Paula pleased with progress
November 27, 2011While the Meath senior ladies footballers experienced the bitter disappointment of losing two major finals and ended 2011 without the silverware their efforts deserved, they can still take a lot of positives from what was a highly progressive season.
Under the guidance of Paula Cunningham, the Royals showed a marked improvement on the previous 12 months by qualifying for the National League Division 2 and Leinster finals. And despite losing both to Dublin and Laois respectively, the Clones native was pleased that her two main objectives for the year were achieved.
"Our first goal was to restore belief and to lift the spirits of the players, and I believe we achieved that," says Paula, who brought Anthony Murphy and Dwayne McCarey from Monaghan to assist her in the managerial duties.
"Our other goal was to win promotion to Division 1 and we achieved that. Obviously it was disappointing to lose two finals as well as an All-Ireland quarter-final, but coming from where we were 12 months ago, I would regard it as a successful enough year."
Gaining promotion to the top flight of the National League for 2012 was a big step for a Meath side that had been plying its trade in Division 2 since 2007. Their appearance in a first provincial final since 2006 was also a fine achievement, particularly as they had to beat Dublin to get there.
Not surprisingly, the Meath manager regards the dramatic 0-10 to 0-9 Leinster semi-final defeat of the reigning All-Ireland champions in their own backyard of Portmarnock as the year's outstanding highlight.
"It was brilliant to beat them, especially after they had beaten us twice in the National League," she fondly remembers.
"No one gave us a chance after the big win they had over us in the league final only six weeks earlier, but we managed to turn the tables and it's just a pity that we weren't able to follow it up with another big performance in the final against Laois. But the girls will learn from the experience."
The new manager, who included eight minors in her squad, couldn't have asked for a better start to her tenure as Meath dished out 19- and 18-point hammerings to Waterford and Armagh respectively in their first two National League games. They also registered wins over Sligo and Tipperary, and despite losing to Kerry and Dublin, qualified for a Division 2 semi-final against Kerry.
They avenged their earlier defeat to the Kingdom in Cahir, Co. Tipperary to set up a final showdown with Dublin at Parnell Park in May. The Jackies had given Meath a footballing lesson in their round-robin clash, and while the wearers of green and gold put up a better performance this time, it still wasn't good enough as the All-Ireland champions prevailed on a 3-15 to 2-9 scoreline. The only consolation for Meath was that would still have Division 1 football to look forward to next year.
Dublin looked to be well on their way to another comfortable win when they led by 2-7 to 0-5 at the break thanks to goals from Olivia Leonard and Amy Ring. A Geraldine Doherty goal early in the second half gave Meath hope before the Jackies responded with a flurry of scores to extend their advantage.
The visitors eventually scored a second goal from a Vivienne McCormack penalty, which was awarded for a foul on Mary Sheridan, but it was a case of too little, too late as Dublin eased to the title.
The Metropolitans were the hottest of favourites to beat their neighbours for a third time when the sides renewed their rivalry in the Leinster championship semi-final at the Naomh Mearnog grounds on July 3 but, in a stunning upset, the Royals scored a famous win to qualify for the provincial final and consign the All-Ireland champions to the backdoor series.
St. Ultan's Geraldine Doherty was the heroine for Meath, coming off the bench to score three points, including the winning score in the dying moments. Long-serving goalkeeper Irene Munnelly also made her mark when she denied Lynsey Peat a certain goal four minutes before half-time which persevered the Royals' lead (0-5 to 0-4) at the break.
The underdogs stretched their lead to three points on the restart before Dublin fought back to level at 0-7 apiece. Enter Doherty with 12 minutes to go and two quick-fire points from the super-sub had Meath 0-9 to 0-7 in front. Dublin again levelled with scores from Sinead Ahern and Elaine Kelly, but Meath weren't to be denied and snatched victory at the death through Doherty.
Dr Cullen Park in Carlow was the setting for the Leinster final against Laois a fortnight later. In complete contrast to the semi-final, Meath lost to a late winning point from Sinead Doogue which handed Laois a 2-8 to 1-10 victory and their first Leinster title since 2007.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Paula Cunningham's side who recovered from the concession of a first-minute goal to lead by 1-10 to 1-7 entering the home straight. But they couldn't close out the game and, after substitute Olwyn Farrell brought the O'Moore County level with their second goal, Doogue had the final say.
Paula, who saw her side kick eight second half wides, dismisses the notion that Meath were complacent after their sensational win over Dublin.
"We didn't take them for granted," she insists.
"It was more a case of us not taking our chances. We had some poor wides and the sin-binning of Jenny Rispin during the second half was very harsh I thought. It was hard to see both Laois and Kerry going on to play in All-Ireland semi-finals because we knew we were every bit as good as them. We beat Kerry in the league semi-final and should have beaten Laois in the Leinster final."
Meath bounced back to annihilate Sligo by 3-27 to 0-5 in their All-Ireland qualifier meeting at Ballymahon, Co. Longford to set up an All-Ireland quarter-final date with Monaghan in Birr. As it turned out, the Ulster champions had too much firepower for the Royals in a 2-13 to 0-8 victory.
Elaine Duffy's free had Meath ahead after three minutes, but Monaghan soon stamped their authority on proceedings to lead by 0-4 to 0-1 by the 13th minute. Meath's task became even greater when Therese McNally struck the first goal a short time later to give Monaghan a 1-7 to 0-3 lead at the break.
Another Monaghan goal on the restart helped them to a 13-point lead, and despite the best efforts of Vivienne McCormack who scored two points following her introduction, Meath were unable to make up the ground.
Paula, who led Fermanagh to an All-Ireland intermediate final appearance in 2009 and has managed her native county at all levels up to senior (she served as a Monaghan senior selector under Owen McNally in 2007), is excited at the prospect of Meath playing in Division 1 next year and building on this year's progress.
"Division 1 football will stand to the girls when it comes to next year's championship," she contends.
"Our lack of top flight football showed against Monaghan in the All-Ireland quarter-final. We have to be playing against the best every time we go out to improve the thing further. Myself and the rest of the management team really enjoyed working with the players and the county board this year, and we'll see what 2012 brings."
The Meath team which lost the National League Division 2 final to Dublin was: Irene Munnelly; Kellie Allen, Eileen Rahill, Aedin Murray; Orla Sheridan, Shauna Bennett, Bridgetta Lynch; Katie O'Brien (0-1), Fiona Mahon (0-1 free); Grainne Nulty, Geraldine Doherty (1-4), Elaine Duffy (0-1 free); Jenny Rispin, Mary Sheridan, Vivienne McCormack (1-2). Subs used: Caitriona O'Shaughnessy, Adelle Carolan and Philomena Sheridan. Tweet
