The Cian edge
November 27, 2011
While 2011 may have been a mixed year for Meath football, Cian Ward's scoring heroics against Louth in the All-Ireland qualifiers will live long in the memory.
Ask any Meath supporter what the year's highlight was for them and they'll tell you it was Cian Ward's remarkable 4-3 (4-0 from play) against Louth at Kingspan Breffni Park.
Having been surprisingly overlooked for the preceding Leinster SFC quarter-final defeat to Kildare, the Wolfe Tones sharpshooter reminded everyone what he is capable of by shooting the lights out in what was the biggest grudge match the GAA has seen for many years.
Ward's astonishing 15-point haul was the fourth highest in the 11-year history of the All-Ireland qualifiers. Current Donegal selector Rory Gallagher holds the record for the biggest single haul, having hit 3-9 (18 points) for Fermanagh against Monaghan in 2002. Limerick's Ian Ryan and Wexford's Matty Forde share joint-second place after blasting 3-7 and 2-10 (both 16 points) against Meath and Offaly in 2008 and 2004 respectively, with Ward coming next.
The 26-year-old quantity surveyor also shot 0-8 (0-1 from play) against Kildare in round three of the All-Ireland qualifiers, but it wasn't enough to prevent Meath from exiting the championship.
Ward has registered some huge scores for both club and county over the years, but none were more satisfying than the 4-3 he scored against the Wee County.
"After what happened in last year's Leinster final, it was a special day for everyone on the panel," he recalls.
"People were saying I had a point to prove after being dropped for the Kildare game in Croke Park, but you always have a point to prove when you're playing for Meath. There was an added dimension to that game because it was 'last chance saloon' and our Leinster title from last year was completely devalued. It would have been devalued even more if we had lost, so it was great to win in the manner that we did."
Ward remembers it as one of those games when everything went right for him. He also pays tribute to his team-mates for creating the scoring opportunities for him.
"Sometimes things fall right for you, and that was one of those days for me," the prolific forward modestly says.
"Having said that, I could have ended up with six goals. I clipped the crossbar with my first shot, and the other one I missed, I probably hit it too well and the 'keeper made the save. It was a strange game in that every time I was getting the ball it was in a dangerous area.
"You have to give credit to the outfield players for putting the ball in the right area and creating the chances for me. Shane O'Rourke gave me an unbelievable pass for the fourth goal - he put it on a plate for me."
While it was Ward's biggest single haul in a Meath jersey, he once scored 4-4 for Wolfe Tones in a club championship game.
"It was against Duleek in the 2008 SFC quarter-final," he fondly remembers.
"I've scored 1-10 a few times and scored 2-8 in my first ever senior championship game for Wolfe Tones against Walterstown in 2005. But to score 4-3 in a big game like that was very special."
Sadly for Ward and Meath, there aren't too many other highlights to look back on during 2011. The Royals won only three competitive games all year against Sligo (in the National League), Louth and Galway (both in the All-Ireland qualifiers). Kildare knocked them out of both the Leinster championship and All-Ireland qualifiers, while the Lilywhites were also one of four teams (Laois, Donegal, Derry and Antrim were the others) to record league wins over Seamus McEnaney's underperforming side. Despite those losses, the Royals still managed to retain their Division 2 status thanks to a draw with Tyrone in their final game.
"It was a really bad year for us. To win only three games is not good enough. It's nowhere near the standard we should be at," says the ace free-taker, who has one of the largest followings of any GAA player on the popular social networking site Twitter.
"Considering the players we have at our disposal, three wins is pathetic. We definitely have the armoury to play a lot better. The fallout from last year's Leinster final dragged us down and it was hard for us to get back up to the level we had been at before that. When you're flirting with relegation in the National League, it's very difficult to turn things around for the championship and unfortunately that proved to be the case this year," the straight-talking Wolfe Tones clubman adds.
Having lost to them three times in 2011, Cian admits that Kieran McGeeney's Kildare were a real thorn in Meath's side.
"They've beaten us four out of five times in the last two seasons, and that's a record none of us are proud of. In saying that, Kildare are a very good team, they're more settled than us and have that bit of continuity under McGeeney over the past four years."
Ward is still haunted by Meath's 0-14 to 2-11 defeat to the Lilywhites in last July's All-Ireland qualifier at Pairc Tailteann. Had Meath won, he is convinced they would have had a long summer of action.
"That game was there for the taking with 10 minutes to go, but we let it slip from our grasp. We played very well on the night, but took a few wrong options when the game was level and were punished for that. I think we would have won if we had got in front. It was a hard one to take because we gave it everything and a win would have brought us on further. It would have done wonders for us, and who knows, we could have gone on to reach an All-Ireland quarter-final or semi-final."
Having endured a baptism of fire in his first season at the helm when Meath's poor form, coupled with the resignation of selectors Liam Harnan and Barry Callaghan, had threatened to unseat him before the championship, Seamus McEnaney will be in a much stronger position next year according to Ward.
"There was a lot of extra pressure put on Seamus because of the fact that he was Meath's first 'outside' manager. He had that to deal with it, and had a bedding-in period as well. He spent the first couple of months holding trials and getting to know players, but he now has a much better knowledge of the scene in Meath.
"There was an awful lot of hype surrounding him this year, but maybe that hysteria will be gone next year and he'll be able to get on with things without any distraction."
The holder of Leinster, NFL Division 2, Meath SFC, IFC, JFC, Leinster and All-Ireland JFC club medals, as well as a Hogan Cup medal he won with St. Pat's, Navan in 2003, Ward contends that Meath didn't do themselves justice this year and is eager to see them hit the ground running in 2012.
He concludes by saying: "I think there's huge potential in this team, but for some reason we haven't delivered on it as often as we would like. Fortunately, our age profile is low and we still have time to prove ourselves as a team that can compete at the highest level.
"Looking to next year, we have to be aiming for promotion to Division 1 of the National League. It's not going to be easy, especially with the calibre of teams that are in Division 2, but it's important that we are competing at the right end of the table rather than the wrong end.
"You don't have to look any further than Donegal and what they achieved this year after winning Division 2. And last year Down reached an All-Ireland final on the back of getting promoted from Division 2. It's all about building up momentum from early on in the year and getting into a winning habit."
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