Preview: Leinster SFC - Meath v Wicklow
May 25, 2012
Key players Wicklow's Seanie Furlong and Meath's Graham Reilly
After a promising start to the Allianz League, Meath slumped to five successive defeats which culminated in relegation to Division 3 and a botched attempt to remove Seamus McEnaney as manager. All the while, Harry Murphy was masterminding Wicklow's promotion from Division 4 - something his predecessor Mick O'Dwyer had failed to achieve during his high-profile reign. The Garden County's impressive showing against Fermanagh in the Division 4 final suggests they are in fine fettle coming into this game.
Meath supporters have every reason to be worried after a disastrous league campaign. It has been one bad performance after another for Banty's men since Kildare broke their early-season momentum with a last-gasp win in Navan at the beginning of March. But this is a new campaign and Meath will be hoping that the return of star forward Joe Sheridan from Boston, coupled with the additions of John Evans and Trevor Giles to the management team, will lead to a significant upturn in fortunes.
While Wicklow will feel more at home in Dr Cullen Park and are brimming with confidence after their Allianz League success, Meath are always a dangerous proposition in the championship, and if their backs can hold Tony Hannon, Seanie Furlong and Leighton Glynn, they should go some way towards answer their critics with a long overdue win.
Verdict: Meath.
Meath - D Gallagher, M Burke, K Reilly, S McAnarney, D Tobin, B Menton, S Kenny, C Gillespie, B Meade, A Forde, M Collins, G Reilly, B Farrell, J Sheridan, C Ward.
Wicklow - John Flynn, Ciaran Hyland, Anthony McLoughlin, Alan Byrne, Dean Healy, Michael McLoughlin, Stephen Kelly, James Stafford, Rory Finn, Leighton Glynn, Daragh O'Sullivan, Darren Hayden, Tony Hannon, Seanie Furlong, John McGrath.
Odds: Meath 4/11, Draw 8/1, Wicklow 3/1
Match Details: Dr Cullen Park, Sunday 27 May, 3.30pm Tweet
