Meath missed out on a Leinster MFC final appearance, when they were beaten by Offaly in controversial circumstances at Mullingar on Saturday July 2. Afterwards manager Dudley Farrell reviewed the year with John Loughran. Dudley Farrell could have every reason to feel aggrieved at the way his charges were dumped out of the Leinster MFC at the hands of Offaly back in July. He could criticise Westmeath referee Peter Daly's handling of the game for a start. Having allotted three minutes injury time at the end of the second half, he proceeded to play just short of two minutes, when Meath were fighting to restore parity in a game that ultimately finished 0-13 to 1-9 in favour of the Faithful County. Farrell could also point to the harsh dismissal of right half forward Conor Staunton for two second half bookings, the second of which seemed harsh in the extreme. But Farrell is one of life's football pragmatists, and realises that Meath's demise was of their own making. "A lot of the lads didn't play well. Maybe the referee had a bad game but the score stands. Who knows what might have happened if a little bit more time was played, but on the whole we can have few complaints," he recalled. He continued: "I was very disappointed at the final whistle because I knew a lot of the lads hadn't performed on the day and didn't play to their abilities. Even allowing for that fact there was still only a point in it at the final whistle." Having reflected on his team's performance Farrell isn't sure if the players were affected by the occasion. "The prize was an opportunity to play in the Leinster Final in Croke Park. That in itself would have put them into the qualifiers, but it just didn't happen for them on the day." Meath lost fullback Micheal Dowling and wing half Barry Smith through injury in the run up to the game, but Farrell isn't offering that as an excuse. "They were a big loss and meant that we had to reshuffle the pack, but injuries are part and parcel of the game and you just have to get on with it," he explained. Meath had played Offaly twice earlier in the year so Farrell knew the young Royals wouldn't have it all their own way in Mullingar. "They beat us in the Louth tournament final and we beat them in the Leinster league, so we knew what to expect," he confirmed. Meath trailed by four points 0-4 to 0-8 at the end of the first half having played against a strong breeze. They slipped further behind when they conceded two points within 10 minutes of the restart. "We weren't overly worried at half time. We had played against the wind and the lads hadn't used the ball that well. They hadn't played direct ball in the first half, but we were confident they would come out of the blocks at the start of the second half," he recalled. Meath's cause wasn't helped by the harsh dismissal of Staunton (for two yellow cards) early in the second half. "It wasn't the second yellow that was the problem, it was actually the first. The referee booked the wrong man in the first incident," he explained He continued; "Two Meath players tackled the one Offaly player and the referee decided to book Conor Staunton. If anybody should have been booked it was the other Meath player. It was clearly a case of mistaken identity," Farrell quipped. Staunton's second yellow card also seemed harsh. "It was a push and certainly a free, but it wasn't a bookable offence. But you just have to get on with decisions like that," he rued. Despite Offaly's numerical advantage Meath rallied and levelled proceedings when Ciaran Kelly converted a penalty after Davy Dalton was upended in the square. "The lads did brilliantly to level the game (1-8 to 0-11) and I felt we could have gone on to win the game from there. We lifted it in the second half, but we needed to lift it that little bit more," he affirmed. The sides exchanged points before Offaly struck with three minutes remaining to regain the lead. Not for the first time, the Westmeath referee made a telling intervention. Approaching the final whistle he indicated that there would be three minutes of injury time, but proceeded to play just 90 seconds. "At that stage we had Offaly's backs to the wall and we were putting on a lot of pressure. But having said that, Offaly could have went up the other end and added another score. It is all speculation at this stage," Farrell remarked. Had Meath been able to match the scintillating performance against a highly fancied Kildare outfit in the quarter final, Farrell is confident that the young Royals would have advanced to the Leinster final. But sadly, for whatever reason, too many of the team failed to hit the required standard on the day. "The difference is that too many of the lads failed to perform on the day, but having said that I am extremely proud of them because they put in a huge effort all year," he commented. Having failed to negotiate the first round in the previous three years expectations within the county weren't that high at the start of the year. Farrell, in his first year as manager, was anxious to stop the rot and restore some pride in the county colours, "Beating Kildare in the first game was my first objective. Then it was a case of taking it from there, with a view to making it to the Leinster final. I suppose we managed to stop the rot in that respect," he opined. Farrell came to the position with definite ideas on what was needed to reverse the trend of the previous few years. "There is only so much that can be achieved by running around the Hill of Tara. I wanted to improve the players' ball skills. All the training was done with the ball. I feel that work paid dividends." The contributions of Sean Kelly and Sean Barry were of immense importance in preparing the team, according to Farrell. "They were excellent men to have involved. We varied the training between the three of us and made it interesting for the players," he noted. He continued: "The players also deserve great credit. They did everything we asked of them throughout the year and their commitment cannot be faulted. They were a great bunch of lads to work with and I enjoyed the year, despite the way it ended." At the time of writing the Meath coaching co-ordinator was unsure of his future involvement with the minor set up, but it would be fair to speculate that he would relish the opportunity to have another crack at the Leinster championship in 2006. "Six of the panel are eligible again in 2006. Johnnie Ginnity, Paddy Brady, Stephen Sheppard, Shane O'Rourke, Alan Nestor and Davie Dalton are all eligible. Then you would have a good crop of young players coming through so there is the makings of a very good team," he revealed. He added: "In my coaching role I would have a good knowledge of the players in the county and I know what talent is out there. I felt there was considerable improvement this year, especially when you look at the Kildare win, which lifted spirits in the county." Farrell believes that there are solid juvenile structures in place at underage level within the county and it is only a matter of time before these structures begin to reap dividends. "There is a lot of good work being done at all ages with regard to underage football in Meath, he confirmed. "There is good work being done all the way up through the various age groups. Meath underage football is in a healthy enough state," he concluded. Tweet

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