The outstanding form of debutant corner forward Daithi Regan was one of the main features of Meath's 2003 championship season. Speaking to Gerry Robinson, the St Michael's clubman reflects on a year when the Royals blew hot and cold. If football matches lasted 20 minutes, Meath would probably have won the Leinster championship and the All-Ireland in 2003. Alas, however, they don't and the Royals' failure to sustain their effort over the full 70 cost them dearly. While the season ended prematurely on a note of abject disappointment with defeat to Fermanagh at Clones on Sunday July 6th, there were many positives from which comfort could be gleaned. In the opening stages of their clashes with Westmeath, Kildare and Monaghan, Meath produced some of the best football witnessed in the '03 championship season. Their movement was awesome, their fluency frightening and their economy in front of goal unforgiving. When they were on song, Meath looked more capable of going all the way. Consistency was a problem, however. Sean Boylan also introduced some fresh blood and, without exception, the newcomers made telling contributions. Most conspicuous of all was right corner forward Daithi Regan, who slipped into the Royals' championship XV with a minimum of fuss and also assumed free-taking responsibilities. All in all, it was a good year for the Carlanstown sharpshooter, even if it did end on a disappointing note when injury ruled him out of the Fermanagh game. As it transpired, that was Meath's last outing of a helter-skelter season. Sifting through the ashes, Meath's latest outstanding attacker notes: "From a personal point of view it was an enjoyable year. It was tough at times but enjoyable. Obviously the injury and the late free against Kildare were disappointing but you can't change these things and in general I was happy enough with how things went. "Our approach was extremely professional. The previous year, there was a lot of running at Fairyhouse and that was a real slog, but this time Colm Brady came in and training was more enjoyable, with more drills and an emphasis on speed and sharpness as well as a lot of gym work." It was just as well the Meath lads were fit - they were asked to play four championship games inside 21 days at the start of June! Meath kicked off their campaign with a (2-13 apiece) draw with Westmeath at Croke Park on Sunday June 1st. Having led by 1-10 to 0-8 at the interval, Meath were subjected to a strong second-half fightback and just about held on for a replay. Portlaoise was the venue for the rematch six days later and this time the Green & Golds made no mistake, romping to a comprehensive 1-11 to 0-5 success, with Regan's unerring accuracy punishing the midlanders at every available opportunity. The first hiccup came against Kildare in a Leinster semi-final at Croke Park on June 14th. Meath stormed into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead early on but lost their way and conceded ten unanswered points before the break. Despite a rousing fightback, they lost by a point, 0-15 to 1-11. Agonisingly, Daithi Regan's late free somehow drifted inches wide. Attention was now switched to the qualifiers. The game against Monaghan at Clones a week later was Meath's fourth inside three weeks. Any worries that fatigue might be a factor were dispelled when the favourites roared into a 2-8 to 0-2 half-time lead and, despite a spirited fightback from Colm Coyle's men, Meath held out for a 2-10 to 0-12 win. Victory came at a cost for Daithi Regan, however. In setting up David Crimmins for the winners' second goal, he sustained a freak injury - a broken bone in his wrist. It was a big blow for the Royals as the St Michael's man had been contributing an average of five points per game up until then and was their primary (and only left-footed) freetaker. Despite the 'luxury' of a two-week rest, Meath failed to perform against Fermanagh and their season ended unexpectedly at Clones on July 6th. "We had a two-week break before the Fermanagh game, so tiredness wasn't an excuse, but I suppose the injuries didn't help our cause. Shane McKeigue picked up a thigh injury, so we were missing two of our full forward line and Donal Curtis' suspension was also a factor ... but on the other hand the return of Ollie Murphy was a big boost. "However, for some reason we didn't get going at all. We seemed to be dead on our feet and when Ollie got injured you could sense that it wasn't going to be our day. "Definitely the two-week break gave us a chance but once Fermanagh got the goal they didn't hang around. They went for it and we had no answer." Meath went into the game in a no-win situation, as red-hot favourites. Did this place them under added pressure? "We didn't really feel any pressure. It was a championship match and we genuinely felt we were good enough to win. We gave it our best shot on the day but it wasn't to be. "Once they got the scent of victory they played some inspirational football. They got five points on the trot and Raymond Gallagher and Tom Brewster hit two of the best points I've ever seen. They were completely on top, gobbling up every breaking ball and defending tenaciously. They were really up for it in the end." The shockwaves rippled throughout the Royal County and, indeed, nationwide. This was a Meath team fancied to feature in the business end of the race for Sam. "We thought it was going to be a big year," Regan admits. "It was a devastating defeat and it was so frustrating sitting there knowing you could do nothing about it." Frustration abounded: "Trevor [Giles] said to me before the game to watch out for all the frees we'd get in my corner and sure enough the first four frees we got were ideal for a left-footed kicker but impossible for a right-footer. Three or four points at that stage could have made a huge difference to the final outcome. If we'd been further ahead at half-time, they might have lost heart." For years acknowledged as one of the most effective club forwards in the Royal County, Daithi joined the Meath senior panel in 2002 and nailed down his '03 championship place with a string of impressive league performances. After a year on the periphery of the team, he made his championship debut against Westmeath and went on to have a superb year. Was he pleased with how things transpired? "Yes, apart from the free against Kildare! If I'd popped that one over we'd still have been in the Leinster championship. But we should've had two more frees after that when Graham [Geraghty] was fouled and never got them. I was very disappointed to miss, I was sure I'd get it. Maybe I was a little too careful with it..." After the Kildare game, Plan B came into operation. The original target had been to win Leinster: "Even though we definitely wanted to win a Leinster championship, the Kildare defeat didn't set us back too much because we went out and gave a devastating display in the first half against Monaghan. But we tired in the second half. "Four games in successive weeks is tough going at that level. You're getting belts in the games and you're getting knocks in training as well - it all adds up and takes its toll eventually." With no silverware to show for all the effort, Daithi admits that 2003 was ultimately a disappointment for Meath. He's confident that '04 will prove more fruitful: Everyone's writing us off but we're still a young team and there's a lot of talent there. We owe it to ourselves to give it a lash again next year and we owe it to Sean as well because he has invested an awful lot into Meath football and into this team. "We showed a lot of potential at times during the year and played some impressive football. We created three good goalscoring opportunities in the first half against Kildare and if we'd taken those we'd have been through to a Leinster final. The movement up front was very good and we were giving defenders plenty to think about. "We can make a big impression next year. Ollie [Murphy] was flying and had been playing as well as he'd ever played before he broke his shoulder. You're talking about one of the top forwards in the country and we only had him for about 20 minutes. It was very disappointing for Meath to lose him for the championship - and also for Ollie because he's been a great servant to Meath football. "You don't become a bad team in one year. The talent is still in Meath and we have some of the best footballers in the country. We know we're a good team and hopefully we can prove it next year. We only showed glimpses of our potential in 2003. We played some lovely football at times - the trick now is to sustain that and we'll be a real force to be reckoned with." Tweet

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