(Oldest Posts First)
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As follow on from the crazy stat re. Cavan, and us going almost 60 years without an away win v them, outside of NFL semi finals and finals, can you remember really great League victories over the years? Compared to championship they always hhave a very different feeling and atmosphere but some great memories, one recent one that stands out has to be Kildare in Navan in early March 2018, in an epic snowstorm, coldest i have ever been at a match. some finish to it , some guts shown and should have won by more. dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 697 - 24/11/2023 11:37:54 2514430 Link 0 |
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That was the day we really set ourselves up for promotion it was a brilliant win after a bad start. Galway in 2017 Donal Lenihan got a last minute goal that was a great win too. Unfortunately just like our championship wins even great league wins have been few and far between
LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1470 - 24/11/2023 12:51:32 2514454 Link 0 |
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All these relatively recent victories are a pale shadow of past successes. One of the best victories and games I had seen was a league semi final win over an excellent Kerry team in Thurles in 2000 when Meath scored 4 goals. Kerry subsequently went on to win the all ireland. The 1975 league final victory over all Ireland champions Dublin also has to be up there. Don't think anything in the last 20 years at least can come into consideration.
winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 515 - 24/11/2023 14:22:56 2514476 Link 0 |
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I don't doubt it. I wasn't alive or old enough to remember any of these so that's why I mentioned two more recent ones. In truth the only really good moments since the Kerry semi final in 01 would be beating Tyrone in 07, Mayo in 09, Dublin in 2010, maybe Kildare in 2012 as we were strong underdogs and league promotion in 2019. Apart from that there's been no standouts
LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1470 - 24/11/2023 14:54:09 2514481 Link 0 |
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That win over Kerry in Thurles was the one that came to mind, as far as I remember it was a mad one that was all about attack a real shoot out. 75 against the Dubs another standout. Wins over Cork and Dublin it late eighties were right up there.
seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2152 - 24/11/2023 15:57:27 2514496 Link 1 |
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There are two that stand out. First is the League final of 1975 when the Alm Ireland champions were beaten following a brilliant second half display. Ken Rennicks was man of the match, Joe Cassells completely outplayed Brian Mullins at midfield. Mattie Kerrigan and Cormac Rowe were very good up front while Jack Quinn and Pat Reynolds rolled back the years in defence. Of the newcomers Phil Smith excelled. MillerX (Meath) - Posts: 1066 - 24/11/2023 19:40:31 2514518 Link 1 |
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I was thinking of more run of the mill group games outside of finals and semi finals which are really more like champioship games with big 30,000 plus crowds. I always feel league games especially away from home always produce great memories and stories, even if Meath didnt win them, prob should have called it just memorable league matches! On that, does anyone remember 1992 league quater final in Ballinasloe vs Clare? We won 0-8 to 0-6. I remember a massive crowd, but unfortunatley the tv cameras were at another quater final double header in Breffni Park that featured Donegal vs Dublin and Tyrone vs Rosscommon. Really miss League quater finals they produced great sterling matches, just as weather picked up around early April. dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 697 - 24/11/2023 21:31:07 2514526 Link 0 |
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1975 final tops it for me taking Heffos Red hot all Ireland champions the Dubs on the day some great stuff by Quinn, Reynolds and Rowe but Ken rennicks gave an master display at centre forward , the following Leinster championship is best forgotten
royler (Meath) - Posts: 259 - 25/11/2023 16:04:49 2514575 Link 1 |
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1990 saw some great victories, despite being hammered by Roscommon (16 pts) and Antrim (12 pts) in Division 2 we ended up in a play off and beat both Mayo and Tyrone, played Donegal in a quarter final in Clones I think during which time they were experimenting with the four quarters, think we were six points down going into the last 15 and got two goals and a few points to win by 5, then beat Cork and Down to win a league campaign which at one point looked like being a complete disaster Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 27/11/2023 15:02:10 2514737 Link 6 |
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yes we conceded somthing like 4-8 to Wexford down in wexford park but won scoring 6-11 i think. dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 697 - 28/11/2023 22:05:52 2514946 Link 0 |
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Richie that 1989/90 league campaign was something else and we won it out of division two after 12 games (7 league, 2 playoff games and 1/4 final to final) and I was at the vast majority of them as a 9 year old. That game v Donegal in Clones had an undercurrent of nastiness too it. Donegal fans were giving us dogs abuse and remember the language some of them used towards us Meath fans was very "colourful"… as you say they were well up with 10 minutes to go 5-6 points maybe and McEntee and O'Rourke turned that game around, beggy got two goaLs in a minute and we won by 5 in the end… Donegal fans left sick, sore and sorry that evening and got the full volley of verbals they deserved in return.. Their players tried taking out several of our lads and I think we might've had a player or two sent off for retaliation. Martin Shovlin wasn't half afraid to dish it out and think Matt Gallagher was another who played well over the edge. The semi v Cork was even worse, that was the absolute height of the hatred between those two teams. There was niggle from the off and Niall Cahalane didn't finish the game after pulling, dragging, punching and elbowing Colm O'Rourke for the full game. Think there was a house of 25k at that match… imagine that in these days Funnily the was no such confrontation in the final v Down… Crazy to think we beat Donegal in the All Ireland semi's in 1990 before losing to Cork in the final and Down the following year… and Donegal won Sam in 92…. As Pete McGrath (an absolute gentleman) said… we learned well from the great teams from Co Meath …. Don't think billy morgan or brian mice if we're as complimentary but they've never been liked in these parts that team never knew it was beaten.. 10 minutes down… 7/8 points down.. no bother to them … great times brian (Meath) - Posts: 1955 - 30/11/2023 14:57:53 2515104 Link 5 |
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Now for some great wins in the NHL. In the spring of 1995 Meath beat the then All lreland champions by, I think a point in the NHL in Athboy and a week or possibly they went to Enniscorthy and beat Wexford by a goal. It was early days in Liam Griffin's term in charge of Wexford and nearly got fired on account of that result. According to Liam Dunne's autobiography one Wexford supporter yelled at him "to stick to frying rashers, you long nosed b....." probably as Liam was involved in the hotel business. Luckily for Liam, his abuser and Wexford he weathered the storm whipped up by a Meath team that could mix it with the best at the time and for a few years after that. Next best win was probably against Dublin in Navan a few years later. MillerX (Meath) - Posts: 1066 - 30/11/2023 17:40:08 2515120 Link 1 |
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Out of curiosity, considering we didn't win any league games in 2020, when was our last division 1 league win?. Very hard to pick out great group game wins considering we have been in division 2 (abd even division 3 for one season) for so long, aside from 2020. bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1365 - 02/12/2023 22:38:19 2515295 Link 2 |
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The last true division one victory was in the 90's… at the end of the 90's there was division 1A&B introduced for about 10 years.So there were 16 teams in division one… a mad system… but the GAA folks.
brian (Meath) - Posts: 1955 - 04/12/2023 10:35:58 2515433 Link 6 |
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This came to mind a few years ago when there was a lot of wailing about the shame of being in Div 3. Everyone seemed to forget we were regularly outside of a 16 team division 1, even under Sean Boylan.
CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1650 - 06/12/2023 12:46:58 2515735 Link 6 |
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Looking at Wikipedia we were relegated from 16 team Division 1 three times between 2001 and 2006 (each time being promoted back the following year). Looking at the tables for thoes years you would expect a big gap between finishing at the top and bottom of each table as division 1 represents top 16 teams (rather than 8) but this was not necessarily the case. In 2001 we performed badly in league and only got 3 points (but in championship later on obviously we won Leinster and got to All Ireland final). In 2004 we got relegated from 1B on 6 points but in the table 8 points would have got us top 2 in table and a league semi final. In 2006 we got relegated on 6 points but in the table 9 points would have got us top 2 in table and a league semi final. To me this points to two things which were different back then, there was not as big of a difference between the top and bottom teams in football and teams did not take the league as seriously back then. Meath's consistency in the NFL since it reverted back to a 4 division structure in 2008 is amazing, in 16 seasons we've played 14 times in division 2 and only got 1 relegation and 1 promotion in that time, other teams like Kildare have had multiple relegations/ promotions out of division 2 in that time. bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1365 - 09/01/2024 15:17:39 2519269 Link 2 |
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yes its crazy to think how consistent we have been since 2008, a good achievement in itself and ahead of the likes of derry, down, kildare, cork, louth and westmeath and cavan who go up and down divisions like mad. cavan are particularly crazy dropping up and down divisions, then going on promption runs during 3-4 seasons and odd time getting div 1. must be very frustrating knowing you are more than decent fottballers but ultimately implode or just never seem to fulfil potential. they will probabaly put on a displaay for the ages this year vs meath in breffni as they usually do.
dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 697 - 11/01/2024 15:51:20 2519655 Link 1 |
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Cavan this season will be competing in their 10th different division in 10 years which must be some sort of record me thinks…
ForeverBlue2 (Cavan) - Posts: 1972 - 17/01/2024 15:55:34 2520672 Link 0 |
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The game against Kerry in 2000 certainly comes to mind. The thing is Sean Boylan never seemed to take the league that seriously. It was preparation for the championship and that was it, so we never really seemed to perform to the level that was needed. LoyalRoyal (None) - Posts: 452 - 26/01/2024 11:58:05 2522162 Link 0 |
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Nostalgia sometimes makes old games seem wonderful but there were plenty of duds over the years even in the good old days. 1990 was a year to remember with league trips to Kiltoom and Casement Park in the spring bringing beatings of the likes we didn't think possible. But we somehow ended up in a Division 2 playoff with Tyrone and Mayo, before beating Donegal in the quarter-final, Cork in the semi-final and then Down in the final. Roger (Meath) - Posts: 473 - 30/01/2024 18:04:47 2523362 Link 2 |