Meath's juniors were beaten by Dublin by four points in the 2008 Leinster JFC final at Croke Park on Sunday June 29, but at least Kit Henry's team had some silverware to show for their year's effort as they landed the inaugural Leinster Shield with a 3-14 to 3-12 victory over Kildare in the decider during early April. A Dublin-Meath Leinster final is always pulsating and those who made the trip to headquarters for the 2008 provincial junior decider weren't disappointed by either the overall effort of the teams or the drama on display (both sides were reduced to 14 men and the action ebbed and flowed from start to finish). However, there was to be disappointment for the Royal County contingent at the end, as the final whistle sounded with the Sky Blues 1-13 to 1-9 ahead. It looked good for Meath when the Dubs had Brian Sexton sent off just before the break. The teams turned around sharing ten points between them and the visitors would enjoy numerical superiority in the second half. But fate intervened yet again when Offaly referee Con Costelloe harshly dismissed Royals captain and centre back Colm O Mealoid ten minutes after the restart. (In fairness, the Dublin red card was equally severe.) The losers had already lost promising Kilbride clubman John Bruton from their half back line just ten minutes into the match, as the No.7 was concussed following a jarring collision with Dublin's Karl Connolly. This meant that Shane McAnarney had to move back into defence, while Mairtin Doran - the only Meath half back to play the whole game - compensated for his side's ill fortune in that general vicinity with a commanding display. Meath, hoping to regain the title they last garnered in 2006, made a sluggish start to both halves and that ultimately cost them. They were already two points adrift before TJ Garry opened their account in the sixth minute and Doran raided forward to produce the leveller ten minutes later. The Royals had a lucky escape when Dublin struck the post with a goal looking likely, while points from full forward Jamie Queeney (who showed tremendous courage to play in this match, having lost his father the previous week), Ratoath's Ger McCullagh - a veteran of the junior game and an outstanding performer all year - and top scorer Garry ensured a 0-5 apiece half-time score. Including five minutes of first-half injury time, Meath had an extra man for 15 minutes' play but, unfortunately, they couldn't make it count. In fact, it was Dublin who raised their game to pull two clear within moments of the resumption, thanks to a brace of frees from their best player Warren Finnegan. Garry replied with a Meath free and the Royals looked on course for a superb win when the Dunderry attacker netted at the end of the third quarter. It was 14-a-side now and the game could have gone either way. But Dublin were awarded a penalty ten minutes from the end when substitute John Barry O'Reilly was penalised and the boys in blue took full advantage to roar ahead by 1-9 to 1-7. The Dubs outscored Meath by four points to two in the closing stages to claim the provincial crown. Cortown clubman Kit Henry was in his second year in charge of the county juniors. Having lost a Leinster semi-final after extra time in 2007, this was his second major disappointment. The manager admitted after the final whistle: "The game was there for us but we took too long to register a score and I was hoping we would make a better start than we did. "This was the big stage for us. Some of the players were up to the challenge and some weren't - that's the simple facts of the matter. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen for us on the day." Meath got their championship campaign off to a perfect start with a 1-14 to 1-7 defeat of neighbours Louth at Dowdallshill, Dundalk on May 28. The manager sprung ex senior panellists TJ Garry, Mairtin Doran, John O'Donoghue and Rory Maguire from the bench during that game, but Meath underperformed on the day and were let off the hook by some bad Wee County play. John L McGee calmly despatched a fortuitous penalty moments after the restart to propel the visitors into an unassailable five-point lead and effectively set up a semi-final meeting with Wicklow, who had beaten Kilkenny by 4-9 to 1-8 in their quarter-final. The semi-final was fraught with danger for the Royals as they had actually lost to the Garden County (1-11 to 1-10) in the round-robin stage of their successful Leinster Junior Shield campaign. But Henry named a stronger starting XV this time and Meath cruised to a 1-15 to 1-5 victory at Aughrim on Wednesday evening, June 11. The winners dominated the first half but the concession of a 19th-minute goal meant their interval lead was slender, 0-7 to 1-2. Jamie Queeney's second-half goal finally put Wicklow out of their misery. Meath were supposed to have home advantage for the Leinster final against Dublin. However, they relinquished this for the opportunity to play at GAA Headquarters, on the undercard of the Dublin V Westmeath Leinster SFC semi-final. This meant they played all three of their matches in the 2008 Leinster junior football championship AWAY from home - Louth in Dundalk, Wicklow in Aughrim and Dublin in Croker. Meath had started the year in style by winning the inaugural Leinster Junior Shield to claim some morale-boosting silverware. The competition was played on an initial round-robin basis and the Royals did enough in the early phase to ensure a final place against Kildare (in Naas, obviously) on Wednesday April 9. The final was a real thriller and Meath prevailed by 3-14 to 3-12 despite playing much of the match with 14 men, after wing back Eoin Reilly saw red in the eighth minute. Jamie Queeney's 23rd-minute goal helped the Royal County to a 1-9 to 0-5 interval advantage and they went on to lead by ten points at one stage, with two goals from Clann na nGael clubman Micheal Priest. Meath didn't score after the 49th minute and Kildare came at them with a strong late rally but it was Colm O Mealoid who collected the trophy on behalf of a team with their sights on even bigger things. Meath - 2008 Leinster junior football championship finalists: Neil Burke (St Ultan's); Brian O'Reilly (Nobber), Thomas Dillon (Syddan), Michael Burke (Longwood); Mairtin Doran (Kildalkey, 0-1), Colm O Mealoid (Donaghmore/Ashbourne), John Bruton (Kilbride); Glen Loughran (Cortown), Rory O'Connor (Donaghmore/Ashbourne); Ger McCullagh (Ratoath), Ian Dowd (Donaghmore/Ashbourne), Shane McAnarney (Clann na nGael); TJ Garry (Dunderry, 1-4), Jamie Queeney (Na Fianna, 0-1), David Morgan (Donaghmore/Ashbourne, 0-1). Subs: Niall Farrell (Donaghmore/Ashbourne, 0-1), JB O'Reilly (St Michael's), John O'Donoghue (Moynalvey), Jamie Shaw (Clann na nGael) Tweet

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