented with the chance, then you leave yourself open for a sucker-punch or a storming finish which proved to be the case. When the chips were down in the second half it was the likes of Harry Rooney, Darragh Campion and Conor O'Brien who stood up and dragged Skryne through the toughest of tests.

The win guarantees Skryne's passage to the knockout stages with an outside chance of topping the group going into the final round. Kells need to win their final game against struggling Curraha first and foremost and hope John Lyon's Summerhill can do them a favour against neighbour's Na Fianna. I do think Kells will advance as I think they will beat the Ha and the Hill will take care of Na Fianna but you just never know what can happen…it's Gaelic football after all!          

Carnaross v St Brigids:      

Carnaross and St Brigids clashed on Sunday evening in a game which would decide who will proceed to the knockout stages as group winners. The big crowd who descended on the excellently presented Ballinlough venue would have been hoping for a closely contested encounter however this never materialised.

Despite playing with the aid of a strong breeze in the first half, the Ballinacree men struggled to penetrate the Carnaross defence through some wayward passing and some real erratic shooting which let them down on the evening. The usually deadly Joe Blake's radar was off from placed-balls but Padraig Plunkett did muster up a couple of exquisite scores which was the highlight of an otherwise bleak opening period.

Carnaross briefly got out of second gear for a time in the second half and it was the evergreen Dermot 'Alexis' McGee who was to the fore and he accumulated 5 points from play in a superb showing. The robust Charlie Brogan also contributed four points on the night with the opportunist John L McGee netting a brace of goals despite being kept quiet for the majority of the contest.

The Brigids, missing talisman Mickey Flood, kept plugging away to their credit and no one epitomised that more than legendary Kells publican George Plunkett who looked back to his brilliant best along the sideline and they'll need George to maintain this level of performance if they are advance past the Quarter-Finals.

I do think Brigids are a better side than they showed on Sunday and there's also a lot more to come from the Ross. They have real quality in the aforementioned duo of Blake, Flood and Plunkett and you can add in Kevin Gilsenan to that list. Carnaross will need to step it up with bigger tests waiting down the tracks but with the McGee's, Paddy McDermott, Brogan and the enigmatic Frank O'Reilly they certainly have the necessary credentials to lift the Peter McDermott Cup and with the Silver Fox, Tom Shine on the line they have a proven winner.

Navan O'Mahony's v Summerhill:

Summerhill once again issued a statement of intend to the rest of the Senior Championship in Pairc Tailteann on Tuesday night with an emphatic win over Navan O'Mahony's. Despite missing the Ryan twins, Caolan Young and Conor Frayne who looks to be a long-term absentee, the Hill put in an impressive display to brush aside the former Kingpins of Meath.

I've been fortunate to watch John Lyons' men in action several times this year and I can't help but feel impressed at what I'm watching. The hunger is most definitely back and they play an exciting and attractive brand of football which makes them an entertaining team to go and see. I've said it before but their full forward line does it for me, despite losing Frayne against Curraha, Sean Dalton deputised at corner forward and enjoyed a terrific evenings work. Once again, the full forward line accounted for a tremendous 3-06 of their total of 4-09 with David Larkin also contributing 1-1 from the 40.

Any good team needs a good goalkeeper and Summerhill with stalwart Tony McDonnell between the sticks is exactly that. He is the heartbeat of the team and for me is the Stephen Cluxton of club football in Meath. His ability to go short or pick players out gives the Hill primary possession and a foundation to work from.

They have a no nonsense full back line and a great mixture of pace and physicality in the half back line with powerhouse Stephen Husband and the electrifying Padraig Geraghty raiding from half back. Throw into the equation the monstrous Micheal Byrne in midfield and you've the spine of a team going places.

John Lyons has seen it all and he has a charismatic and intelligent management team behind him with Dave Clare and Eamonn O'Shea. Clare is some specimen of a man and wears shorts all year-round hail, rain or shine and he's one man I would certainly not be picking a fight with!

These are challenging times for the hoops though and Kevin Reilly who has a team in transition and it will take time to turn things around. They haven't been helped with injuries losing both goalkeepers on a nightmare day against Kells last time out. They also lost the Bray brothers whilst Rory Maguire and Cormac McGuinness both limped off on Tuesday night to compound their misery.

Champions of Meath as recently as 2014, NOM are now a shadow of their former selves but they are a proud club with a great tradition and they will be back. One player who has seen it all is legendary full back Niall McKeigue and he had a great tussle with Summerhill dangerman Barry Dardis. At the other end, Shane Gillespie once again gave his all to the cause and was a constant threat chipping in with six points. With Meath manager Andy McEntee watching on it's surely only a matter of time until 'Giller' gets the call to don the green and gold.

Summerhill will top the group with a win on the final day against local rival's Na Fianna whilst Navan O'Mahony's will need a minor miracle to sneak into the top 3 of Group B. The Hill have the potential to challenge for the Keegan Cup but so do about five other teams so there's going to be some sensational clashes down the line in the race Meath's biggest prize!            

This game originally was scheduled to be played on Sunday but due to the sad passing of Eamonn Keelaghan, the game was rescheduled for Tuesday evening in Navan. Eamonn was an Intermediate Championship winner with Gaeil Colmcille in 1986 and his son Robbie is a current member of the Navan O'Mahony's Senior side. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis. 

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