Juniors failed to ignite
November 27, 2010Junior intercounty football is barely an afterthought. It's not really rendered any acknowledgement by the Association top brass; not treated very seriously. It's the black sheep in an otherwise pampered family. So much so, that one would sometimes wonder why it exists at all. With club action, intercounty minor and U21 training, intercounty SF challenges, competitions like the O'Byrne Cup and just about everything else taking precedence, team preparations can be notoriously difficult - for players and management alike.
It's like a lucky dip - a Quick Pick in the Wednesday or Saturday evening Lotto. You never quite know what you're going to get. But there's always a niggling feeling in the back of you mind that you'll hardly strike it lucky. However, even allowing for the mitigating circumstances, Meath's performance against Cavan in the 2010 Leinster JFC semi-final at Pairc Tailteann in June was abysmal to say the least. To say that it just didn't happen on the day for the Royals would be a definite understatement.
Meath kicked off their ill-fated provincial campaign against Wicklow in Aughrim on Wednesday May 12th. In his first outing as a Meath manager, Ballinlough clubman Jody Devine (replacing long-serving county junior boss Kit Henry) chose an XV including five of the 2009 Meath IFC-winning Oldcastle team, with wing back Terry Farrelly captaining the side.
Two goals in the opening quarter set the Royals on their way and they went on to record a 2-14 to 1-8 victory. Longwood's Aaron Ennis provided the first major in the tenth minute, with Oldcastle's Eoin Gilsenan pouncing four minutes later to send the visitors into an unassailable 2-5 to 0-1 lead. With three of the remaining five points in the first half to their credit, the winners took a commanding 2-8 to 0-3 advantage into the interval. And despite conceding a goal 25 seconds after the restart, Meath held on to book their place in the last eight. (The result meant a home game against Kilkenny's NFL Division Four side at Navan a fortnight later, on Wednesday May 26th.)
Devine was forced to make a late chance to his starting team when Na Fianna's Ollie Lewis was unable to start at midfield due to injury, but Terry Skelly from Drumconrath came in and did a tidy job. He would retain his place for the entire campaign.
Naturally, carrying an eleven-point lead into the second half, Meath's lads eased up involuntarily and briefly allowed Kevin O'Brien's charges back into the game, but there was never any real danger of a successful Garden County revival. Of concern to the Meath management was a trio of injuries suffered by full back Stephen Clynch, centre back Rory McHugh and midfielder Barry Lynch. McHugh would miss both the Kilkenny and Cavan games, while Lynch sat out the clash with the Cats.
Meath had four points on the board inside the first seven minutes thanks to Rory Maguire (2), Gilsenan and Farrelly. When Ennis surged through for a goal and then provided the assist for Gilsenan's three-pointer, the match looked done and dusted at the end of the first quarter (which, in fairness, it was…). Casey Dunne had pointed in the 12th minute but the winners coasted through the second quarter.
Wicklow corner forward Dean Siney hit 1-2 shortly after the resumption but Meath held their ground with scores from Paddy (2) and Eoin Gilsenan to still lead by nine points at the end of the third quarter. A good save from Shane Geraghty confirmed that Meath were going to progress - just as they had done against the same opposition twelve months previously.
Meath - 2010 Leinster JFC V Wicklow: Shane Geraghty (Na Fianna); Gerry Farrelly (Castletown), Stephen Clynch (Dunsany), Padraig Young (Syddan); Terry Farrelly (Oldcastle, 0-1), Rory McHugh (Oldcastle), Michael Shankey (Kilmainhamwood); Barry Lynch (Kilmainham), Terry Skelly (Drumconrath); Paddy Gilsenan (Oldcastle, 0-3), Rory Maguire (Oldcastle, 0-3), Cian Mallon (Ballinlough, 0-2); Aaron Ennis (Longwood, 1-1), Casey Dunne (Duleek / Bellewstown, 0-1), Eoin Gilsenan (Oldcastle, 1-2). Subs: Cormac Rowe (Syddan) for Shankey (46); Paul Weldon (Moynalvey) for McHugh (47); David Morgan (Donaghmore / Ashbourne, 0-1) for Ennis (50); Alan Farrell (Nobber) for Lynch; TJ Garry (Dunderry) for Mallon (58).
The manager made three changes for the meeting with Kilkenny. Rory McHugh had broken a bone in his hand and was replaced at No.6 by Donaghmore / Ashbourne's David Morgan; Cormac Rowe had replaced Michael Shankey in the Wicklow game and he retained his place at left half back; while Nobber's Alan Farrell - brother of senior star Brian - came in at midfield in place of the injured Barry Lynch.
Meath didn't exactly hit the ground running against the comparatively more battle-hardened Noresiders, but they managed to up their performance after the break to win by 14 points, 2-13 to 0-5. They didn't have their shooting boots on in the opening period and struck eight wides (against Kilkenny's three) to take a mere 0-4 to 0-3 lead into the turnaround. But they took control of proceedings thereafter to canter to the winning line thanks to a 38th-minute Eoin Gilsenan goal and a flurry of points from Paddy Gilsenan, Terry Skelly and Cian Mallon. The Cats were held scoreless for the first 19 minutes of the second half and Rory Maguire's goal was the icing on the cake as Meath advanced to meet neighbours Cavan at the semi-final stage.
Despite the one-sided nature of the scoreboard at the end, this game was anything but a formality and the reality is that Meath struggled for long spells. Considering that the Royal County had crashed out to Longford at the same stage in 2009, this game was definitely a potential landmine - and there's no doubting that the Black & Ambers had an advantage from playing together in the NFL. The manager accepted afterwards that the first-half display was "poor" but added that his side was in a "no-win situation".
Paddy Gilsenan opened the scoring after five minutes and Casey Dunne immediately doubled the advantage but it was only 0-2 to 0-1 after 15 minutes. Kilkenny drew level in the 27th minute but Meath responded with a Terry Skelly point. But the Cats again levelled, only for Rory Maguire to slot over the lead point in first-half injury time.
Meath's goal eight minutes after the restart was of the rather fortuitous variety but it succeeded in knocking the stuffing out of the visitors. Suddenly, the points flowed but there was no doubting that the Royal County would face a much sterner examination against a Cavan side which had despatched Wexford by 2-13 to 0-4 in Wexford Park on the same night.
Meath, 2010 Leinster JFC V Kilkenny: Shane Geraghty (Na Fianna); Gerry Farrelly (Castletown), Stephen Clynch (Dunsany), Padraig Young (Syddan); Terry Farrelly (Oldcastle), David Morgan (Donaghmore / Ashbourne), Cormac Rowe (Syddan); Alan Farrelly (Nobber), Terry Skelly (Drumconrath); Paddy Gilsenan (Oldcastle), Rory Maguire (Longwood), Cian Mallon (Ballinlough); Aaron Ennis (Longwood), Casey Dunne (Duleek / Bellewstown (0-1), Eoin Gilsenan (Oldcastle). Subs: Damien Carroll (Ballinabrackey) for Ennis (39); TJ Garry (Dunderry) for Dunne (39); Ross Mooney (Kilmainham) for Young (53); Paul Weldon (Moynalvey) for Morgan (53); Mark Brennan (Dunsany) for E Gilsenan (55).
It was unusual to face an Ulster county in a Leinster semi-final and manager Jody Devine seemed to have pulled a trump card when he named Navan O'Mahonys clubman Stephen MacGabhann - the former county senior panellist who had missed the entire 2009 SFC through injury - at centre back. David Morgan was switched to corner forward, with Aaron Ennis dropping to the bench. Barry Lynch returned at midfield and Michael Shankey also returned to the starting line-up. It all looked well on paper and in theory, but things just didn't click on the day.
Amazingly, Cavan won on a measly scoreline of 1-4 to 0-4 at Pairc Tailteann on Wednesday June 9th. Registering only two points in each half, Meath could have no complaints about their elimination from the championship!
To compound a bitterly disappointing evening on Brews Hill, full forward Casey Dunne was red-carded in the dying seconds for his part in an off-the-ball incident.
Cavan made history by progressing to a late June decider against holders Louth at Croke Park. Neither team managed to muster a score from play in the first half and it was 0-2 apiece at the break. During that opening half hour, the hosts were guilty of some dreadful shooting, hitting nine wides to Cavan's none. Patrick Gilsenan fired the Royals ahead in the 41st minute but Cavan midfielder (and county senior player) Lorcan Mulvey hit the winning goal seven minutes from the end. The Breffni lads also had another well-known county senior panellist on board in Raymond Galligan, which gives rise to the question of why some counties are allowed to effectively field their senior second string while others can't. Counties like Meath are severely handicapped in the Leinster JFC as they're asked to effectively field their third string - and with no senior club players at that.
On the positive front, Stephen MacGabhann showed why he was once a member of the senior set-up, while Barry Lynch, Paddy Gilsenan, Gerry Farrelly and Eoin Gilsenan also impressed. Cavan were off the mark with two frees in the first quarter and Meath responded with a pointed Rory Maguire free from 35 metres after 22 minutes and a curling Gilsenan free off the left boot on the stroke of half time. After Gilsenan pointed again, Cavan levelled with their only point from play. Eoin Gilsenan responded to Mulvey's goal with a fourth Meath point but the home side ran out of ideas and time.
Meath - 2010 Leinster JFC V Cavan: Shane Geraghty (Na Fianna); Gerry Farrelly (Castletown), Stephen Clynch (Dunsany), Padraig Young (Syddan); Terry Farrelly (Oldcastle), Stephen MacGabhann (Navan O'Mahonys), Michael Shankey (Kilmainhamwood); Barry Lynch (Kilmainham), Terry Skelly (Drumconrath); Paddy Gilsenan (Oldcastle, 0-2), Rory Maguire (Longwood, 0-1), Cian Mallon (Ballinlough); David Morgan (Donaghmore / Ashbourne), Casey Dunne (Duleek / Bellewstown), Eoin Gilsenan (Oldcastle, 0-1). Subs: Paul Weldon (Moynalvey) for Young (36), Damien Carroll (Ballinabrackey) for Morgan (47), Cormac Rowe (Syddan) for Shankey (52), Alan Farrell (Nobber) for Skelly (60). Tweet
