Meath were eliminated from the 2009 Leinster U21 football championship at the very first hurdle when a couple of late points fired arch rivals Dublin to a 0-12 to 2-5 first-round victory at Parnell Park on Saturday March 7. While the Dubs went on to claim the provincial crown before crashing out to would-be All-Ireland champions Cork at the national semi-final stage, the young Royals were left licking their wounds as a season once pregnant with promise was effectively over before it had begun.

The Royal County did little to enhance their reputation at U21 level in 2009, as they failed to string together any kind of run in the provincial knockout. They were very disappointing in their only championship outing. A one-hour campaign was not the elixir a success-starved Royal public had demanded. Still, their conquerors Dublin went on to prove themselves unanimously as the best team in Leinster at this level and Meath (albeit without firing on ANY cylinders) certainly pushed the Sky Blues closer than anybody else in the 2009 Leinster U21 FC.
There were high hopes surrounding this group going into the championship as they had captured the corresponding Leinster MFC three years earlier. Nine of those same players were again available to Colm O'Rourke (who was assisted by selectors Trevor Giles and Colm Menton), but the unavailability of injured senior county man Graham Reilly (who could only come on as a 38th-minute sub) represented an undoubted blow. Paddy Brady's was a big absence in the first half (he was only fit enough to play the second period) and Bective's Darragh Smith also missed the game, while Summerhill's Michael Byrne was restricted to an appearance from the bench just before the short whistle.
The manager's son Shane captained the team from centre forward and his clubmate Shane Carr - son of Kilmacud Crokes manager Paddy Carr - was named at left corner back. In an intriguing twist, Paddy Carr had made four Dublin players unavailable for the U21 derby match as his club were preparing to face Crossmaglen Rovers in the All-Ireland senior club FC final at Croke Park on St Patrick's Day…
Meath's starting XV provided a reasonable cross-section of the talent in the county as it also included players from ten other clubs: Skryne (goalkeeper Patrick O'Rourke), St Ultan's (Kieran Lynch), Castletown (Gerry Farrelly), Rathkenny (David Donegan), Dunshaughlin (Cillian Finn), Wolfe Tones (John Sheppard), Summerhill (Conor Gillespie and Paul Larkin), Donaghmore/Ashbourne (Eoin Reilly, John Broderick and David Morgan), Blackhall Gaels (Alan Nestor) and Seneschalstown (Brian Sheridan).
Alas, the scouring of every nook and cranny counted for nothing as Meath ran into a determined Dublin side on the day and fell to a narrow, one-point defeat. Though the late nature of Dublin's match-winning scores suggests that the Royals were hard done by, the reality is that they managed a mere seven scores over the hour, with only four players getting on the score sheet and only one man - corner forward Brian Sheridan, with a goal and three points - raising more than a solitary flag. Realistically, this was never going to be good enough in a Meath/Dublin championship showdown.
Ahead of the game, the manager knew there was a weight of expectation upon his young players' shoulders in light of their 2006 exploits, but he also stressed that Dublin - who'd had the benefit of an earlier outing against Louth - would provide his side with a very stern examination: "Expectations are there and they are a good group of players, there's no doubt about that," he observed beforehand.. "We can't complain about their commitment and we'd be very happy with our preparations going into the game. It is obviously difficult when lads are involved at third level and senior, because it can cut across the preparations, but it's the same for everybody and we just have to get on with it. They (Dublin) are a physically-imposing side and we are expecting a tough challenge."
Meath went into the game as favourites but their lack of match-practice probably undid them in the end. Dublin were missing two star players in Kilmacud duo Cian O'Sullivan (captain) and Kevin Nolan, as well as the luckless Paul Brogan, but the Royal County produced a disappointing, substandard display and were never truly at the races, in spite of a late flurry that almost won the day. Had they stolen a win here, it would indeed have been an act of grand larceny.
With Dublin senior Paddy Andrews dominant all day at midfield, Meath were often ran ragged and it was their backline of Kieran Lynch, Gerard Farrelly and Shane Carr - aided by goalie Patrick O'Rourke - who kept them in the match for the full hour.
The Metropolitans held a slender 0-5 to 0-3 advantage at the end of a gruelling first period. The visitors showed during this half-hour that they were not prepared to roll over without a fight and some tenacious defending against a slicker Dubs outfit kept them in touch.
The first ten minutes of the second half couldn't have gone any better for the Royals: first, Sheridan halved the gap with a pointed free and then Alan Nestor propelled them into a two-point lead (1-4 to 0-5) with the first goal of the match (from the penalty spot) on 37 minutes. Game on!
This Dublin side had something about them, however, and they refused to panic, clipping over five successive points to assume a three-point lead. But spirited Meath brought an exciting match right back into the melting pot with their second major five minutes from time: Sheridan latched onto a speculative long, high delivery and he made no mistake in rattling the onion bag. Having been outplayed for long patches, Meath's sheer character had kept them in the game and they were now level with 55 minutes played, 2-4 to 0-10.
In theory, they should also have had the momentum now as that bolt-from-the-blue leveller should have added a spring to their step and should have had the opposite (demoralising, draining) effect on their opponents. But Dublin refused to subscribe to the sinking feeling and they maintained their composure in admirable manner to fashion a deserved victory with late strikes from centre forward Luke Sweetman and corner forward Dean Kelly against a single Meath reply.
Losing manager Colm O'Rourke was typically honest in his summing-up of the match: "We didn't play well; the team seemed to be very nervous and didn't get going at all and I suppose in truth Dublin could have won the game a lot easier. We had our problems around midfield. We didn't win any breaks at all. Dublin completely dominated. I suppose a game doesn't lie. We put in a lot of work and our preparation was as good as I could have hoped for. The lads worked hard but the performance wasn't what they are capable of. Those fellas are better footballers than they showed there. That's championship football: you get one chance and you have to sink or swim."
Dublin went on to defeat Westmeath by four points at the semi-final stage a fortnight later and Laois by three points in the provincial final on April 5.

Meath, 2009 Leinster U21 FC V Dublin at Parnell Park: P O'Rourke; K Lynch, G Farrelly, S Carr; D Donegan, C Finn, S Sheppard; C Gillespie, E Reilly; J Broderick, S O'Rourke (0-1), A Nestor (1-0); P Larkin (0-1), D Morgan, B Sheridan (1-3). Subs: M Byrne for Finn, P Brady for Donegan, G Reilly for Broderick, C Young for Morgan, A Collins for E Reilly. Tweet

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