MEATH… 2-18
ROSCOMMON… 0-17
Do not adjust your sets. This is not a drill. There may be genuine grounds for optinism. Not cockiness. Not arrogance. Hope. Whilst loathe to over egg the pudding, this was a significant shift put in by this Meath team.
For not only was it a victory over a team who, wholly correctly, would have been considered to rank quite a bit ahead of our lads, but it was achieved in such a manner that it allowed the heart flutter a little when contemplating the bounty of potential within this group. And on the fringes thereof.
Now, don’t ask me how, but there’s obviously a bit of what Liam Hayes calls “Sean Boylan’s magic dust” lying around the Pairc Tailteann dressing room. Because some of what they have done at this early stage of the season is straight out of the herbalist’s playbook.
Beginning with Eoghan Frayne – who must be one of if not the actual youngest senior inter county captain in the country – being mature and ballsy enough to follow the Meath tradition of playing into the wind if winning the toss.
Then, between the magic dust and (Joe) McMahon mechanics, so far Brennan’s brigade have used a combination of Boylan basics and new-fangled nuance to come up with a defensive system that combines, as a famous rugby personality once termed it, disciplined manic aggression – i.e. what I often refer to as swarm defence, surrounding the opponent in possession and literally suffocating the life out of attacks, and a more subtle but no less effective form of drift defence also seen in rugby.
Again, all predicated on numbers. The defencive unit drift across in numbers to where the point of the opposing attack is. Though perhaps not with the intensity of the swarm approach, the idea generally is to drive the incoming attack from side to side until they run out of energy, ideas or both.
Where the paradigm has been shifted by the implementation of the new rules is that, where up to now, the emphasis has been on quick transition by way of bunch and break, there has been a notable and hugely welcome retro fitting of the popularity of the long ball.
And, in recording a highly significant and exciting victory over previously undefeated Roscommon, Meath produced a beautiful brew of all of the above. Having taken the brave decision to forego the at least perceived advantage of the aid of the elements, thanks to the organised chaos that was the Meath defencive effort and two wonderfully converted 45s from adventurous custodian Billy Hogan, chances are the home side would’ve been content enough to be only four adrift before turning to shoot into what would be the recognised scoring goals in Pairc Tailteann, at the Navan O’Mahonys end.
That said, that very factor may explain some of their giddiness in the early stages of the second half when the shoot-on-site policy appeared to get off the leash like a terrier chasing a tennis ball. At which point the primrose and blue served up another pair of booming aces to bolster their buffer to a half dozen.
Indeed, the green and gold may have been catapulted into an even bigger mire were it not for frantic goal line clearances from Hogan and Ciaran Caulfield, but, to the credit of all concerned, the near misses appeared to be just the wake up call all and sundry required. Because, within minutes of said salvation being found, they had emphatically swung the momentum to their own benefit.
With what one might title strong Coffey and the Duke of Dunshaughlin. With a dollop of ingenuity from ‘Indiana’ Jones thrown in to garnish the winning recipe. Firstly, you had Sean Coffey getting on the end of a brilliant passing move to rattle the Rossie’s net and then, before the goal umpire had time to have placed the green flag back in the ground, he was hoisting it again after the dominant Ronan Jones burst through the middle and planted another ‘major’ past Conor Carroll.
However, though the following might surprise a few given the immediately preceding passage, I believe it was the intervention of the Duke of Dunshaughlin, Conor Duke that is, which was the real momentum swinger for the home side. The emerging star driving over consecutive monstrous double aces and when Eoghan Frayne made it a hat-trick thereof in succession from a free, it guaranteed another treble of great importance – league wins in a row.
Which, despite the management’s sensible and understandable mantra of “One day at a time”, surely allows at least an optimistic glance up the table. However, at the same time, knowing the way local derbies can play out, no matter how Westmeath might appear to be struggling, they will just short of rise from the dead to have a crack at the green and gold.
So, while the guarded, cautious optimism being espoused within the Meath camp is wholly understandable, we’re well entitled to it.
SCORERS – E. Frayne (0-6, 2F, 1 x 2PT), C. Duke (0-5, 2 x 2PT), B. Hogan and J. Morris (0-2 each), C. Caulfield, S. Walsh and A. Lynch (0-1 each).
MEATH – B. Hogan; S. Lavin, S. Rafferty, D. Keogan; A. O’Neill, S. Coffey, C. Caulfield; J. Flynn, B. Menton; C. Duke, J. Kinlough, R. Jones; J. Morris, S. Walsh, E. Frayne.
SUBS – B. O’Halloran for O’Neill, A. Lynch for Walsh, D. McGowan for Jones, M. Murphy for Caulfield.
Referee – Joe McQuillan (Cavan)
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