Royals reel in the years
November 30, 2009The keys of the Kingdom may have eluded them but Meath's senior footballers completed their rehabilitation to full health quicker than expected in 2009.
Rumours of the Royals' demise as a gaelic football force turned out to be greatly exaggerated when the 'annus horribilus' that was 2008 was consigned to history by new manager Eamonn O'Brien and his players who repaired the damage to Meath GAA's proud reputation in making the semi-final stages of the Sam Maguire Cup race for the twenty second time in the county's history.
The county team proved once again that it is at its most dangerous when written off and a return to the traditional values of hard work, pride in the jersey and a refusal to never-say-die paid handsome dividends.
The protracted search to find Colm Coyle's replacement the previous autumn proved to be time well spent with O'Brien and his management team of All-Ireland winning players Robbie O'Malley, Donal Curtis and Colm Brady achieving the primary objective of restoring pride to the county jersey.
Although there was no silverware, the highs of a rollercoaster year were the round 4 qualifier win over Limerick and quarter-final victory over Connacht champions Mayo.
Eventual All-Ireland champions Kerry proved to be a bridge too far in the last four clash but now that the dust has settled on the 1-7 to 2-8 defeat it is time to put some perspective on the team's achievement.
Considering the battering the county's confidence took during the course of the previous twelve months, a prolonged run in this year's championship was just the tonic the doctor ordered.
Meath football was at its lowest ebb for quite some time at the turn of the year but finishing fourth in the Sam Maguire race exceeded all expectations.
Those of a glass half empty rather than half full persuasion will argue that a series of favourable draws in the lottery that is the early rounds of the All-Ireland SFC qualifier series were largely responsible for the improvement in fortunes.
No one, the manager included, disputed that but the fact remains that when serious opposition in the form of Limerick and Mayo emerged from the woodwork, the Stephen Bray captained outfit rose to the occasion.
And that was no mean feat considering it was Limerick who consigned the Royals to their worst championship defeat for many years in 2008.
Early 'back door' wins over Waterford, Westmeath and Roscommon helped erase the memories of an inept performance against Dublin in the Leinster SFC quarter-final and, probably more importantly, allowed the new management team much needed time to try out things.
It was time that they were denied by the ban on collective training last November and December.
Only the most optimistic of Meath supporters would have harboured high hopes of a possible ambush against Kerry in the semi-final but the team did back up their promise not to stand back and admire the Kingdom despite enduring the worst possible start in conceding a penalty in the 4th minute.
Anthony Moyles was penalised for a challenge on Colm Cooper and Kerry captain Darran O'Sullivan dispatched the resulting spot-kick to the back of Paddy O'Rourke's net.
Meath matched Kerry in the determination stakes but they lacked the cutting edge up front and were weakened in that department by the forced withdrawal of captain Stephen Bray with a shoulder injury in the 7th minute.
The team in the away strip of gold and green overcame those early set-backs to trail by just two points, 0-4 to 1-3, at the break but they were at the receiving end of another sucker punch a minute after the resumption when substitute Tommy Walsh out fielded Moyles to gather Tadgh Kennelly's diagonal ball and beat Paddy O'Rourke from close range.
Walsh and Kennelly tagged on points soon after to open up a seven point lead and the end result was never in doubt from that point on.
Cian Ward managed a late consolation goal two minutes into injury time after being set up by Joe Sheridan.
The latter didn't make the team-sheet for Meath's Leinster SFC quarter-final against Dublin back in early June.
He was introduced as a substitute four minutes from the end of the 0-12 to 0-14 defeat.
The end scoreline flattered Meath as Dublin were far superior in all departments and were guilty of hitting seventeen wides compared to the Royals' nine.
The sidelining of 'Big Joe' and, to a lesser extent, Peadar Byrne were of the main talking points in the lead up to the Dublin game and the end result only served to raise the volume on the calls for the pair to be restored to the starting fifteen.
There were other questionable decisions by the selectors with Niall McKeigue positioned at centre-back, Anthony Moyles deployed in the right corner back role and, most notably, Caoimhin King selected at full-forward.
Meath overcame a slow start to lead by 0-5 to 0-3 after seventeen minutes before Dublin hit eight points without reply to go in at the break leading by 0-11 to 0-5.
Points from King, Cian Ward, Shane McAnarney and Brian Farrell narrowed the gap at the start of the second half but Dublin soon regained control and should have finished with a lot more to spare were it not for their profligacy in front of the posts.
The experiment of playing the Dunshaughlin man in the forwards backfired against the Dubs but it should be acknowledged that O'Brien, O'Malley and Curtis subsequently held their hands up and admitted their mistakes by reverting to a more orthodox team selection for the first round of the qualifiers against Waterford in Pairc Tailteann.
Joe Sheridan started on the '40' against the Decies and scored three points as the Eoghan Harrington captained side, Stephen Bray was absent due to an injury he picked up against Dublin, advanced to the second round on a scoreline of 1-20 to 0-8.
McKeigue and Mark Ward were demoted to the bench for the clash with John Kiely's charges as King was restored to the more familiar surroundings of the half back line and Brian Meade joined Nigel Crawford at midfield.
Anthony Moyles took over from the injured Kevin Reilly in the full-back position and would remain there for the rest of the campaign.
The stars of the 1-20 to 1-5 round 2 win over neighbours Westmeath in Mullingar were the two prodigal sons, Byrne and Sheridan.
The Ballinlough man was involved in practically all the visitors' best moments while the Seneschalstown player finished as the game's top scorer with 1-4.
The Royals never looked back after Sheridan's 33rd minute goal and proceeded to record a 22nd championship victory over the Lake County.
A Jekyll and Hyde performance followed in the third round against Roscommon in Pairc Tailteann and Meath fans were made to sweat until David Bray's 58th minute goal helped seal a 2-12 to 0-11 victory.
Meath led by 1-8 to 0-6 at half-time thanks to a 25th minute goal by Byrne but struggled to see of the visitors until late in the game.
Nigel Crawford laid the platform for the win with a dominant performance around the middle of the field and was largely responsible for his side winning 26 of the game's 39 kick-outs.
Although they didn't admit it publicly, revenge was very much on the mind of Crawford and his colleagues when they travelled to Portlaoise for the round 4 encounter with Limerick.
The scars of the previous year's 4-12 to 4-3 humiliation at the hands of the Shannonsiders were barely healed.
They exorcised the ghosts of that fateful day with a 1-13 to 2-9 victory but the win came at a cost when captain Stephen Bray was red carded by referee Padraig Hughes five minutes from the end following an off-the-ball altercation with Limerick corner-back Mark O'Riordan.
Meath's subsequent appeal to his one month suspension fell on deaf ears in Croke Park and the captain was ruled out of the quarter-final.
It might have proven to be more costly had the Royals not withstood a late rally by Mickey Ned O'Sullivan's team in the captain's absence.
Meath were left to defend a fragile lead but Bray's team-mates rose to the challenge and displayed commendable character to hold on for the win.
They were relieved when referee Hughes penalised Limerick centre-back Stephen Lucey for over carrying when he tried to engineer an equaliser in the last attack of the game.
The win was notable for two second half points for corner back Chris O'Connor who was RTE's choice as 'Man of the Match'.
Another difference from the last time the side's met was Cormac McGuinness' close marshalling of Ian Ryan.
The Limerick forward helped himself to a jaw dropping 3-7 the previous summer but, on this occasion, the O'Mahonys man restricted him to a solitary point from a free in the first half before he was moved into the full-forward line for the second half.
Eoghan Harrington limited Ryan to two points, one from play, after the resumption and that, along with the midfield superiority of Crawford and Meade, helped lay the foundations for the Royals' safe passage.
The concession of a second goal, following a mix-up between Paddy O'Rourke and Meade, coupled with Bray's dismissal diluted the success somewhat but, nonetheless, there was an over-riding sense of satisfaction at having set the record straight.
In the days leading up to the last eight tie against Connacht champions Mayo, Bray's absence was a major cause for concern.
It was the first championship meeting between the two counties since the infamous 1996 All-Ireland final replay and the outcome turned out to be the same, a win for Meath.
Cian Ward's second half penalty proved to be the turning point in the 2-15 to 1-15 victory.
A first half goal by David Bray and a 'Man of the Match' performance from Joe Sheridan were other ingredients in Meath's winning formula.
O'Brien's charges took full advantage of Mayo's reputation for flattering to deceive on the big occasion.
John O'Mahony's players held a 1-12 to 1-8 advantage with 51 minutes played after teenage star Aidan O'Shea's had raised a green flag.
Meath regained the initiative shortly after though when David Bray was fouled by substitute Liam O'Malley and referee Joe McQuillan of Cavan pointed to the penalty spot.
The team in gold and green benefited from a dubious sideline call in the build-up to the penalty decision and Joe Sheridan's delivery was well gathered by Bray.
Ward displayed nerves of steel to convert the spot-kick and Meath outscored the westerners by seven points to three in the remaining sixteen minutes.
A cameo appearance by substitute Jamie Queeney which incorporated two points was pleasing from the winner's point of view as was the coming of age of David Bray on the intercounty scene.
The younger of the Bray siblings helped compensate for the omission of his brother by replicating his club form on the big stage when scoring 1-3 from play on top of earning the decisive penalty.
Sheridan, meanwhile, rubbished the myth that the wide open confines of Croke Park on a summer's day don't suit him.
It was refreshing for a change to witness the excitement generated in the build-up to the semi-final against Kerry.
Flags and bunting were dusted down as houses and businesses proudly displayed their colours while the large turn outs at training evoked memories of the All-Ireland winning years of recent times.
Prior to the game it was hoped that Kerry would fail to reproduce the display that saw them massacre Leinster champions Dublin by 1-24 to 1-7 in their quarter-final meeting.
They never reached those heady heights in the semi-final but didn't have to and that was probably the most annoying aspect of the defeat.
The gulf in class between the two teams was very much in evidence during the course of the seventy minutes and bridging that probably the main challenge facing the team in the coming year.
Meath can take solace in the fact that there are thirty other teams in the same boat as the start of the new intercounty campaign looms over the horizon.
There was no sign of any green shoots of recovery in the O'Byrne Cup or early stages of the NFL.
The new management's first competitive game in charge ended with a 1-17 to 0-7 win over a makeshift Westmeath team in the first round of the O'Byrne Cup at Pairc Tailteann on January 4 but they exited the subsidiary competition seven days later at the hands of Kildare, 1-8 to 1-10.
The defection of 2008 captain Brendan Murphy to Longford Town didn't do anything to inspire confidence in the team's prospects.
Nor did round 1 and 2 NFL Division 2 defeats to Cork and, especially, Fermanagh respectively.
Meath's rehabilitation appeared as though it was going to be a long and painful one following the 1-15 to 0-9 defeat to Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and the 2-7 to 0-12 turnover suffered against Fermanagh at home in round 2.
The ban on collective training in November and December had forced the management's hand to a large degree in that they had to use the league to 'blood' players and a 1-8 to 0-6 third round victory over Laois at Pairc Tailteann offered them some breathing space to continue with their experimentation policy.
Another bogey team of recent years, Wexford, were downed by 0-10 to 0-7 in Wexford Park in round 4 and draws against Monaghan and Kildare and a defeat to Armagh in Crossmaglen brought an uninspiring league campaign to an end.
As a result, Royal County followers travelled to Croke Park for the provincial quarter-final against Dublin more in hope than optimism but events since then has renewed a sense of pride in Meath football and the countdown to 2010 is well underway.
The All Star selectors didn't share Meath supporters' enthusiasm for the giant leap of progress made this year with Joe Sheridan the only Royal County player deemed to have made the nominees grade.
Nigel Crawford and, to a lesser degree, Cormac McGuinness, Seamus Kenny and Cian Ward, who finished as the third top scorer in the championship with 3-26 behind Colm Cooper and Michael Murphy (Donegal), had every reason to feel aggrieved.
There was some consolation for the Dunboyne midfielder when he made the final cut for the GPA team along with Sheridan.
Another talking point in the past month or so was the appointment of Sean Kelly as Colm Brady's replacement as physical trainer in the backroom team.
Brady was heralded for the high fitness levels of the players this year which underpinned the march to the penultimate stage but has been forced to stand down due to work commitments.
Meath couldn't ask for a more qualified successor and it will be interesting to note what impact the O'Mahonys' Keegan Cup winning manager makes on the panel.
Of more relevance may be the impact that some new players might make. Worst case scenario is that Stephen Bray, Kevin Reilly and Shane O'Rourke will be, to all intents and purposes, additions for the coming year following an injury and suspension interrupted year.
Bray and O'Rourke can provide the type of creativity in attack that was conspicuous by its absence against Kerry while Reilly's presence in defence would be reassuring particularly when the difficulties that befell the full-back line under the high ball at times during the year is recalled.
These aside, an injection of new talent is paramount for the New Year. That begs the question is their players out there who could make a difference?
There's only one way to find out and a look at last year's Leinster minor winning panel would be a good starting point.
'Second year syndrome' is one of the buzz phrases doing the rounds in the GAA in recent years and the Royals will be hoping to avoid the trap they fell into in 2008 after reaching the previous year's semi-final.
You would like to think that the experience of that year will stand them in good stead.
The temptation to get carried away following the progress of this year will be difficult to escape. Kildare have emerged as a serious contender in Leinster while question marks remain on how Pat Gilroy's Dublin will react to their quarter-final mauling to Kerry.
For the time being, Meath's attention will be focussed entirely on the Leinster SFC opener against Offaly which is scheduled for May 23rd.
The Meath team which featured in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final defeat to Kerry was as follows - P. O'Rourke; C. O'Connor, A. Moyles, E. Harrington; S. Kenny, C. McGuinness, C. King; N. Crawford, B. Meade; P. Byrne, J. Sheridan (0-1), S. Bray; D. Bray, B. Farrell (0-2, 1 free), C. Ward (1-4, 2 frees, 2 sidelines). Subs - M. Burke for S. Bray (7 mins), J. Queeney for Kenny (45 mins), N. McKeigue for D. Bray (49 mins), M. Ward for Crawford (53 mins), K. Reilly for King (58 mins). Tweet
