Meath Forum

Meath v Clare

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Replying To Loyalroyal17:  "Just on Harry Rooney, he was playing last week with Skyrne. Are they all still playing club during this league?"
Donal Lenihan also played a half for Dunboyne on Sunday morning so didn't tog out for Meath. Think lads who aren't playing many minutes will play a half or maybe a full game with the club. Obvious and correct decision

LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1458 - 05/02/2018 13:23:16    2074259

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Replying To jake1:  "First half was one of the worst that I ever seen, 7 balls dropped into goalie's hands.Big improvement in the second half,But Clare were dreadful,taught Flanagan was poor and has little pace and will be found wanting against the stronger counties."
Interesting. Didnt see the match now but the commentator on LMFM said he had "a masterful game in midfield".

meathgaa91 (Meath) - Posts: 48 - 05/02/2018 13:24:55    2074260

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Replying To jake1:  "First half was one of the worst that I ever seen, 7 balls dropped into goalie's hands.Big improvement in the second half,But Clare were dreadful,taught Flanagan was poor and has little pace and will be found wanting against the stronger counties."
That's very harsh on Flanagan who I thought and those around me thought that he had a decent game. He was marking one of the better midfielders in the country in Gary Brennan and coped well. He's improving with every outing.

Diego (Meath) - Posts: 1205 - 05/02/2018 13:52:24    2074273

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Lads on the Panel but not named in the 26 to tog all played some part for their club if fit the last 2 weekends, its right an proper and fair way of doing things.

longroadback (Meath) - Posts: 324 - 05/02/2018 14:04:11    2074281

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Replying To LeitrimRoyal99:  "Donal Lenihan also played a half for Dunboyne on Sunday morning so didn't tog out for Meath. Think lads who aren't playing many minutes will play a half or maybe a full game with the club. Obvious and correct decision"
Fair enough if they arent getting a county game but i think the risk of injury should be a factor. There are certain lads Andy wont let play club, dont understand why its one rule for one and another for someone else.

Loyalroyal17 (Meath) - Posts: 627 - 05/02/2018 14:08:21    2074283

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Replying To Diego:  "That's very harsh on Flanagan who I thought and those around me thought that he had a decent game. He was marking one of the better midfielders in the country in Gary Brennan and coped well. He's improving with every outing."
Flanagan IMO was on top form yesterday. Hes improving massively!

Loyalroyal17 (Meath) - Posts: 627 - 05/02/2018 14:09:10    2074284

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Replying To thelutch:  "lads ,we beat clare,a hurling county, relax everyone,we still just about 3rd best in leinster,JUST"
This makes no sense whatsoever.

Clare is actually more a football county then hurling. With the sucess of the hurlers this gives the impression that hurling is number 1 gaa in clare. Before 90s loughnane would even admit hurling was behind football in the county. There is a very strong football areas in Clare. They have improved under Collins in the last few years and reached a quater final.something Meath or kildare have failed to do. They caused Mayo alot of problems last year in the championship and drew with Cavan and defeated Cork in the Byrne cup in recent weeks. We made them look poor yesterday. When Dublin hammer a team, it is a brilliant performance by Dublin. When Meath hammer a team the other team r crap.

The fact is when anyone outside the county looked at Meaths result yesterday, they would see it as a very good result for Meath. Outside Division, 1 it was one of the standout results. I dont know why anyone would degrade a great gaa county like Clare or degrade their own county in such a a way. The fact is we made Clare look poor with our overall team performance.

Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 05/02/2018 14:42:09    2074293

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There really is just no pleasing some people...some Meath supporters. We have to be the most critical shower, when we lose lads remind us how bad we are calling for Andys head, when we win we are reminded again we are not that great and not to get carried away cos its only the likes of Clare. 21pts on the scoreboard IMO says alot regardless of who we are playing. All we need to do is prove we can be consistent, improve on the obvious that hopefully can be improved on over next few weeks & prove to the doubters that we are actually a team worth spending your €15.00 on. The attendance yesterday was terrible i have to say.

The atmosphere was deadly over in Pairc Tailtean and when Reilly & O'Sullivan came off the grounds rang out with clapping and cheering and my God its been a long while since that happened. I left the grounds with a sense of excitement and pride which ive no doubt anyone who was there felt the same.

Loyalroyal17 (Meath) - Posts: 627 - 05/02/2018 15:10:27    2074312

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Replying To thelutch:  "lads ,we beat clare,a hurling county, relax everyone,we still just about 3rd best in leinster,JUST"
This makes no sense whatsoever.

You can say Meath are the worst team in leinster. Thats a matter of opinion. A personal viewpoint. But if you analysis results and victories , basically if you look at the facts. The above statement makes no sense whatsoever.

Meath you are saying are just ahead of Westmeath. Lets look at the facts.
Westmeath are near the bottom of division 3 and Meath are at the top of divsion 2. Meath won very well yesterday, Westmeath where comphresively beaten. Meath have been consistently top div 2 team unlucky on 3 occasions in the last 4 years not to get promoted to Division 1. Westmeath have spent the last 3 seasons in divsion 3 and divsion 4. How can a top division 2 team be just a little bit better then a division 3 / division 4 team. No one would say Sligo or leitrim ( division 3 and division 4 teams) are better or not far away from Roscommon ( division 2 team).

2 The gap between kildare and Meath is not as big as people think. If you look at the results victoties stats , the evidence the gap is not that big. Kildare are ahead of Meath. They are in their third year under O Neill and have been promoted to div 1. Meath are under their second year with McEntee. It must be said O Neill seems to make an impact in his second year. In his second years as coach of Kerry and Tipp won All Irelands and as manager kildare were promoted. There was alot of hype around kildare after Dublin game. But since again not for the first time kildare have not backed it up results.

Since kildare beat Meath in the leinster championship last year ,they have not won a game. They have played 6 games with 6 loses. Since that leinster semi final Meath have lost 1 game with 5 victories 1 draw and 1 lose. Since that semi final kildare have gone backwards, while Meath have improved. Since the leinster semi final between both counties last year kildare have lost to a division 2 team ( louth ) and two division 3 teams ( Longford and Armagh ). Meath have not lost to any division 2 or 3 team. Theyre only lose was to division 1 team Donegal.

Kildare are playing Tyrone next week and whoever loses will be more then likely relegated. They are odds on to be relegated. If they are relegated it will be their third relegation in the last 5 years. Meath have finished 3rd 3 times in divsion 2 in the last 4 years.

Yes kildare are ahead of Meath. The defeats last year and promotion proves that. But the gap is not as big as the media and certain people think and want it to be. When you examine the results of both teams since the evidence is there is a very little gap between Meath and kildare. Meaths defeat of Galway last years and Galway two defeats of kildare indicated that.

Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 05/02/2018 15:17:34    2074316

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Replying To Furlong1949:  "This makes no sense whatsoever.

You can say Meath are the worst team in leinster. Thats a matter of opinion. A personal viewpoint. But if you analysis results and victories , basically if you look at the facts. The above statement makes no sense whatsoever.

Meath you are saying are just ahead of Westmeath. Lets look at the facts.
Westmeath are near the bottom of division 3 and Meath are at the top of divsion 2. Meath won very well yesterday, Westmeath where comphresively beaten. Meath have been consistently top div 2 team unlucky on 3 occasions in the last 4 years not to get promoted to Division 1. Westmeath have spent the last 3 seasons in divsion 3 and divsion 4. How can a top division 2 team be just a little bit better then a division 3 / division 4 team. No one would say Sligo or leitrim ( division 3 and division 4 teams) are better or not far away from Roscommon ( division 2 team).

2 The gap between kildare and Meath is not as big as people think. If you look at the results victoties stats , the evidence the gap is not that big. Kildare are ahead of Meath. They are in their third year under O Neill and have been promoted to div 1. Meath are under their second year with McEntee. It must be said O Neill seems to make an impact in his second year. In his second years as coach of Kerry and Tipp won All Irelands and as manager kildare were promoted. There was alot of hype around kildare after Dublin game. But since again not for the first time kildare have not backed it up results.

Since kildare beat Meath in the leinster championship last year ,they have not won a game. They have played 6 games with 6 loses. Since that leinster semi final Meath have lost 1 game with 5 victories 1 draw and 1 lose. Since that semi final kildare have gone backwards, while Meath have improved. Since the leinster semi final between both counties last year kildare have lost to a division 2 team ( louth ) and two division 3 teams ( Longford and Armagh ). Meath have not lost to any division 2 or 3 team. Theyre only lose was to division 1 team Donegal.

Kildare are playing Tyrone next week and whoever loses will be more then likely relegated. They are odds on to be relegated. If they are relegated it will be their third relegation in the last 5 years. Meath have finished 3rd 3 times in divsion 2 in the last 4 years.

Yes kildare are ahead of Meath. The defeats last year and promotion proves that. But the gap is not as big as the media and certain people think and want it to be. When you examine the results of both teams since the evidence is there is a very little gap between Meath and kildare. Meaths defeat of Galway last years and Galway two defeats of kildare indicated that."
Very well said Furlong1949 top post

Loyalroyal17 (Meath) - Posts: 627 - 05/02/2018 15:29:28    2074323

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Replying To Furlong1949:  "This makes no sense whatsoever.

Clare is actually more a football county then hurling. With the sucess of the hurlers this gives the impression that hurling is number 1 gaa in clare. Before 90s loughnane would even admit hurling was behind football in the county. There is a very strong football areas in Clare. They have improved under Collins in the last few years and reached a quater final.something Meath or kildare have failed to do. They caused Mayo alot of problems last year in the championship and drew with Cavan and defeated Cork in the Byrne cup in recent weeks. We made them look poor yesterday. When Dublin hammer a team, it is a brilliant performance by Dublin. When Meath hammer a team the other team r crap.

The fact is when anyone outside the county looked at Meaths result yesterday, they would see it as a very good result for Meath. Outside Division, 1 it was one of the standout results. I dont know why anyone would degrade a great gaa county like Clare or degrade their own county in such a a way. The fact is we made Clare look poor with our overall team performance."
There's definitely an element of even when we win, we can't win on the forums at times. We can only beat what's in front of us and we did that yesterday convincingly.

GlasgowRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 293 - 05/02/2018 15:34:49    2074326

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If Meath lose to Cavan it does mean Meath have not made progress. If you look closely its pretty obvious Meath are progessing under McEntee. The results will come in time. Probaly next year and the year after. But very strong foundations are been putting in place that should see Meath becoming an effective and sucessful inter county team again. The next three results should not be referendum on McEntee. Loses dont mean no progress. Progress has been made in every sector of the field. Sucess is just 12 months away. We could still get promotion this year. But its obvious this divsion is wide open again.

We have improved in the fitness department . We are finishing games like a train. Not since Boylan have I seen our teams finish so strongly. Also when we get a lead on a team we now bury teams. We dont let games fizzle out. Against Clare this year and last year v Derry and Fermanagh louth last year when we got ahead we drove our domination home.

In every sector of the field we have improved. Our bench looks strong. O Neill and Glynn are options but Micky Burke can be very good back impact sub. Rooney can be an impact sub at midfield as the season goes on. And Eamon Wallace and Sean Toibin are really making an impact on the game when they come on. So our bench has really improved this year. Dublin have shown a 20 man game is now so important. Even under Boylan we had a weak bench with one man subs making an impact eg Devine and Mcabe. The depth of our squad had improved greatly.

McEntee last year basically kept O Dowds squad. This year he brought on 11 players to the panel that have never played for Meath before. 6 new players have made the first 15 and all have improved the team eg Colgan Lavin Conlon Flanagan J Wallace Mckeever.

Lavin has been one of the best players so far this year. He is a tigerish young defender. Lavin McGill and Keoghan is a strong full back line. Meath have always had top class full back lines. We are again developing another one. They are young . Lavin 23 McGill 22 or 23 and keoghan 26. They will improve. Mcgill is one of the best full backs in the country. And Keoghan is also one of the best defenders in the country who would walk on the teams of the 80s and 90s. We have a divsion 1 full back line that is better full back line then some teams in division 1. With Glynn and Gallagher and Burke on the panel its a long time since we have been so strong in this part of the field. Which has been a problem area for years.

Conlon has been great at wing back. He is only 20 and he is already a leader on the team. The only players I can remeber been leaders for Meath at 20 where Cassells McEntee Lyons O Rourke Fay Giles and Geraghty. Conlon looks like a future team captain. He offers dynamism and Atleticism on the wing. We have not had a top class wing back since Martin O Connell. Conlon looks like the real deal.

Flanagan has done well at midfield. This is another area of improvement. Last year we had 1 midfielder eg Menton. This year we have 3 with Menton Rooney and Flanagan. In our 5 games this year we have done well at midfield and won the midfield battle. The last time we had such consistency at midfield was when we had a strong midfield partnership with Meade and Gillespie in 2013. Menton and Flanagan look like a good partnership and the strongest since 2013. And Rooney also is offering a great option. I would say Gerry McEntee is having a positive influence on our midfield.

Mckeeever looks like a big option in the forwards. We have relied on one forward in our inside line for years. First Bray and last year lenihan. Mckeever and lenihan backed up by McMahon Sullivan and J Wallace means we look stronger in the forward department then we have in a while.

Its pretty obvious that we are improving in every sector on and off the field. We just need patience and the results will surely come.

Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 05/02/2018 16:06:26    2074341

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Furlong1949 quote!! 'Clare is actually more a football county then hurling'. I agree with you and likewise Kerry is more of a hurling county than football.

browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2342 - 05/02/2018 17:27:09    2074375

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Replying To browncows:  "Furlong1949 quote!! 'Clare is actually more a football county then hurling'. I agree with you and likewise Kerry is more of a hurling county than football."
Clare has a strong football area. Clare has a strong tradition of football. West Clare is a football area. A stronghold of football. East Clare is a hurling area. While both areas support the hurlers and footballers. In west Clare the number 1 by a mile is football. The whole area is a football stronghold. While hurling is strong in east clare , clare hurling has a much much smaller pick then say Cork hurling.
The idea that Clare is a hurling county is a recent phenomenon. As the county is split between football in the west and hurling in the east. In the early 90s Clare was seen as football county when the footballers won Munster. It was not til 95 that perception changed. And when Clare won Munster title in 95 it was their first Munster in 63 years. And that year was their first All Ireland in 81 years. Clare have won 6 Munster titles. They havent won 1 munster hurling title in 21 years. This idea of Clare being strong hurling county is a very recent idea.
Clare in the last 20 years are seen as a hurling county. But before that football had more sucess. But it is not like kerry where there is a small area that follows hurling and rest football. The whole of west clare is football. East Clare is hurling. If you ask people in West Clare, they will tell you they are a football county. It is equally divided between football on the west and hurling on the east. Everyone knows kerry is a football county. Ask anyone from West Clare, what is number 1 ? They will say football. There is divsions in many counties between strong football areas and strong hurling areas. Counties like Galway Cork Offaly Wexford and and yes Clare are the examples.

Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 05/02/2018 19:59:00    2074432

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A great win by us by all accounts but make no mistake that the Clare team who we have seen over the last two years in championship and the Clare team on Sunday are completely different.

Focusing on Meath I think we have found our keeper and 6 defenders for the next few rounds of the league. Lavin and McGill are improving game by game while Keoghan continues to do the simple things perfect. This was Conlons best game in a Meath jersey so far and definitely wing back suits him down to the ground. Power is very hard hitting and no one will get anything easy but he needs to be more careful and finally McEntee was solid throughout but nothing spectacular.
In midfield Menton and Flanagan are forming a great partnership and they had a great test against one of the better pairings in the country and came out on top. My biggest concern is we don't have back up for Menton if anything happens where as Rooney is a straight swap for Flanagan.
In the forwards I thought Reilly and McEntee were excellent during the first half but faded as the game went on. McKeever was the opposite he came into the game as it went on and Clare could not handle him. I was disappointed with the full forward line O Sullivan seemed lost at times, he was all over the place in the first half, he was working really hard but he seen very little ball. McMahon was okay in patches but he still hasn't shown the form of a couple of seasons ago which is worrying because he is getting plenty of chances.
Wallace and Tobin continue to impress as impact subs but for the time being that's all they are as I would have questions could they give performances like that from the off and I wouldn't like to take the risks in the next 3 games especially with Tobin as he can blow hot and cold. O Neill and Halligan looks like ones for the future both are big and fast. Hopefully if we gain promotion early we can give them a bit more game time later on in the league.

Finally I still have questions over all 6 forwards, we might as well forget the Clare defence as Cavan will have a lot more structure, they'll play with numbers back and won't afford us as much time on the ball like Clare did. This game will test how good they are against a strong Ulster team.

UsernameInvalid (Meath) - Posts: 355 - 05/02/2018 22:32:13    2074465

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Its very true west Clare is very much a football stronghold. I remember being in Kildysart village a few years ago watching a Dublin game in a pub and the locals were delighted to have a few Meath men in to talk about the Dublin match.
For whatever internal reasons they cant get their act together in terms of a decent football team and for most of their history have been an intercounty football weakling. For those reasons dont get excited about beating them in the league.
Its good to see Clare and Tipp producing decent football teams nevetheless, with Cork going through a football recession Munster needs it.
Plenty of unearthed football potential in Munster. We dont need to be reminded of what Limerick can do and I remember Gary Hurney of Waterford skinning Kevin Reilly in a Railway Cup match in Parnell Park.

RoyalBadger (Meath) - Posts: 571 - 06/02/2018 09:15:29    2074497

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Those saying Clare were poor, well they drew with Cavan and Tipp, so I think Meath deserve some credit, I was happy with an awful lot of aspects in our game, even in the first half..

ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 11/02/2018 17:28:49    2075886

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Replying To ziggy320001:  "Those saying Clare were poor, well they drew with Cavan and Tipp, so I think Meath deserve some credit, I was happy with an awful lot of aspects in our game, even in the first half.."
Drew with Cavan and Tipp in Ennis.

Looks as if they didn't travel well.

Hard to see if this means Meath will be +14 against Tipp and Cavan in due course

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 757 - 11/02/2018 20:00:32    2075974

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Replying To Royalio11:  "Drew with Cavan and Tipp in Ennis.

Looks as if they didn't travel well.

Hard to see if this means Meath will be +14 against Tipp and Cavan in due course"
I didn't say that. But some put the result to "sure Clare are useless"

ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 11/02/2018 20:13:05    2075983

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