MEATH…2-18
DONEGAL…1-16
No matter what competition structure a governing body in any code put together, there will always be somebody left feeling hard done by if they end up on the wrong side of a tight margin call. Whether their umbrage is justified or not.
Think of Thierry Henry’s disgraceful handball against Ireland that Stevie Wonder would have spotted. Or, yes, Joe Sheridan exhaustively engaging the old maxim of ‘play the whistle’ against Louth in 2010. Or Neil Back of Leicester and England getting away with blatant scrum interference in a European Cup Final against Munster which, the non penalisation of which, ended up costing the Irish side victory.
The hurlers of Meath will no doubt be wracked with such misgivings having lost out on a Christy Ring Cup Final berth by means of score difference after Derry had taken advantage of home comforts against already qualified Kerry when reeling in their visitors from the deep south and nabbing an unexpected – but by the sounds of it deserved – victory.
And therein lies the bitter crust for the Royal stickmen to digest. He must have had a sense of foreboding because Johnny Greville’s observation in the wake of last week’s draw against Derry that he “Hope(d) that didn’t come back to haunt us” did indeed bite them in the backside.
That being the surrender of a seven point lead to actually fall a point adrift before Tom Shine sensationally salvaged what at the time looked like a crucial draw.
As such, Meath did as much as they could have to hold up their end of the bargain. On the day at least. Getting off to a fine start as Lorcan O’Connor, Daire Shine, a brace from Mark Leavy and a couple of Tom Shine frees gave the visitors a 0-09 to 0-07 buffer at the midway point.
To be fair to the steadily improving men from the north west, through Brian McIntyre and Liam McKinney and Gerry Gilmore, they lay up with Meath until well into the third quarter.
But goals in the 48th and 62nd minutes from Damien Healy and Mikey Cole respectively meant that, even despite a Ruairi Campbell goal with four minutes to go, Meath had done enough to hold on with a bit to spare.
The problem, however, was that the damage was already done.
SCORERS – T. Shine (0-8, 7F), M. Cole (1-2), M. Leavy (0-5), D. Healy (1-0), L. O’Connor, D. Shine and J. Cole (0-1 each).
MEATH – G. King; J. Ennis, S. Geraghty, L. O’Connor; E. Donegan, D. Shine, A. Healy; S. Coloe, S. Ennis; D. Healy, L. Byrne, T. Shine; M. Cole, J. Cole, M. Leavy.
SUBS – K. Donnelly for Geraghty (25), D. O’Higgins for Donnelly (37), F. Flynn for Coloe (44), K. Ennis for Leavy (67)
Referee – Michael Connolly (Sligo)
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