Meath U21 footballers collected silverware in 2006 in the shape of the inaugural Shamrock intercounty tournament but the good early-season work came undone when they crashed out of the Leinster championship following an insipid display against Kildare at Newbridge. Meath, who led from start to finish, became the first winners of the Shamrock Cup U21 FT on Saturday February 18 2006 when defeating Armagh by 1-11 to 0-10 in an exciting final at the refurbished Shamrock Park, Cremartin. This run-out in ideal conditions was seemingly just what both teams wanted with the championship looming but, as things turned out, it gave a false indication as to their respective well-beings. Meath opened the scoring in the final with a Cian Ward point from a free and Armagh had three shots off target before Ward got his second pointed free. Armagh pulled one back before Barry Regan notched a point after a pass from Ward. The Royals could have extended their lead further, but Maurice Kennedy's shot on goal was deflected wide. A Gary Reel point had one point between the sides before a Dean Barrett point extended Meath's lead again. After Armagh's Jonathan McGeeney reduced the deficit again, Aaron Ennis got what was to be the crucial score of the game when he shot to the Armagh net following a pass from Dean Barrett. The winners had further points from Rory Maguire and Andy Hayes to lead by 1-6 to 0-5 at the short whistle. Dean Barrett registered Meath's first score of the second half and Armagh patiently closed within two. Ward was twice more on target before captain Barry Regan walked for two yellows. The last four points of the match were shared as Meath held out for a good win and a nice piece of early-season silverware. Maurice Kennedy at midfield had an outstanding game for the Leinster county while the accuracy of Cian Ward at corner forward accounted for six of the winners' points, all from frees. Unfortunately, this was as good as it got for the county U21s in '06. Meath had played Monaghan in their opening game of the inaugural tournament on January 21, winning by 1-11 to 0-11 thanks to a last-minute goal at Emyvale. The second round at Duleek resulted in a 0-13 to 0-12 win in a tight encounter with Louth. Rory Maguire was the hero in that game with six points, including the injury-time winner. Castletown was the venue for the third-round clash with Armagh on Saturday February 4 and Meath came out on the wrong end of a 1-12 to 2-8 scoreline in this dress rehearsal for the decider. Cian Ward opened the scoring with a goal and finished the game with 2-3. The result didn't matter to Meath, who had already qualified for the final, wherein they would turn the tables on the Orchard men. Meath U21s, winners of the inaugural four-team Cremartin Shamrocks Cup: Johnny O'Connor; John Kelleher, Caoimhin King, Ciaran Kenny; Eoin Harrington, Brian Ennis, Bengi Smith; Brian Meade, Maurice Kennedy; Barry Regan (0-1), Andy Hayes (0-1), Aaron Ennis (1-0); Rory Maguire (0-1), Dean Barrett (0-2), Cian Ward (0-6). Sub: Brian Clarke The Leinster championship did not go quite so swimmingly. On Sunday March 5, at Newbridge, competition favourites Kildare eliminated the Royals from the championship equation for a third successive season with a facile 2-13 to 1-8 victory. Meath only scored three times in the second half as they tumbled ingloriously out of contention. The home side opened up an early two-point lead with fine scores from James Kavanagh but Meath responded well with a point from midfielder Brian Meade. Mark Sullivan and Thomas O'Connor put Kildare three ahead. Then came Meath's best spell and four points in five minutes. Ward got the ball rolling with a 14th minute free, followed by a Rory Maguire strike and another from Andrew Hayes. Dean Barrett, with the Royal County's fourth straight point, then had the Royals ahead for the only time in the match, 0-5 to 0-4, but Kildare responded with a soft goal from Mark Scanlon. The Lilywhites took control of proceedings thereafter and led by three points at the interval, 1-6 to 0-6, with full forward Barrett claiming Meath's final score of the opening half. That advantage had stretched to six points before Meath responded with a Ward free. Both sides scored second half goals. Kildare put the game out of reach when substitute Robert Kelly finished a flowing move in the 52nd minute while Meath's three-pointer was an inspirational 55th-minute consolation strike from Dunshaughlin's Caoimhin King. King had started the game at full back and, unfortunately, his major arrived at a time when the losers already trailed by twelve points. Ward closed the gap with a trademark point - his third - but it was the all round fluency of the well-oiled Kildare attack that saw them run out deserving winners against a Meath side that never got going despite manager Benny Reddy using up all five substitutions. While King, Brian Meade and Dean Barrett did well for their county, too many of Meath's senior panelists failed to get into the game. Thus, a campaign that had been pregnant with promise following the Shamrock Cup success petered out into relative nothingness… The Meath side that faced Kildare at Newbridge: J O'Connor; J Kelleher, K Reilly, E Harrington; B Smith, B Ennis, C King 1-0; B Meade 0-1, M Kennedy; A Ennis, A Hayes 0-1, M Burke; R Maguire 0-1, D Barrett 0-2, C Ward 0-3. Subs: B McGinn, B Clarke, C O'Keeffe, C O'Dwyer, R O'Connor. Tweet

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