Magnificent Royals lay down a marker

AT LAST.

Clear signs of life in Leinster beyond The Pale.

Meath travelled to Portlaoise yesterday with a couple of All-Ireland semi-final appearances to their credit in recent years but on the back of a so-so league that buttressed their enigmatic reputation.

With Kildare suffering an equally fitful spring and counties like Laois, Westmeath and Wexford disappearing back into the pack of mediocrity, it was hard to see beyond a sixth successive provincial title for Dublin. Until yesterday, that is.

Consistency hasn’t been Meath’s forte in recent times so who knows how they will fare against Laois in next month’s quarter-final but, on this evidence, they will be fancied to advance. In Joe Sheridan, Shane O’Rourke and Stephen Bray, Meath have three of the country’s best forwards and Cian Ward is possibly the game’s best free-taker when the mood takes him.

At times, it was men against boys.

Both sides started with two men making championship debuts but Tom Cribbin, who has overseen a radical overhaul of the Offaly panel this year, awarded five more before the afternoon was out.

For a team so young and fragile of confidence, Offaly needed everything to go their way if they were to entertain hopes of a shock win and, unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

They weren’t helped by the dismissal of midfielder John Coughlan two minutes after the break, Cribbin talked it up later as the game’s defining moment but if it affected anything it was the margin of victory rather than the result itself.

Meath struggled for fluency in the early stages but the points soon began to arrive with disturbing regularity for an Offaly team that contributed directly to three of them through careless play from defence.

There were other self-inflicted wounds at the far end where Niall Darby skewed two frees wide (and another after the break) but Offaly remained in the hunt thanks to their one standout forward.

Niall McNamee only finished the game with a single point but, though playing with a hamstring strain, he was the source of Offaly’s goals after 22 and 34 minutes. A clever handpass over his shoulder to the onrushing Brian Connor set up the first and a stunning take and feed across the Meath square to Ken Casey produced the second. Both came after a run of Meath scores when the game threatened to get away from Offaly. In fact, only a Paddy O’Rourke save from McNamee prevented Offaly from taking a lead into the tunnel.

Meath were missing injured full-back Kevin Reilly and centre-back Cormac McGuinness and Eamon O’Brien will be praying that one or both can return quickly.

As it was, with the one-man advantage after Coughlan’s dismissal, Nigel Crawford dominating in midfield and their forwards making hay, Meath negotiated the second half without any further lapses.

Ward rattled over free after free, O’Rourke landed a dazzler from play and Sheridan wrapped everything up neatly with a goal three minutes from time.

Meath: Paddy O'Rourke; Chris O'Connor, Anthony Moyles, Eoghan Harrington; Gary O'Brien (0-1), Michael Burke, Caoimhín King; Nigel Crawford (0-1), Mark Ward; Seamus Kenny, Joe Sheridan (1-3), Graham Reilly; Cian Ward (0-8), Shane O'Rourke (0-4), Stephen Bray (0-2). Subs: Peadar Byrne, Brian Farrell (0-1), Conor Gillespie, Brian Meade.

Offaly: Alan Mulhall; Shane Sullivan, Scott Brady, Padraig Sullivan; Ciaran Kiely, Richie Dalton, Karl Slattery; Ciaran McManus, John Coughlan; Niall Darby (0-2), Brian Connor (1-0), Sean Ryan; Ken Casey (1-2), John Reynolds (0-1), Niall McNamee (0-1). Subs: Anton Sullivan (0-1), Alan Lynam, Brian Geraghty, Ross Brady.

Referee: D Fahy (Longford).