When Brendan Murphy was making save after save against Dublin in the first round of the Leinster SFC back in May 2007, those oblivious to his background were wondering why he hadn't been between the posts for the last decade. And had the Trim man decided against pursuing his soccer career across the water, the chances are he would have made the number one jersey his own long before Colm Coyle took over the reins with the Royal County. But Murphy made up for lost time with a string of stunning performances in 2007, culminating in an All-Star nomination at the end of the year. Indeed, he was tipped by many astute judges to pick up that gong but in the end, the decision went the way of Dublin custodian Stephen Cluxton. But all in all, it was a pretty impressive return to gaelic life for the former Wimbledon netminder. So after helping Meath to their best championship run since 2001, you couldn't have blamed Murphy for getting excited about the year ahead when the panel returned for training back in January. It was about that time when Coyle approached him to take over the captaincy from Anthony Moyles and things were certainly looking bright for the talented stopper. But on that dark Sunday at Parnell Park in late April, Murphy season took a turn for the worse. Ten minutes into the Royals NFL Division 2 clash with arch rivals Dublin, a mass brawl erupted with all bar Cluxton getting involved. When the dust finally settled, Niall McKeigue and Shane McAnearney were dismissed along with Paddy Andrews and Bernard Brogan. But Paddy Russell's red card waving wasn't where the controversy ended and the CCCC had a look into the incident. They decided to hand out eight-week bans to five Meath players. Murphy was one of the unfortunate quintet. Reflecting the unfortunate start to the campaign, Murphy admitted he was embarrassed at the antics that unfolded at the Donnycarney venue. "Looking back on the Dublin game, it was just a bit embarrassing. We all got involved and we shouldn't have. There was a lot of pushing and shoving. I didn't do a lot myself - I think I just shouldered Bernard Brogan - but I think the timing of it and the high profile of the game meant that the media went to town on it and they reacted severely. I definitely learnt my lesson and I won't be doing anything like that again," Murphy said. But the Dublin game wasn't the only setback for Coyle's Royals and Murphy stressed that things hadn't been going like clockwork in earlier league outings but was keen to stress that it was a great honour to be chosen as captain. "After 2007 everybody was on a high and we hoped to build on that. Just things didn't seem to go our way from an early stage this year. We were very inconsistent in the league and then the suspensions we picked up in the Dublin game was a real disaster." "It was a great honour when Colm (Coyle) approached me to be captain. I stood in for Anthony (Moyles) against Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final and I was delighted to get the nod for the year. "For myself it was set up nicely to go out and beat Dublin in the Leinster final looking ahead and I suppose the fans were thinking the same. And I had visions of being up there on Leinster Final day but obviously things just didn't happen like that. "Being suspended was very hard as well as you were trying to gee lads up in the dressing room and it was a position that I had never been used to before as I had never been suspended before and it was very frustrating," Murphy added. After brushing aside Carlow in the opening round of the Leinster Championship, Meath advanced to a provincial quarter-final showdown with Wexford and at the halfway mark at Dr Cullen Park, Coyle's charges were looking like realistic challengers for provincial honours. They led by a massive nine points and one elderly Meath follower remarked at the break that 'it was the best football that he had seen Meath play in many a year'. One eye was already on the next assignment with Laois but not even the most pessimistic of fans could have predicted what was to unfold after the resumption. A Mattie Forde inspired Wexford turned what was at one-stage a 12-point deficit into a minimum margin success. Meath's Leinster aspirations had gone up in smoke. Looking back at the outing, Murphy believed that the amazing turnaround was without doubt the turning point in the season for the green and gold army. "The ten-point lead we lost against Wexford really knocked the stuffing out of us and it was very difficult for lads to raise their game after that. "We'll never know what would have happened if we had have went on to beat Wexford. We played fantastic football in the first half and we probably thought we had it in the bag. Then in the second half Joe (Sheridan) had the goal disallowed in the second half and we might have won if that had been allowed. "But Wexford got a run on us after half-time and they got in for two goals. They had a slight breeze behind them and they were shooting every time they attacked. It was bitterly disappointing in the dressing room afterwards and it was very hard to pick ourselves up from it afterwards. "It was horrible to miss the championship and especially at my age, I'm at the twilight of my career and you have to cherish every game but it was good for Mick (Ahern) to come in and get some championship experience as I'm not going to be around forever." After the disappointment of making a premature exit from the Leinster race, Meath were handed a easy first round draw in the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers. Or so we thought. The trip to Limerick was supposed to be a confidence-restoring mission but what transpired was something very different. The Royals were torn to shreds by a Limerick side that started well and gained in confidence as the outing wore on. According to Murphy, the style of football that the Southerners played was the main reason behind his side's downfall. "They weren't a bad team but it was the style of football that they played that we found very hard to play against. They brought a lot of men back into defence and left two forwards isolated and that left a lot of space in front of Darren (Fay) and Niall (McKeigue). It reminded me a lot of the game against Westmeath in the league. "Our confidence was low after the Wexford game and they went in on a bit of a high so I think that really showed towards the end. To get such a hiding though, it was very embarrassing to be a Meath man." After the game Colm Coyle stepped down from the helm and Murphy revealed that he was slightly surprised, and disappointed ,with his decision to part company with the side. "I was a bit surprised that Colm stepped down as he would have learned a lot from the year. They say you learn a lot more about a team after you are beaten. I think he was just so frustrated with the way things went. He put a lot of effort in for the two years and he can't be faulted for the effort he put in." Regarding the drawn out process in putting Eamon O'Brien in place, Murphy doesn't feel that the late appointment will count against the Royals and stressed the important of a good start to the campaign, starting with the O'Byrne Cup which he believes will help develop a winning mentality. "It would have been nice to have a manager put in place earlier but at the same time I wouldn't use that as an excuse and most team don't start back training until January. "But at the same time it is vital that we hit the ground running. It would be nice to start off with a good league run and even to do well in the O'Byrne Cup. We need to start winning games again and getting our confidence back. "We play Dublin in the first round of the Leinster Championship and couldn't have asked for a better draw to get things going again," Murphy concluded. Tweet

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