Moyles and Meath aiming for a return to the big time

FROM the stands in the Gaelic Grounds last July, Anthony Moyles was tormented by what was unfolding in front of him. Limerick were careering away from his Meath teammates like a runaway train with Ian Ryan lashing balls to the Royals net for fun.

Moyles watched on helplessly, unable to intervene due to an operation to cure a Gilmore’s Groin problem quickly followed up by the AC joint in his shoulder snapping out of place. In his absence Meath lurched through 2008 from one surreal defeat to another. In the Leinster championship they helped kickstart Wexford’s ride of romance having utterly destroyed the Model men in the first-half before becoming victims of a startling comeback as Wexford pipped them by a point. Still reeling, Limerick then knocked them to the floor.

“I don’t care what anyone says but that Limerick defeat started when we lost the second-half of that Wexford game,” says Moyles. “When you go from hero to zero in the space of 35 minutes, it’s very hard to pull yourself back. We were very fragile mentally after that. We probably thought we’d go down and scrape over Limerick, but we didn’t expect what they’d throw at us. Suddenly we were 17 points down. We were very lazy in that game. It was the lowest point of my football career watching that game.”