The good form of the Meath Under 14 football team continued as they claimed the Offaly tournament. 10.42 am. Meath v Laois. This game set a trend in which Meath's captain Paddy Kenny lost every toss up and conceded first half wind advantage for all three games, and yet came out on top every time. The game was a bruising encounter in which no favours were asked and none given. The Meath defence remained tight and never allowed Laois the space or the time to register a meaningful score line while at the other end Timmy Reilly (2-1) and Shane Rennicks (0-3) proved a handful for the Laois defence. An injury to Meath's impressive midfield man, Tommy Johnson threatened to spoil the party but Domonic Mc Dowell proved a more than able replacement and with Daragh Deveraux Meath's midfield pairings worked well. Final score line Meath 3 - 10 Laois 0 - 5 12.00pm Meath v Kildare. Kildare, having lost out narrowly to Offaly in their opening game, needed to win this game to stay in with a shout of challenging for the cup. For Meath, a win would guarantee a final spot and if Offaly beat Laois (which they did) the teams could avoid having to play one qualifying game. How games differ! Where Laois were physical and brave, Kildare were organised and athletic. This game remained tight in the first half with Kildare's half-forward line proving a real handful. Kildare kicked seven points in the first half with three of them coming from long range efforts worthy of any top class inter county player in the land. An injury to the solid Mark Battersby threatened Meath's defencive stability but again a worthy replacement was on hand. Andrew Whearty was introduced to good effect and throughout the competition players like Michael Newman, Cian Mc Partland, James Kellegher and Kevin Collier boasted Meath's cause admirably. The second half proved easier for the men from Meath when it seemed the Kildare challenge collapsed. The Meath full forward line including Daniel Skelly and Daniel Martian proved way too strong for their oppositions and notched up 4-3 between then with the clever Mark Collins adding another major to their tally. Final score Meath 6-8 Kildare 0-8. 1.45pm Meath v Offaly. What happens when you get two teams with skill, bravery, passion, teamwork and heart on the same pitch? Answer - Fireworks. From the off, this game provided immense entertainment for the spectators and heart challenging trepidation for those involved with the respective teams. All that is good in the game came to the fore, blocking, fielding, scoring, and passing…. etc and most important, refereeing. The first half saw Offaly with wind advantage and despite some excellent defencive work and good scores the hosts could only boast a slender two-point lead. With the effort of the previous games starting to tell, it was Meath's lively half forward line, Shane Rennicks, Anthony Lynch and John Power coupled with the never say die attitude of Meath's backs Paddy Kenny, Colm Mc Loughlin, Donal Mc Carty Mark Coffey and Paul Callaghan that set up the final result. The introduction of Ciaron Clusker from right halfback to midfield proved decisive and when Dominic Mc Dowell fielded, wiped the snow from the ball and proceeded to bury it in the Offaly net you knew their goose was cooked! That left Meath three points up and then up steps Timmy Reilly to latch on to a pass the brilliant Brian Mc Grane and point from the side line, 45 meters out. From then on Meath were in control and despite conceding two late goals the result was secure. Meath 4-9 Offaly 4 - 6. This tournament was hard won. Offaly gave nothing away easily on the field but when the game was over, their sportsmanship was to the fore and all participating teams were well looked after. The generosity of the Offaly people and in particular the Gracefield club is now the standard to which all other counties must aspire. Tweet

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