Even though the Leinster title eluded the Meath senior football team for the sixth year in a row, they recovered well from the replay defeat by Dublin to put together an exciting run of four wins in the All-Ireland qualifiers and move back up to a high position in the national charts. By David Jennings. Meath's campaign in 2007 was compared to the Royal County's all-conquering march to Sam Maguire Cup glory in 1996. The comparisons were made after the quarter-final success over Tyrone when Colm Coyle's charges became realistic contenders to go all the way. But it was, of course, a case of pride before a fall. In 1996 some Meath supporters were afraid of Carlow in the opening championship outing and this year, despite having won the National League Division 2 title, hopes of a decent summer run were not high as they went into the Croke Park clash with Kildare. After brushing aside the weak challenge by the Lilywhites with six points to spare, Meath turned in their best display of the year in the 0-14 to 1-11 draw with Dublin, having wiped out a deficit of five points, before losing the replay by four points. Disappointed followers leaving headquarters that evening could hardly have envisaged five more championship outings and two more trips to the Jones's Road venue. Neither could any of them have foreseen what would happen in the next few days with two of the top forwards sidelined for contrasting reasons for the games against Down and Fermanagh. No Meath player has gained more publicity (some of which he could have done without) than Graham Geraghty over the last few years and when the furore over incidents in the first of the Dublin games had died down, he was involved in the training ground bust-up at Simonstown. Joe Sheridan, who said he had lost his appetite for playing inter-county football, did not figure again but after his career in the green and gold appeared to be at an end, Geraghty returned to the fold the week before the Galway game and came on in the second half at Portlaoise. It was pay back time for the team's longest-serving player when Meath met Tyrone in the All-Ireland quarter-final clash and the crucial goal put in with the hands at the start of the second half showed that despite being in the winter of his playing days, Geraghty was still a class act. The respective form shown by Meath and Cork that day suggested that the Royal County side held strong prospects of prolonging their campaign into September. But if the earlier run was a reminder of 1996, the flop at the finish was 2001 all over again with Cork playing their more fancied opponents off the park like Galway had done six years earlier. When Meath went out to face Kildare, who had got to the semi-finals of the NFL Division 1, remarkably they were starting a third championship with a third different manager. Also remarkable was the fact that Darren Fay scored their first goal in the 2-11 to 1-8 victory. It was 1-4 to 0-5 at the break, the leaders having hit five wides in a low quality first half. Although the overall display of heir opponents was awful and missed the injured duo of Killian Brennan and Dermot Earley. Points from Peadar Byrne, Stephen Bray and Joe Sheridan in a four-minute spell coming up to the end of the third quarter put Meath well in control and a penalty goal netted by Sheridan left nine in before Emmet Bolton grabbed a consolation goal for the losers. Apart from his unexpected goal, full back Fay, returning to championship action after missing out in 2006, turned a competent all round display which was good enough to top most ratings. In contrast it was an unhappy outing for the league's top scorer Brian Farrell who only managed a point and was shown straight red card after 56 minutes to rule him out of the next game. The dismissed forward did not receive any sympathy from father Dudley, who was in charge with Colm Coyle banned from the sideline. "I thought he did hit and I thought he had to go, so I would have no queries about that whatsoever," said Farrell senior who was pleased with the display even though it did take the team a while to get into their stride. Although Meath had lost two championships tussles with Dublin since the 2001 provincial final clash, there was a growing amount of confidence that the Royal County side could do very well on the first Sunday of June. They performed well away to earn another Leinster outing and could have won had one or two decisions gone their way. There was no shortage of talking points when the after-match inquests were held with a goal that was, another that wasn't, a penalty that wasn't and super sub Cian Ward kicking over five points to rescue his side after they had been that much behind in the first half and again 12 minutes into the second half. The television cameras suggested that Graham Geraghty's shot to the net after 20 minutes should have been worth three points. But instead a free out was awarded for a nudge on an opponent. Some felt that the Clann na nGael clubman might have been awarded a penalty in the second half but the call by Armagh referee Jimmy McKee not to sound his whistle seemed to be the right one. However, Bernard Brogan did appear to be lodging in the small 'square' when punching a ball sent in by Conal Keaney to the net on 36 minutes. But a number of decisions went Dublin's way all year and they led by 1-6 to 0-6 at the break, having galloped into a 0-5 to 0-0 interval lead before Joe Sheridan put over Meath's first score after 19 minutes. Meath were very much at sea in the opening quarter and it took a couple of fine saves from Brendan Murphy to prevent the green flag from being waved earlier than it was. After Mossy Quinn left the Dubs 1-9 to 0-7 to the good Cian Ward was sent on and what an impact he made. Around the same time John Donegan was introduced in place of Nigel Crawford and won a fair bit of ball as well as supplying passes for two scores. From then to the finish Meath outscored their opponents by 0-7 to 0-2 with Ward kicking over two frees, two 45s and a brilliant effort from a sideline kick in the last seconds. Mark Ward, Peadar Byrne and Stephen Bray were other Meath stars and afterwards acting team manager Dudley Farrell remarked that Meath had more chances to win the game than Dublin in the last ten minutes. "We're not there yet but we're getting there, like Iarnrod Eireann," quipped Farrell. Both Colm Coyle and Brian Farrell were eligible to take up their respective roles for the replay a fortnight later and while the manager was back along the sideline, the Nobber sharpshooter was not brought into the action until just before the break. Farrell wore number 21 and scored three points, two from play. The other number 21, Mark Vaughan, filled a starting role for the Dubs and the Kilmacud Crokes clubman made his mark with a contribution of eight points, four from frees, one sideline, a 45 and one from play. Cian Ward was handed a starting role but failed to get into the game after opening the scoring from a free and was withdrawn around the same time as he came on two weeks earlier. At that stage Dublin were leading by 0-12 to 0-9 and they went on to win by 0-16 to 0-12. The sides were level four times in the first half before the Dubs held a 0-9 to 0-7 advantage at the interval. Stephen Bray, who shot four points from play, was the losers' top performer and Eoghan Harrington and Darren Fay were not far behind. After leading by 0-13 to 0-12 with seven minutes to go Conal Keaney (free and play) and Alan Brogan added points to stretch the margin for the Dubs. Dublin improved on their display in the drawn game while Meath did not. The replay was not as good a game as the replay but Tom Humphries of the Irish Times suggested that no team would relish playing Meath in the qualifiers. After 34 minutes of that game Joe Sheridan had his number held up and the Seneschalstown clubman did not figure again in Championship 2007. While he claimed to have lost his appetite for inter-county football, there were suggestions that the player was the subject of abuse at a local SFC match a few days after his poor replay performance. Meath supporters were coming to terms with the loss of Sheridan when the news broke about Geraghty's bust-up with Stephen Sheppard. One newspaper headline suggested 'no way back as axe falls on Geraghty' and his career in the green and gold of Meath appeared to be over. While the obituaries of the 1999 All-Ireland winning captain were being written, the 34-year-old had a lot of support from fans and one of them suggested that news of the bust-up should not have been made public! Geraghty was getting a bit of backing from Sean Boylan who suggested that perhaps training sessions should be held behind closed doors. Referring to Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness sitting at the same table, Boylan felt that Coyle and Geraghty should 'kiss and make up.' He wondered 'why they can't come to some agreement.' They would eventually but it was another couple of weeks before peace broke out. The departure of the two forwards left an opening for Shane O'Rourke, who had figured briefly at the end of the drawn tie with Dublin, and the teenager took the opportunity with both hands, making a name for himself in the full forward position. O'Rourke got among the scorers in the 1-10 to 0-8 win over Down at Newry's Pairc Esler. While Meath could be pleased to have come away with the win, Down were a pale shadow of some of the fine sides who wore the red and black over the years and the game was one of the least entertaining seen all year. Benny Coulter gave Down the lead after a couple of minutes but remarkably they did not score again from play as Aidan Carr slotted over seven frees. Peadar Byrne fired a shot to the left corner of the net following a well-placed pass from O'Rourke after 13 minutes. That left the board reading 1-1 to 0-2 and it was 1-4 to 0-4 at the break. Down were very wasteful in attack, hitting a total of 15 wides compared to eight for the winners and Meath had a couple of anxious moments at the end when goal attempts by Carr and Ronan Sexton both went past Brendan Murphy's right post. For the third game in a row, Stephen Bray shot three points and team captain Anthony Moyles finished with a similar total. Meath have got well used to facing Ulster opposition in the qualifiers and all connected with the team were pleased to get a home draw against Fermanagh the following day. That despite Fermanagh having ended Royal County hopes in 2003 and 2004. The hoodoo was laid to rest with a 0-11 to 0-9 win and Meath were in the last 12 of the championship for the first time since 2002. For the second game in succession, Meath won without impressing and again their midfielders, Mark Ward and Nigel Crawford, failed to get on top. Still the home forwards made better use of heir scoring opportunities than the side managed by Charlie Mulgrew, who quit his position shortly after the final whistle. After having a very quiet outing in Newry, Brian Farrell kicked six points, three from play. Although the defence did well with Darren Fay and Niall McKeigue especially effective, they had a lucky let off when Mark Little was denied a goal by an upright at the end of the third quarter. Colm Coyle said the performance of his team left a lot of room for improvement. When Meath drew Galway the following day there was realistic optimism that a place in the last 12 could be advanced to a place in the last eight. Galway had been sensationally beaten by Sligo in the Connacht final and although the western wearers of the maroon and white had been a bogey team for Royal County sides over the decades there was reason for optimism. A few days before the Portlaoise tussle Graham Geraghty rejoined the squad and while he was not listed on the official programme, he wore the number 30 jersey and joined the action seven minutes into the second half, coming on for Peter Curran. Meath were then leading by 2-6 to 0-9, having been ahead by six points at the break, Stephen Bray having netted both goals as well as putting over two points. When Michael Meehan drove a harshly-awarded penalty past Brendan Murphy 15 minutes after the changing of ends and Galway added two points to get on level, it was a case of Meath having to rebuild the blocks they had earlier assembled. But it was a measure of the improvement of the side that they did that, adding five points to just two by their opponents in the last quarter of an hour to win by 2-14 to 1-14. Geraghty got among the scorers on the run to the line and three converted frees by Brian Farrell were crucial. Michael Meehan, Nicky Joyce and Sean Armstrong gave the Meath backs some anxious moments but the storm was weathered and while Geraghty received a reception which one reporter suggested was bigger than the Lord got after the Resurrection, players like Bray, Farrell, Caoimhin King, Mark Ward and Shane O'Rourke were the main stars on the day. Meath lost defenders Eoghan Harrington and Seamus Kenny, both picking up shoulder injuries in the first half of the Galway game. Harrington, who had made a fine impressive in his first years on the team, missed the rest of the campaign, but Kenny returned for the second half against Tyrone. Cormac McGuinness and Chris O'Connor were handed first championship starts and both performed well in the fine team display which earned a 1-13 to 2-8 win over opposition which also had some injury problems. While the Ulster champions were the 2/1 on favourites, there was an amount of confidence in the Meath camp and they rocked the more fancied side with an impressive display of direct football. Meath took the initiative with early points from Brian Farrell and Stephen Bray and were only led briefly at the start of the second half. Like in the game against Galway they were able to respond positively after conceding goals. Sean Cavanagh's shot to the net after 24 minutes left the scores 0-7 to 1-3 but Meath steadied themselves to lead by 0-10 to 1-5 at the break. They should have been more to the good at that stage and Owen Mulligan's goal in the second minute after the restart left Tyrone leading by the minimum margin. The lead lasted about six minutes before Farrell converted a free and a matter of seconds later the man from Nobber passed the ball on to Geraghty who cleverly beat the advancing John Devine for as clever a goal as seen all year. Meath had numerous heroes but none bigger than Darren Fay as the defence was overworked with no scores registered at the other end in the last 18 minutes. Tyrone hit 11 wides in the second half with Mulligan the main offender but Meath had only two less than them overall and were worthy winners. Cork had been less than impressive in their wins over Louth and Sligo, having been unlucky losers to Kerry in the Munster final. They had the championship's top scorer in James Masters but the ace marksman sustained a broken jaw against the Connacht champions which would sideline him for a few weeks.| Meath and Cork had met on six previous occasions in the championship with each clash being in the All-Ireland final and the score being four to one in favour of the Royal County with one drawn. While Meath went into the seventh clash as favourites the players were hearing words of warning. There were injury concerns about Darren Fay and Anthony Moyles in the lead-up to the game and a hamstring problem meant that Moyles played no part. He was sorely missed as Cork took emphatic control in the second half to run out 1-16 to 0-9 winners. Cork had lost three semi-finals (all to Kerry) in the previous five years and were determined to get over the penultimate hurdle this time. In the absence of Masters, Donncha O'Connor took over as their man scorer and finished up with six points and the 'man of the match' award. In contrast, Stephen Bray and Brian Farrell had quiet outings, Shane O'Rourke did well enough but Graham Geraghty also failed to make an impact. Still Bray added two points to finish the campaign with an impressive 2-21, all from play. Meath were clearly second best around midfield where Nicholas Murphy, Derek Kavanagh and Michael Cussen won an amount of ball. Caoimhin King was the losers' best player as the team lost its way in the second period. Cork led by 0-8 to 0-6 at the break and the traditional fighting spirit was absent when the margin was stretched after the switching of ends. The goal, netted by Kevin McMahon on 51 minutes, took a deflection off King. Five of Cork's points were punched over the bar and while the ten points margin made grim reading, it could have been worse. While it was a disappointing end, Colm Coyle was still very proud of his players, saying they had come a long way in a short time. It was a year in which the pride was restored and Meath and contenders were mentioned in the same sentence. Now the best task in 2008 will be to hold the ground gained and a Leinster success would be very nice. The Meath team that played in the All-Ireland semi-final was: B Murphy, C McGuinness, D Fay, N McKeigue, S Kenny, K Reilly, C King 0-1, M Ward, N Crawford, P Byrne, G Geraghty, J Donegan, S Bray 0-2, S O'Rourke 0-2, B Farrell 0-4. Subs - C Ward for Donegan, C O'Connor for McGuinness, C McCarthy for Byrne, N McLoughlin for O'Rourke. Tweet

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