Kildare torment Banty's boys
November 27, 2011
Meath supporters must be sick of the sight of the Kildare jersey after they inflicted a trio of defeats on Seamus McEnaney's side in 2011, including in the crucial Leinster championship and All-Ireland qualifier games.
It's official - Kildare are Meath's new bogey team. Not content with knocking them out of last year's championship at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage, Kieran McGeeney's charges returned to inflict even more pain on the Royal County this year when they firstly ended their reign as Leinster champions before putting them out of the All-Ireland race barely a month later.
Throw in last April's National League defeat in Newbridge, which included the infamous sideline clash of McGeeney and 'Banty' after the final whistle, and it's easy to see why the Lilywhites have become such a thorn in Meath's side. While many would argue that Meath have better players, Kildare's supreme organisation and fitness levels, coupled with their greater composure in front of goal, tilted the balance in all three of this year's clashes.
But it wasn't just Kildare who caused headaches for Meath and their first 'outside' manager in 2011. In the National League, Laois, Donegal, Derry and Antrim all triumphed over the Royals, leaving them facing the unthinkable prospect of being relegated to Division 3 ahead of their final game against Tyrone. But against all the odds and in true Meath fashion, the embattled green and golds staged a terrific comeback which ended in a draw with the Red Hands and this, combined with Kildare's last-gasp victory over Sligo in Newbridge, saw them stay in Division 2 by the skin of their teeth.
Of course, Meath supporters would have expected a lot more from their team and it's amazing to think that a season that promised so much only yielded three competitive victories against Sligo (in the National League), Louth and Galway (both in the All-Ireland qualifiers). Whether or not the Meath players were left psychologically scarred by the fallout from last year's Leinster final it's impossible to tell, but there was a definite cloud hanging over the camp all season.
Players who had performed to such a high standard in 2010 struggled to reach the same heights this year with the forward line, in particular, looking only a pale shadow of its former self for long spells. Seamus McEnaney's response was to recall Graham Geraghty after three years in retirement. And while there was some opposition to this sensational move, the 38-year-old showed in his brief comeback - which was unfortunately cut short by injury - that he still has what it takes at this level by scoring a goal within moments of his introduction against Kildare in the Leinster championship, only to have it wrongly ruled out for a 'square ball' infringement by the referee.
The decision to recall the 1999 All-Ireland winning captain on the eve of the championship was almost as controversial as McEnaney's own appointment as manager late last year. Despite strong opposition to his candidature in some quarters, delegates voted 53-19 in favour of the former Monaghan boss becoming the Royal County's first 'outside' manager.
In another break with tradition, the Corduff man - who became Meath's fifth manager in seven years and replaced Eamonn O'Brien who was unexpectedly ousted after delivering a first Delaney Cup in nine years - was granted a three-year term with a review after two years. His backroom team consisted of former Meath All-Ireland winners Liam Harnan and Barry Callaghan, ex-Armagh and Kildare assistant manager Paul Grimley and former Cavan manager Martin McElkennon, who was appointed as the team's strength and conditioning coach.
However, Harnan and Callaghan were gone before the championship, having decided to step down over an apparent lack of consultation on the decision to recall Graham Geraghty. They were eventually replaced by just one selector - the popular Clonee native and former Ballinlough manager Tom Keague.
Despite an extensive search for new talent and giving over 50 players game time, McEnaney struggled to find a winning formula. The tone for the season was set when Meath lost their O'Byrne Cup opener to the students of UCD. They recovered to beat Kilkenny and Laois in the O'Byrne Shield, only to lose an entertaining final to Dublin after extra time in Parnell Park.
The National League was a frustrating affair with a first round loss to Laois in O'Moore Park immediately putting the new management under pressure. Meath lost four more games, but still avoided relegation by virtue of their superior score difference (+1) to Sligo's.
Supporters hoped the championship and the challenge of retaining the Delaney Cup would bring the best out of Banty's boys. But not even Graham Geraghty's introduction could save them from a first round exit at the hands of Kildare in Croke Park.
With the O'Rourke cousins, Shane and Paddy, joining Joe Sheridan in a physically imposing full forward line, Meath put their early season problems behind them with a fine first half display which saw them lead by 0-7 to 0-5 at the break.
But a John Doyle point straight from the throw-in signalled a strong Kildare recovery and they had got their noses in front before substitute Brian Farrell was controversially sent off following a tangle with Kildare's Emmett Bolton in the 52nd minute (Farrell's appeal against the red card was amazingly thrown out by the CCCC).
Four points down and badly in need of some inspiration, the evergreen Geraghty looked to have provided it when he rose highest to fist past Shane Connolly in the Kildare goal. But following consultation with his umpires, referee Syl Doyle disallowed it, much to the dismay of the Meath faithful in the stands. It was impossible to escape the notion that the 'Sluddengate' affair had influenced the Wexford official's decision to disallow what TV replays showed was a perfectly good goal.
Following that let-off, Kildare pushed on to win by 0-16 to 0-10 and so the backdoor beckoned for the Royals.
Amazingly, Meath were paired with Louth in a repeat of what was arguably the most controversial GAA game of all time. Not surprisingly, there was huge interest in the fixture which provided both teams with an opportunity to put things right.
Played before a bumper crowd of 18,243 in neutral Kingspan Breffni Park, the game was keenly contested early on, but once the recalled Cian Ward found his rhythm, there was only going to be one outcome.
Ward smashed an incredible 4-3 to send the Wee County packing on a 5-8 to 1-8 scoreline. No controversy, acrimony or complaints from Louth - just a job well done by Meath, and by Ward in particular. Indeed, the Wolfe Tones sharpshooter could have had six goals on a day when the Royals reigned supreme over their most bitter rivals and also got their championship campaign back on track.
Despite the comprehensive manner of their victory over Louth, doubts continued to persist about Meath's consistency. On the evidence of their disastrous showing against Mayo in the Connacht championship, Galway were on a level just ahead of Louth, yet Seamus McEnaney's men needed to play their "get out of jail" card to beat them before an expectant home crowd in Navan.
Meath were good value for their 0-8 to 0-4 lead at half-time, with defenders Gary O'Brien and Shane McAnarney among the scorers. But they faded completely out of the game after the restart as Galway stormed back to lead going into injury-time.
Fortunately, the home side awoke from their slumber just in time to claim a 0-11 to 0-10 victory thanks to late points from Brian Farrell and Stephen Bray. But goalkeeper Brendan Murphy emerged as Meath's match-winner after making a save from Cormac Bane in the last action to deny the Tribesmen victory.
Unsurprisingly, there were groans of despair from many supporters when the Royals were drawn against Kildare in the third round of the All-Ireland qualifiers. However, with home advantage again, Seamus McEnaney's men were up for the challenge, seeing it as an opportunity to avenge their earlier defeats to their southern neighbours.
Alas, it wasn't to be. Despite a brave effort, Meath had no answer to another late surge from the Lilywhites that propelled them to a 2-11 to 0-14 win.
Extra-time beckoned when the sides were level on 1-9 to 0-12 with seven minutes of normal time remaining, but just as they had done in Croke Park six weeks earlier, the super-fit Lilywhites finished the stronger by scoring an unanswered 1-2 in three blistering minutes to effectively end the game as a contest.
Attacking wing back Emmett Bolton accounted for 1-1 of that tally, with his fisted goal coming after an excellent build-up involving impressive substitute James Kavanagh and Tomas O'Connor, while another sub, Ronan Sweeney, landed the other point to put five in it for the first time.
Meath, to their credit, responded with late frees from Stephen Bray and substitute Brian Farrell, but time ran out on them as Kildare justified their favouritism.
Despite the awful weather conditions, a 20,000-strong crowd flocked to Pairc Tailteann for what was a typically hard-fought affair between the neighbouring counties. And while Meath were still in it with five minutes to go, they were much too reliant on the free-taking of Cian Ward who accounted for 0-8 (0-7 from frees) of their tally.
Meath did well to recover from the concession of an early penalty, which John Doyle expertly converted, to trail by just two points at the break, 0-7 to 1-6. They restored parity on the restart and the game remained in the balance until Kildare's late push yielded the decisive scores.
Meath were left to wonder what might have been if their captain Seamus Kenny, who shadowed the roving Bolton for most of the game, hadn't been forced to retire with a head injury just minutes before the Eadestown clubman scored the clinching goal.
"The crucial point was from 12 minutes to go to eight minutes to go," Seamus McEnaney contended.
"Seamus Kenny went off in that period but the sides were level and we had three or four opportunities to possibly go one or two points up and we took the wrong options. In that particular period, there were four breaking balls and Kildare won four of them and that's Seamus Kenny's speciality.
"Stephen Bray came out to the half forward line and Paddy (O'Rourke) went in full forward. We're not pointing the fingers anywhere. It's a team game and you go to the man closest to you to put pressure on him."
While McEnaney could take encouragement from his side's progress during the championship after such a miserable start to the year, he will know that the Meath football public expects better. Now the challenge is for him to deliver.
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