The tried and trusted prints Meath’s Final ticket

Meath…2-16

Antrim…2-14

Speculation iterated in this space with regard to Colm O’Rourke’s team announcement prior to today’s Tailteann Cup semi final held true as the Meath boss ended up reversing the two changes announced in the original ensemble. Thankfully, though, what didn’t change were the mechanics of winning which have been etched into the DNA of Meath football since God was a gasun. Now read on…

Two powerful men – Jack Flynn and Conor Gray – dominating the Dublin 3 skies, forwards feasting on long, direct, ‘old fashioned’ ball – kicking scores of the type An mBainisteoir was famed for – and a defence with the ravenous appetite for work and deft skill set to do it like a lad polishing off a snack box and bottle of Lucozade after a 12 hour shift at the harvest.

However, any match that produces 34 scores must have two good teams and by God this one had. Though it will be scant consolation to Andy McEntee and his entourage this evening, this was surely the best display ever by an Antrim football team. At various stages here, Marc Jordan, the two Ruairi McCanns, Adam Loughran and Dominic McEnhill caused the Meath rearguard no end of problems.

The sides went point for point in the early stages with Jordan Morris, Mat Costello and Aaron Lynch shooting well into the Canal End. When Lynch impishly drilled low to the net on the run-in to half time it appeared O’Rourke’s charges were about to take a foothold, but the referee barely had that score recorded when the Safrons were gifted a cheaply coughed up penalty which McEnhill duly buried to give them an unlikely half time advantage but one which you couldn’t argue with.

They actually embellished their position after the break before Meath took over and played the best football of Colm’s tenure so far. Flynn and Gray took over at midfield – both driving over monstrous scores – Costello anf Morris were electrifying in attack and when the latter blasted past Michael Byrne in the Antrim goal, many would have assumed it was game over.

That, however, wouldn’t take the man in the opposition dugout into the equation. It’s not in the man’s psyche to give up. Nor would it be accepted from any team with which he’s involved. So there was almost an inevitability about it when they began to whittle away Meath’s 2-13 to 1-08 lead. As it was at its peak.

When Patrick McBride eventually found a route past the outstanding Sean Brennan in the Royal goal, the doubters and naysayers were probably sharpening their knives as it only left two between the sides – 2-13 to 2-11 – but there’s something special about this Meath team.

Not new, just different. All the old traits are there, but combined now with the players’ visible ability to change things on the field themselves if needs be. Today was the first time you could really see Sean Boylan’s imprint all over this team’s performance.

Yes the long kick passing and essaying scores from way out the field, but even more so in a defencive sense. The point has often been made by yours truly that, to some extent, Sean had been implimenting blanket defence before it was ever popular.

Often sacrificing David Beggy and PJ Gillic in order to curb the influence of Dublin wing backs Paul Curran and Eamon Heery going forward. It wasn’t so much that today as what could best be described as swarm defence. Mass congestion of an opponent with the ball with the ultimate aim of affecting a turnover.

Sources indicated to this writer very early in the year that soundings were obtained from those of proven efficiency with the oval ball from a defending standpoint. There was certainly a bit of drift defending about it when several Antrim attacks were enticed into a phalanx Meath tacklers.

All of which lead to some invaluable turnovers which culminated in Morris (two) and Costello curling over superb scores to ease the cardiac conditions of an entire county.

Maybe not the perfect performance, but any day you kick 2-14 of your tally from play, win and still have a few small bits to work on before a final is not a bad day’s work.

MEATH – S. Brennan; A. O’Neill, R. Ryan, H. O’Higgins; D. Keogan, P. Harnan, S. Coffey; J. Flynn (0-2), C. Gray (0-1); C. Hickey (0-1), J. McEntee (0-1), J. O’Connor (0-1); J. Morris (1-4), M. Costello (0-4, 1F), A. Lynch (1-2, 1M).

SUBS – C. Caulfield for O’Higgins, D. Lenihan for McEntee, C. O’Sullivan for Lynch, D. McGowan for O’Connor, R. Jones for Hickey.