We were lucky, admits O’Brien

THE post-match headlines were dominated by the controversial climax to yesterday’s Leinster final but away from the furore surrounding Joe Sheridan’s goal, the Meath camp admitted that they had been fortunate to claim the title after a patchy performance over the 70 minutes. Meath were anointed as provincial champions after blitzing Dublin for five goals in the Leinster semi-final yet they struggled to match those expectations here.

“In terms of the way the game was won we are pleased to be Leinster champions but there are lots of things that we wouldn’t be happy with in our performance”, conceded Meath manager Eamonn O’Brien. “If you take Louth’s second-half performance maybe they deserved a lot more out of that game but that is football.

“Football and sport is a cruel game at times and we have been on the receiving end of cruel things over the last eight or nine years. These players have suffered a lot of disappointments. I don’t begrudge them the victory here today. The game lasts for 70 minutes and you have to keep going until the end and when there is only a point in it the game is always there for the taking.”