Meath's under 21s were left with egg on their faces when they were unceremoniously eliminated from the 2003 Leinster championship by a Longford side with a clear edge in focus and determination. The abrupt exit Meath made from the 2003 Leinster U21 FC is a real cause for concern. The Royal County lads were wasteful in the extreme against Longford at Mullingar's Cusack Park on Tuesday April 15th, registering an unforgivable normal-time total of 19 wides before bowing out after extra time. Having only just stumbling across the finishing line in their provincial quarter-final clash with Carlow, Meath were expected to up the ante against the midlanders. Unfortunately, they were unable to do so. The failure of Davy Nelson's side to find any real rhythm over the course of two hours plus of football has left supporters in the county scratching their heads. Where is it all going wrong? How have the less fashionable counties managed to close the gap so effectively at underage level. The balance of power appears to be swinging drastically away from the Royals, with Longford teams becoming the biggest thorn in their side. This result was a hurtful follow-up to St Mels' stunning Leinster senior colleges final defeat of St Pats and served as a timely reminder that the days when Meath had a divine right to be shortlisted for provincial - if not national - glory are gone. Gone forever? Well, certainly for the time being at least. The April 15th defeat left a bitter taste in the mouth. It was the second successive year that Meath had lost to Longford in Leinster. At least in '02 the backdoor remained open to the county's minors and an All-Ireland final appearance could be salvaged from the ashes. This time, the fat lady was singing while summer was still only a vague promise. In fairness, Meath could have few, if any, complaints in the wake of their latest championship dismantling at the hands of Longford opposition. The writing appeared on the wall during the Carlow game yet, despite getting out of jail that day, Meath had nothing in reserve. Longford looked the more determined side at Cusack Park. They also appeared to be fitter. They had a bigger support at the Westmeath venue too: less than 1,000 spectators turned up, the majority of them rooting for the boys in blue and gold. Meath simply ran out of steam in extra time and late points from Donal McKeon and Glen Kelly finally put paid to their hopes on a scoreline of 0-13 to 1-8. In truth, the Royals never looked like winning. Longford must have already been looking forward to a provincial final clash with Dublin when Joe Sheridan stopped them in their tracks with a converted '45' four minutes into injury time. This tied the scores at Longford 0-9, Meath 1-6 and ensured the Royals of at least another 20 minutes of championship action. The reprieve was shortlived, however, as Meath could only manage two points to Longford's four in extra time. Meath were unable to cope with the extra 20 minutes, a number of their players suffering cramp attacks. This was hardly surprising bearing in mind that virtually the entire Meath team (apart from substitute Shane McKeigue) had featured in championship matches for their clubs over the previous weekend ... days before a Leinster semi-final! Longford had no such worries. Meath led by 1-3 to 0-4 at half-time thanks to a fisted goal from Brian Lowther, with Tadhg Brosnan providing the assist. But the advantage was erased within two minutes of the resumption and goalkeeper Ray McKeown had to be at his brilliant best to prevent Longford from stealing into a three-point lead. Longford dominated the second period and eased into a 0-9 to 1-3 lead. It took Meath 21 minutes of the half to register a score, Brian Farrell sending a free between the posts. A minute from time, Farrell obliged from play to set the scene for Sheridan's late, late leveller. Longford's county senior David Barden put his team ahead in the first period of extra time, before Sheridan and McKeon exchanged frees. Substitute McKeigue landed Meath's last point of the 2003 Leinster U21 football championship. On paper, Meath had a strong side and should have been good enough to conquer Longford. However, a number of factors (not least of which was the players' participation for their clubs mere days earlier) conspired to end their season. Even though Brian McCormack and Mark Carey excelled in defence, Davy Nelson's team never got going as a unit. In the wake of their team's exit, Meath followers were left to rue the unavailabilty of certain players through injury as well as the absence of others who have decided to concentrate on a more rewarding code. The loss of influential attacker Mairtin Doran through injury early on in the Longford game was also a big blow to Meath's hopes. Ironically, team captain Doran - returning from a three-month suspension - was the hero of Meath's hard-fought semi-final defeat of Carlow at Dr Cullen Park on Saturday March 29th, scoring the injury-time goal that gave his side a narrow 1-16 to 2-11 victory. Carlow had looked on course for a surprise win, and led as the game ebbed into stoppage time, leading by two points, 2-11 to 0-15. But Doran rifled home an unstoppable shot following an exchange with Joe Sheridan to silence the home support. After Carlow missed an excellent chance of forcing extra time Brian Farrell tagged on the insurance point for the Royals. While Meath prevailed with typical never-say-die spirit, they could hardly deny that Carlow probably were the better side over the hour and were unfortunate not to record their first ever victory over the Royal County at U21 level. Certainly, a Meath win looked most unlikely when Carlow fired their second goal eight minutes from time and added a point (their last score of the match) in the 53rd minute to lead 2-11 to 0-14. During the build-up to Carlow's final score, Meath goalkeeper Raymond McKeown reacted brilliantly to deny the hosts a third major. Had that gone in, the deficit would have been insurmountable. As it was, Davy Nelson's men were still in it and late scores from Damien Byrne, Doran and Farrell saved the day. Meath thought they were off to a flyer when Sheridan fisted to the net, but the 'goal' was ruled out for a 'square ball'. Still, a 0-5 to 0-3 lead had been secured by the end of the first quarter. A 22nd-minute goal gave Carlow the lead for the first time but points from Farrell (2) and Michael Lowther brought Meath back on level terms before a late point from Thomas Walsh gave Mick Condon's side a 1-6 to 0-8 interval advantage. Meath showed better in the third quarter but were unable to put the game to bed. Carlow stayed with them all the way and when both Farrell and Sheridan (penalty) missed gilt-edged goal chances, Meath must have feared the worst. With 40 minutes gone, Carlow were two points to the good, 1-9 to 0-10, thanks to a trio of points from dangerman Simon Rea. At this stage, the Meath bench moved to introduce Damien Sheridan to the fray and he made an immediate impression. John L McGee's 48th-minute point put Meath in front but Carlow came at them strongly and, in the end, Meath were lucky to get away with it. The team wasn't firing on all cylinders, however, and their luck ran out in the next round against bogey men Longford. Meath, 2003 Leinster U21 football championship semi-finalists: R McKeown; P Nugent, S MacGabhann, T O'Connor; M Carey, B McCormack, L Russell; D Sheridan, R Maloney; T Brosnan (0-1), M Lowther (1-0), JL McGee; B Farrell (0-3), J Sheridan (0-3), M Doran. Subs: S Harte, S McKeigue (0-1), G Farrelly, C Brennan, E O'Boyle. Tweet

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