Not just any old year for Joe
November 27, 2010Of the 21 Leinster SFC titles Meath have won none was achieved in more sensational circumstances than the latest. When the ball spilled from Joe Sheridan's hands and over the line at the end of this year's final it earned the Royal County a first provincial crown in nine years and deprived Louth of their first since 1957.
It also signalled chaos and controversy. Referee Martin Sludden was subjected to some appalling treatment as a small section of Louth supporters vented their fury on the Croke Park pitch. They believed they had been robbed by a goal that should have been disallowed, but if they were upset it's hard to even imagine what the players were going through.
They were on the verge of a long overdue Leinster success, but with their collective hands within touching distance of the cup they were caught. There were calls for a replay, led initially by Pat Spillane, but that was never likely to happen. The bottom line was that Meath were champions, irrespective of the circumstances.
"I tried to kick the ball," Sheridan said in an interview with Royal County a few months after that game. "I thought I was pushed over the line. I felt it was either a penalty or a goal and I thought the referee blew for a penalty. But he gave the goal. It all happened so quickly.
"It was unfortunate for Louth, but you can't go offering replays; I don't think so. There are controversies in all sports, not just the GAA. They happen all the time. We have had hard luck stories too."
When Meath set out on the road to hoped for glory early in the year with challenge matched and O'Byrne Cup games a Leinster title was high on the list of priorities, but this was a year blighted by injuries which militated against preparations for the big summer challenges.
"We had a fair few injuries this year, including long-term injuries to Niall McKeigue and David Bray," Sheridan added. "Nigel Crawford picked up a back injury in training during the championship and Mickey Burke got a bad injury in the replay against Laois.
"Injuries hinder preparations when you are trying to get a settled team in place. But luckily we had a good strong panel and there was good competition for places. You could see that in training. It's healthy and it means nobody can rest on their laurels."
Having exited the O'Byrne Cup at the semi-final stage to DCU, after achieving earlier wins over Longford and Dublin (in a replay), Meath opened their National League campaign with a narrow victory over Armagh at Pairc Tailteann. They also defeated Westmeath, Laois and Kildare at home, but lost all their away matches, against Down, Tipperary and Donegal.
"Our home form in the league was fairly good, but we tend to have problems winning away games," Sheridan said. "Maybe we're not up for it as much when we're playing away from home. It shouldn't happen. The league is important in terms of getting ready for the championship. You want to do well in the league. You want to win every game, even challenges. We need to find a bit more consistency in the league."
With the league petering out to a disappointing conclusion, Meath's attentions were focused on the championship and their Leinster opener against Offaly at Portlaoise. Kevin Reilly was a notable absentee from this game as he recovered from injury, but Meath won comfortably by 1-20 to 2-7.
"Our forwards got a bit of a slating for not scoring enough during the league," Sheridan added. "But we worked on it in training. Offaly probably weren't as good as they were a few years ago, but 1-20 in a good score in championship football. We just wanted to get over that game. We were delighted to win."
Laois were always likely to pose a greater threat next time out at Croke Park and so it proved as Meath surrendered three-point leads at the end of normal and extra-time and were taken to a replay.
"We played quite well in the first half against Laois," Sheridan added. "It was a wet day, but we were controlling a lot of the game and were in a good position at half-time. We were four points ahead. We sat back, but Laois deserve credit too. They came back well in normal and extra-time. They got some great scores. But we slipped up and we were lucky enough in the end to get a draw. We were holding on. We could have lost.
"But we got it right in the replay. We played very well that evening and won by 10 points. I got two goals. Cian (Ward) set me up for the first and the second was a toe poke. The confidence was up in the squad. Our backs and midfielders were doing well and that meant we were getting plenty of ball into the forwards.
"We were moving very well in that game and we got some very good scores. A lot of players came on and played well. Unfortunately, Mickey Burke sustained a bad injury which was sad for him."
Meath were one step away from the Leinster final, but standing in their way at the penultimate hurdle were Dublin who would later make their mark on the championship through the qualifiers. This was an extraordinary match in which Meath scored five goals and won by 11 points.
"The one big thing about this year was that we believed we could beat Dublin," he said. "In other years we would be only hopeful, but this year we were very confident going into the game. We kept our heads down and we were very focused. We got a great start with Stephen Bray's goal and we kept it going. Dublin were a bit lax at the back, but we got some very good goals.
"We were delighted with that win and people were suddenly talking us up as potential All-Ireland winners. You don't like to hear that sort of talk. We were favourites going into the Leinster final, but we knew what Louth would bring. They are a very good team. That was an extremely tough game. It was unfortunate the way it finished up."
Having lost the All-Ireland semi-final to Kerry last year after emerging through the qualifiers, Meath were getting closer to that stage again without having to resort to the back door route.
The controversy over the Leinster final rumbled on and Sheridan was happy that he and his colleagues were able to get back to club action the following weekend when the county championship got back into full swing.
"Luckily, we were straight back with our clubs after the Louth game," he said. "It helped us to get our minds off it all. It was a whole new scene playing with the club again. We just tried to move on."
Kieran McGeeney's Kildare demonstrated dramatic improvement this year after their Leinster Championship defeat to Louth in Navan and warmed to the qualifiers to such an extent that their run took them all the way to the All-Ireland semi-final where they were eliminated by Down. Along the way they knocked Meath out of the title race at the quarter-final stage, winning by 2-17 to 1-12 after Meath had led by six points in the first half.
"The goal we gave away just before half-time was a big blow against Kildare," Sheridan added. "We had made a very good start and went six points ahead. But the goal meant our heads were down going in at half-time and their confidence was up. We were mad with ourselves for giving that goal away and they were really up for the second half.
"Kildare had the momentum and scored three points early in the second half. They just took over in the second half and Johnny Doyle was very good. We got no breaks around midfield which meant there wasn't much ball going into the forwards. We got only three points in the second half. It was very disappointing."
Manager Eamonn O'Brien delivered a Leinster title this year after taking the team to an All-Ireland semi-final in his first year in charge, but he still failed to get ratified for another term. Sheridan was as surprised as anybody.
"We didn't expect opposition from the clubs," he said. "We couldn't believe it. But obviously the clubs were unhappy with a few things. It's nice to have the same set-up all the time, but at the same time when a new manager comes in lads will be trying to impress him."
At the time of writing a successor to O'Brien hadn't been chosen, but Sheridan was looking ahead to 2011 and has his heart set on winning an All-Ireland medal at some stage in the future.
"We need to get the right mix and have everybody singing off the same hymn sheet," he added. "We need to retain the Leinster title next year. We are on the tough side of the draw, but maybe we have under-achieved in the past and should have reached Leinster finals. We really want an All-Ireland. At the end of your career with Meath you will be asked how many All-Irelands did you win?" Tweet
