The 2008 campaign promised so much for the Meath hurlers and there were high expectations within the county and indeed further afield that the Royals could make a major impact on proceedings as they bid for glory on three fronts, the Christy Ring and Kehoe Cup and the National hurling league. Following on from last year's campaign which saw Meath reach the semi finals of the second tier championship, where they were narrowly defeated by Kildare, many believed that they could go one step further and win the title. They were installed as one of the favourites to lift the Christy ring Cup, but as we all know favourites are there to be knocked, although Meath's exit from the competition was dramatic to say the least. With a strong panel of players to choose from, there is no reason why the county cannot compete at the business end of the championship and following on from what has happened this year and indeed for the last few years, the 2009 campaign will be a massive one for the Meath hurlers. John Andrews continued as manager along with Paul Donnelly, while Kilskyre clubman Colm Lynch was brought in to replace Kevin Dowd as selector as the Dunderry defender returned to lining out for the Royals. Meath hurling has made strides in recent years and they have proven that they are a match for anyone in their grade, matching the likes of Down, Carlow, Westmeath and Kerry over the past couple of years. The squad assembled by the management team topped the 30 mark as many players were given the opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the side. There is no question that there are some extremely talented hurlers in the county and the likes of Stephen Clynch, Neil Hackett, Ger O'Neill and Mickey Cole would press hard for a place on any side in the country. The first competition of the year was the Kehoe Cup, which is played as an early season competition to help counties prepare for the league. Meath defeated Athlone IT, Trinity College and Wicklow to earn a place in the final, where they would face Carlow in the decider. Following the cancellation of the initial final, they match was put on the long finger so to speak as both counties had to endure a long wait for the final. When it finally arrived on June 15th, it was Meath that produced an excellent display on the day to run out six point winners over the Barrowsiders. The final was played just a week before the start of the Christy Ring Cup and was a perfect boost for John Andrews's charges ahead of that campaign. However, Meath's participation in the league had already ended as they failed to make it out of Division 2B. A comfortable win over Derry set them on the right road and this was followed by a second victory over Armagh. Then, a trip to Dr Cullen Park to face the home side ended in the Royals' first defeat of the year and put a serious dent in their promotion hopes. The squad then took to the skies as they travelled to Ruislip to play London and as expected the exiles were subjected to a comprehensive defeat. Old rivals Down stood in the way of a semi final spot and the Ulster side came out on top in a thrilling match that finished 2-17 to 0-21. But the performance was little consolation as Meath now must face Division three hurling next year, due to the new format that is being introduced, which is a massive blow to county that was hoping to take the next step up the ladder. Now the attentions were turned to the Christy Ring Cup and there was an air of confidence within the squad that this could be their year. Paired with Mayo and Kerry in the group and with two teams going through, it looked as if the Leinster side would easily reach the last eight. Then again, looks can be deceiving as they were about to find out. Everything was going according to plan when Mayo travelled to Pairc Tailteann and even though the Westerners made their opponents work hard throughout, Meath were triumphant by four points. The Connacht side then defeated Kerry the following week to bring them back into contention, but all Meath had to do was ensure that they were defeated by less than six points against the Kingdom. The Royals had it all to play for and having defeated Kerry the previous year plus the fact that Mayo had beaten them seven days earlier, meant that Meath were odds on to go through. But, to rob a phrase from the soccer world, 'hurling is a funny old game' as the match turned out to be one of the most extraordinary games of the year. It was incredible to watch a Kerry side that had appeared so impotent the previous week, score 7-11 as the Meath backline seemed to collapse as they had no answer for the Kingdom's quick movement on the inside forward line. Andrews' side did manage to score 4-13, but it was of little consequence as there were seven points between the sides at the end of the match, which saw the Leinster side dramatically exit from the championship. As was the case in the league, when they failed to reach the knockout stages, the early exit from the Christy Ring Cup was a more shattering blow to the side after so much had been expected from the players, management team and supporters alike. To add insult to injury, Meath then had to play in a relegation play-off against Roscommon to ensure their status in the second tier for another year. They made light work of the Rossies running out winners by 13 points to end their year earlier than expected. So, what to now for the Meath hurlers? A county with such high hopes will see winning just the Kehoe Cup as not good enough, while in fact it's the first piece of silverware that the county's senior hurlers have secured since the early nineties. The squad is still very young in general and there is no reason why the county can not bounce back next year and reach their holy grail of winning the Christy Ring Cup. Nonetheless, another just as important target will be to gain promotion back to Division two, where the county needs to be if they are to compete against the best the second tier has to offer. Tweet

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