It was hardly a major surprise that Meath crashed out of the Leinster JFC at the very first hurdle - losing at home to Longford - given that manager Pat Coyle had less than five weeks to prepare his team. Under such circumstances, it was always going to be difficult for the county's second string to put a run together.

The Royals hosted Longford at Pairc Tailteann on Wednesday night, May 11th, and the midlanders (though clearly no world-beaters themselves) looked slicker and more fluent as they emerged victorious on a 1-9 to 0-8 scoreline. It wasn't the first time Meath had lost to Longford in 2011, as the visitors had forged a similar result at the same venue in the Leinster U21 FC (as well as recording wins in the Leinster MFL and a SF challenge in Kilmainhamwood just days before the junior game).

But the backdrop to the JFC was far from ideal as far as Meath were concerned. Former Leinster MFC winning manager Pat Coyle was only confirmed as successor to Jody Devine five weeks before the championship opener, leaving the Curraha man with little time to weave his magic.

The championship draw had been kind to the Royal County as their next two games would also have been at home - against Cavan on May 25th and a semi-final against Wexford on June 8th - if they negotiated the Longford hurdle. But it simply wasn't to be.
Coyle's new-look side featured just two of the players who faced Cavan in the 2010 provincial final - Padraig Young and Terry Skelly - but the fresh faces introduced had no answer to James Noonan's first-half haul of 1-2, including a 17th-minute goal, which provided the midlanders with a 1-6 to 0-5 interval lead. The sides would share just six points in a mediocre second half.

It could have been worse at the midway stage as Longford had six wides in that opening period, while Meath's five points came from their only five shots at the target.
Robbie Madden had opened the scoring in the second minute and the fact that this was the only time Meath led in the entire match speaks for itself. Colm Kerrigan got Meath's only other point from play before the break and the out-of-sorts losers failed to register in the third quarter (as did Longford!).

Still, points from Damien Carroll (free) and substitute Justin O'Reilly had Meath back within two by the 53rd minute. There now appeared to be a strong chance of pulling this one out of the fire but Longford - who went 25 minutes without a score in the second half - sealed progression with late points from William Crawford, Mark McDonald and Enda Ledwith. O'Reilly's second point in the fourth minute of injury time was a mere consolation and it was the visitors who deservedly went into the quarter-finals.
Daniel Queeney had clipped over a couple of first-half frees to keep the hosts in touch at the interval and - with the advantage of a strong breeze to come - Pat Coyle's charges remained in a strong position as they turned around. However, Longford had seven county U21s and three seniors in their ranks and they were not going to be brushed aside by a below-par display from the home team. In all honesty, this was a listless effort from Meath and it was clear from their play that preparations had not been adequate - through no fault of either the players or management.

It was a thoroughly disjointed display and not even the presence of county seniors Skelly and Willie Ryan - not to mention several players from senior clubs - could lift Meath's contribution above the mundane. Longford had dominated the first half but must have left Navan wondering how they had won without raising a flag in the first 25 minutes of the second half. That statistic suggests that the result was as much due to Meath's failings as Longford's brilliance.

All in all, it was about as uneventful and underwhelming a campaign as a Meath county side has served up in a long time.

Meath - 2011 Leinster JFC V Longford: D Nolan; P Young, W Ryan, H Newman; C Rowe, D Reynolds, N McMahon; T.Skelly, E Callaghan; R Madden (0-1), D Carroll (0-2), D Smyth; D Quinn, C Kerrigan (0-1), D Queeney (0-2). Subs: H Silke for Smyth (22); J O'Reilly (0-2) for Callaghan (44); A Farrell for Madden (47); B Tormay for Rowe (59). Tweet

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