Win, lose or draw, groups of supporters will congregate behind the stand in Pairc Tailteann after any game in which a Meath team is involved. The atmosphere will always be influenced by the result. When Meath win the exchanges and the banter are invariably of the cheerful variety and even when Meath lose you will find somebody who will put a positive slant on some aspect of the game. On Saturday May 15th it was all so different. The groups behind the stand were fewer and yes, it was all doom and gloom. The Meath minor footballers had been beaten by Laois by 13 points. Not just beaten but trounced. On the face of it there wasn't much grounds for optimism and it was easy to understand the mood among supporters. Manager David Farrelly and his selectors attracted most of the criticism. The system and structures at minor level escaped the immediate bitterness but in the months since, supporters are more often heard to question the efficiency of the minor board and yes, they have to take a major portion of the blame for the May 15th debacle. Meath's record at minor level has been on the slippery slope for ten years. Granted the teams of the early 1990's included some of the most gifted youngsters ever to wear the green and gold jersey and many of them went on to represent the county at under-21 and senior level. Graham Geraghty, the hugely under-rated Enda McManus, Conor Martin, Trevor Giles, Darren Fay, Paddy Reynolds, Hank Traynor, Ollie Murphy and Barry Callaghan all went on to win All-Ireland Senior medal having won or played in All-Ireland minor finals. Two All-Ireland titles and three Leinsters were won in a four year spell at the start of the last decade but since the All-Ireland final defeat by Cork in 1993 there hasn't been much to get excited about. Of the Eleven Leinster Championships played since, Meath have reached the final on only one occasion. They were beaten by Longford in the 2002 Final. And in five of those championships they have been beaten at the very first hurdle. In the last two championships versus Dublin in 2003, and Laois in 2004, they have scored 2-4 and 1-5 respectively, a total of twelve scores in two years of championship football!! Since the last Leinster success in 1993, Laois and Dublin have won four each Westmeath have won two while Longford won the remaining title. Laois and Westmeath have both won All-Ireland titles, the former on no fewer than three occasions. The only relief in the eleven years was the recovery of the 2002 team following the defeat by Longford in the Leinster Final. They beat Galway and Kerry before going under to Derry in the All-Ireland final The manager of that team was Kells man Benny Reddy but he was moved up to take charge of the under-21 team for 2004. It's believed that he would have preferred to remain working with the minors. David Farrelly was appointed as minor team manager with the authority to choose his own selectors. The Moynalty man had been in charge of the Under-15 and under-16 teams and had enjoyed some success in various tournaments as he announced his selectors Leonard Farrell, Macartan McGroder, Peter Higgins, Gerry Murphy and Michael Moore. Teams were entered in both the Leinster and Ulster Leagues and although the team won neither, there were some good performances. There was further cause for optimism when St. Patricks of Navan won the All-Ireland Colleges title. Usually, the winning of the Hogan Cup is a barometer of the well-being of under-age football in the hinterland of the school but only three of the team that helped St. Pats to All-Ireland glory were on the side that lined out against Laois, Kevin Reilly, Stephen O'Toole and Cian Ward. St. Pats had beaten Knockbeg in the Leinster Final, a Knockbeg team that included a number of Laois minors. There was little continuity from the previous year. There was a new manager and new selectors. Cian Ward was the only survivor from the previous year's defeat by Dublin although Jamie Queeney, Dean Barrett and Stephen O'Toole were panelists in 2003. Laois were entitled to favouritism. They were the reigning All-Ireland champions and the team included six of the team that started the All-Ireland final against Dublin in the previous September. A further three of the team had been on the previous year's panel. Sean Dempsey was again the manager and his two selectors from 2003 were with him again along with two newcomers. The Meath selectors had opted for a big, strong team but the omens were bad from the start as Laois looked the better team from the throw in. Goalkeeper Mark Mullally was picking the ball out of the net after only ten minutes and already the writing was on the wall. The visiting forwards were tearing holes in the Meath defence and by half-time the issue was not in any doubt. It was Laois 2-8 Meath 0-3. A 12 point deficit was always going to be insurmountable and on one of the warmest and sunniest Saturday afternoons of the summer, the bigger Royal County boys were struggling to cope. Cian Ward and Johnny Meyler scored early second half points and a fabulous goal by Dean Barrett helped to put a semi-respectable look on the scoreboard. Amazingly, Barrett's goal was Meath's last score and Laois were quick to re-establish their dominance. The last twenty minutes were played out in an eerie silence which was disturbed only by occasional bouts of applause from the Laois supporters. Luckily the winners squandered a couple of decent goal opportunities in the closing stages but they were under no threat and ran out the most comfortable of winners on a 2-15 to 1-5 scoreline. The only mitigating circumstances from a Meath viewpoint was that Laois were a very talented team. They went on to win the Leinster title and would surely have beaten Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final but for an extremely harsh sending-off. There is also the belief that the Meath team included quite a number of players who have the potential to represent the county at senior level. Rory Maguire and Cian Ward both went on to play key roles in their clubs' championship successes. Kevin Reilly is also a player with a big future and we'll also be hearing more about James Queeney, Dean Barrett and Willie Milner. There is no doubt that the team was badly caught by the early Laois blitz but they should have been prepared for it. By the time this review is published changes may have been made. The organisation and efficiency of our under-age competitions leaves a lot to be desired and although there are perennial difficulties with under age fixtures you can't help thinking that a new approach is badly needed. The team on duty against Laois was, Mark Mullally (Blackhall Gaels), Mark McGill (St. Colmcilles), Connie McGrath (Summerhill), Shane Monaghan (St. Colmcilles), Michael Ahern (St Martins), Kevin Reilly (O'Mahonys), Richie Hatton (Summerhill), James Queeney (Na Fianna), Dean Barrett (Na Fianna) Stephen O'Toole (O'Mahonys), Rory Maguire (Na Fianna), Johnny Meyler (Blackhall Gaels), Sean Bennett (Round Towers), Cian Ward (Wolfe Tones) and Willie Milner (Summerhill). Substitutes; Rory O'Connor (Donaghmore/Ashbourne) , David Reynolds (Walterstown), Brendan Ryan (St Michaels) and David Devereux (St Martins). Scorers: Cian Ward (0-4), Dean Barrett (1-0) and Johnny Meyler (0-1). Tweet

Most Read Stories