Depleted Royals focus on Carlow
The direct consequence is that they will be missing five first-choice players, four of whom played in the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork last year.
On the positive side, the four-week terms imposed on defenders Darren Fay, Caoimhín King and forward Peadar Byrne, end at midnight tonight.
“We didn’t know where we stood until the appeals process was over earlier in the week,” said selector Tommy Dowd.
Without in any way undermining the role of any of the other players ruled out (and for the quarter-final against Wexford if they advance), Dowd agrees that the loss of goalkeeper Brendan Murphy represents a serious blow.
“Brendan would be the bigger loss. No disrespect to the other lads, but your first-choice ‘keeper would definitely be more influential. He’s the captain of the team as well, an inspirational player. Of all the lads that are gone, that kind of left us in a hole.’’
All going well, replacement ‘keeper Mick Ahern will make his championship debut tomorrow, having been rested as a precaution (after a groin strain) for the challenge with Mayo which followed the opening of a new pitch in Dunderry at the weekend.
Young Skryne player Paddy O’Rourke (a nephew of Colm’s) was brought in to cover for him.
Meath had mixed luck in the League, drawing with Roscommon, going under to Westmeath, Monaghan and Dublin, and winning against Armagh (impressively) and Cavan. And, they also picked up two points from their abandoned game with Cork.
“We were kind of ‘hot and cold.’ We would have liked to do a bit better, but we were trying out different players in different positions and the League gives you the opportunity to do that. We definitely won’t lose a whole lot of sleep over it. The big one is to get over Sunday.”
Apart from a meeting in the 2006 qualifier competition (which Meath won by eight points), the counties have clashed only six times in the provincial championship. And Carlow lost in all of them.
Last season, Meath did much better than expected in the championship, taking Dublin to a replay in the Leinster semi-final which they lost narrowly and then enjoying a terrific run in the qualifier competition which saw them beat Down, Fermanagh and Galway before taking Tyrone’s scalp in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
However, they failed to play up to standard in the semi-final, in a game in which Cork produced their best form of the entire campaign but were still flattered by their performance.
“We feel that we didn’t do ourselves justice against Cork,’’ he added. “We were always aiming to go one place further and get to an All-Ireland final.
“We are going into the unknown a little bit. At the end of the day you play Gaelic football to get into Croke Park and enjoy it and do the best you can. We’re hoping that the lads can play up to scratch and perform well.’’
The availability of Darren Fay, Caoimhín King and Peadar Byrne is a welcome boost, he agrees, saying that the management ‘are delighted’ to be able to call on their experience. And, he paid tribute to Fay, along with the evergreen Graham Geraghty for their continuing commitment to Meath football.
“Their enthusiasm is greater than ever,’’ he commented. “You’d see still out on the field after training with a couple of lads kicking around, after everybody else comes in. He has a great hunger for the game, still happy ‘to go at it’ as he was from day one. All the lads have the height of admiration for him!’’
Dowd shies away from making any predictions about their prospects of doing well in Leinster, rejecting the suggestion that they represent the biggest challenge to Dublin making it four in a row under Paul Caffrey. “You have Laois and Westmeath going well, we definitely wouldn’t be the only one,’’ he stated. “We can’t look any further than Carlow.”
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