The form students will tell you that league performances count for nothing in the championship. However, Meath tainted that theory in 2007 by capturing the Allianz National League Division 2 title on the way to a prolonged stay in the race for the Sam Maguire. It may 'only' have been a league title but Meath fans were not complaining at Breffni Park on the last Sunday in April when an eight-point defeat of Roscommon saw the Royals collect their most significant piece of silverware in six years. Who knew what was still to come in the months ahead? The decision to hand over the 'bainisteoir bib' to Colm Coyle was greeted with mixed reaction around the county and while many felt that Eamonn Barry deserved another term at the helm, the Seneschalstown clubman defied those critics by steering his troops through a fruitful campaign. With alterations to the league format punishing sides that failed to qualify for the last four, there was an added incentive for Meath to progress to the penultimate stage of the competition and despite reaching the knockout stages in slightly fortuitous fashion they took full advantage of that slice of luck with impressive successes over Monaghan and Roscommon. Among the players to make a significant impact throughout the course of the league campaign was Stephen Bray and the Navan O'Mahonys forward immediately pinpointed the heavy defeat to Wexford in the final outing of the group stages of the league as the stimulus behind their upturn in form. ''The Wexford game was the real turning point in our season. In that game we realised how bad we can be if we don't work for one another and our work rate was non existent that day and we were severely punished,'' Bray said. ''We looked at the video after the next training session and we could not believe how bad we were. I suppose it didn't help that we knew going into the game that we could afford to be beaten but that was no excuse for our display, we were a shambles''. ''After that game our priorities changed completely and our game plan was geared around our work rate and work rate became our main priority with playing football and attacking coming second,'' he added. After showing vast improvement from the group stages to see off a fancied Monaghan side in a 'semi' clash at headquarters, Meath turned in their most impressive display of the campaign to dish out a hammering to Roscommon in the decider. Although there was a strong suggestion that John Maughan's side had made huge strides since being humiliated by Meath in the previous years All-Ireland qualifiers, they were unable to serve up the type of form that brushed aside Cavan in the semi-final and Coyle's charges made it another day to forget for the Connaught side by recording a comfortable 2-12 to 0-10 success. The performances of Brian Farrell throughout the course of the competition drew many audible gasps from Meath fans, and the Nobber sharpshooter continued his rich vein of scoring form at Breffni Park, posting a personal tally of 2-8. That total propelled him to the summit of the scoring charts in the competition with 8-36 and Farrell's ability to point from both placed balls and open play combined with his canny knack to net vital goals saw him fill the niche for a reliable scoring forward. Farrell wasn't the only player to cement his place in the side during the campaign as Bray also began to fulfill his undoubted potential and the pair formed a formidable alliance in the full-forward line, albeit against some brittle defensive units. And Roscommon certainly fell into this category as after showing some resolution to Meath's attacking threat in the opening period, only trailing 0-4 to 0-8 at the break, they fell apart after the change of ends and the Royals took full advantage of their limitations. Farrell began his side's second half surge three minutes after the resumption when he pounced on a breaking ball contested by Joe Sheridan and Geoffrey Claffey before showed his predatory skills in front of goal to punch to the net from a tight angle. That strike ignited Meath into life and when Farrell secured his brace of goals midway through the half, the issue was essentially put beyond any doubt. On this occasion, the full-forward was the beneficiary of a point attempt from Peader Byrne that dropped short of the target and he fired to the net from close range. Joe Sheridan was another to turn in a promising display; registering three points from play while the towering figure of Mark Ward was a central figure in the centre of the field as the Navan O'Mahonys lad and his midfield partner Nigel Crawford won that sector with consummate ease. The closing stages were a non-event with Roscommon making a number of switches to try and launch a retrieval mission but the damage had been done at that stage and the introduction of Graham Geraghty late on drew the loudest cheer from the crowd, who received little value for their admission fee. With the primary objective already achieved, Meath entered their semi-final clash with Monaghan at Croke Park on the back of a bitterly disappointing loss to Wexford which almost cost them their Saturday evening date with Coyle's former employers. But Coyle's charges showed no ill effects from their visit to the Model County and trod onto the Croke Park turf with a point to prove and they did so in devastating fashion with the game decided by a brace of quick-fire goals in the opening three minutes which sent Meath on their way to a 3-10 to 0-12 victory. ''We suffered a bit of a backlash against Wexford and we went out against Monaghan with a point to prove and from the word go in that game we were up for the battle ahead and the two early goals showed that we meant business," Bray stated. ''Going into the semi-final we wanted to show our supporters that we were a much better team then they had seen in Wexford so we really owed them a good performance in the Monaghan game. ''In the semi-final our work rate was first class and I think that was why we were able to establish a big lead and the final against Roscommon was a similar type of game as we had it wrapped up with ten minutes to go. I suppose the fact that we worked so hard in those games was the main factor behind the wins," he said. Joe Sheridan commenced the onslaught with little over a minute gone on the stopwatch when he shot to the net after latching onto a cross field pass from Bray and after turning provider for that effort, two minutes later the Navan O'Mahonys clubman then raised a green flag of his own when he dispatched a powerful drive past the reach of 'keeper Shane Duffy. That two goal head start was always going to prove a monumental task for Monaghan to recover from and although they huffed and puffed, their failure to cash in possession for scores ensured that Meath were never really in danger of being reeled in. The third goal which arrived shortly after half-time was the nail in the coffin of Monaghan and ended any aspiring thoughts that there would be a similar outcome to the decider in 2005 when Paul Finlay's last gasp goal sealed a smash and grab raid for the Ulstermen. It was less pleasing on the eye then the two earlier efforts as a goalmouth scramble in which Kevin Reilly and Bray both had efforts blocked ended in Byrne bundling to the net from close range but it did succeed in putting a sheen of gloss onto the scoreline. While many would argue that a Division 2 league title is nothing to write home about, the winning habit which the team assumed along the way accompanied by a settled side that started in both the semi-final and final were two aspects which would have pleased Royal County followers and Bray believed that the latter of these was one of the key components in taking league honours. ''In the last couple of games in the league we managed to put out a settled team and in my mind that was a huge help as lads began to know how each other played. Even for me in the full-forward line, myself, Brian and Joe developed a good understanding with each other and when you know what runs each other is going to make it makes it that bit easier'', Bray said. Following a premature halt to their O'Byrne Cup exertions, Coyle's first competitive outing in charge pitted his side against neighbours Cavan who traveled to Pairc Tailteann in buoyant mood and were seconds away from leaving Navan with two points only for Farrell to pop up with the equalising goal with almost the last kick of the ball. In truth, the 2-7 to 0-13 final scoreline did not do justice to Cavan's superiority over the 70 minutes, as despite playing the majority of the tie with a numerical disadvantage, they still managed to outplay their Royal County counterparts and few would have questioned the outcome if they had held on for victory. After cashing in their 'get out of jail free' card against Cavan, Meath didn't need the aid of any last gasp scores to see off Antrim at Casement Park as two first half goals from Farrell propelled the away side to a 2-11to 1-11 success. With Brendan Murphy unable to take up his customary role between the posts, Gary Rogers took over the number one jersey for the trip to Belfast but shortly after turning in an impressive display at Casement Park, the St.Ultan's clubman decided to pursue his soccer career. Murphy was back for the trip to Markievicz Park, where Meath continued their winning ways at the expense of Sligo, with goals from Anthony Moyles, Graham Geraghty and Farrell easing the visitors to a 3-12 to 1-10 win. Expected home wins over Tipperary and Waterford ensured that Meath were sitting pretty at the top of the division with away fixtures to Wicklow and Wexford left to play. The visit to Wicklow didn't prove as straightforward as many may have thought and Mick O'Dwyer's men exploded out of the traps and with the help of some excellent points from the boot of Tommy Gill, established a 0-9 to 0-5 interval lead. But Coyle's half-time 'chat' seemed to the desired effect as his side were a different propositions after the restart and boosted by a personal tally of 1-2 from Bray, Meath had one foot in the last four with a hard earned1-12 to 0-12 victory. That success meant that Meath could afford to lose to Wexford in the final group fixture, once the margin didn't exceed seven points. While being aware of this fact wouldn't have helped Coyle's charges in their preparations for the tie, it could not accept full responsibility for the lacklustre display which Meath turned in, as the Model County tore them apart on the way to recording a 2-10 to 0-9 triumph. The seven-point success left many in Wexford Park unaware of who would progress to meet Monaghan as both sides had the same score difference but after a couple of agonising minutes it materialised that it would be Meath that god the nod, on account of their better scoring rate. The display in the sunny South East seemed to have a positive effect on the Meath camp and with vast improvement shown in the Monaghan and Roscommon outings, Meath were worthy winners of the Division 2 crown and give Coyle, Farrell and Dowd the perfect start to their managerial exploits. While the success or failure of any team will always be analysed by performances in the Championship, Bray stated retaining their Division 2 status was one of their primary objectives at the beginning of the season. ''One of the main goals at the start of the season was to remain in Division 2 as the structure of the league had changed and we knew we had to finish in the top two to achieve that and the fact that we will be playing against some of the top counties next year will be a huge help to our development," he said. As a parting shot, Bray heaped praise upon the management team setting out on their maiden voyage at the helm and paid tribute to the positive vibe which they brought into the camp from the very first day of their tenure. ''From the very first day that we met up with Colm (Coyle), Dudley (Farrell) and Tommy (Dowd) back in October, the vibe was very positive and there was no doom and gloom. Colm set us targets that he thought would were capable of reaching and he seemed to have faith in us from the word go. ''The three lads in charge are very approachable and it is almost as if you are talking to a player. They are always positive and give any help which they fell will help your play. I could not speak highly enough of them," Bray concluded. The Meath team that claimed the Allianz National League Division 2 title with victory over Roscommon at Breffni Park was as follows - B. Murphy; E. Harrington, D. Fay, N. McKeigue; S. Kenny (0-1), A. Moyles, C. King; M.Ward, N. Crawford; N. McLoughlin, K. Reilly, P. Byrne; S. Bray, B. Farrell(2-8), J. Sheridan (0-3). Subs - G. Geraghty for Ward, S. MacGabhann for Harrington, P. Howard for McLoughlin. Tweet

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