McEnaney’s miserable Royal reign continues

SEAMUS McENANEY’S stock was already low in Meath after the opening three rounds of the Allianz League but it plummeted further yesterday after a dismal display at Páirc Tailteann.

The Monaghan man had taken a scalpel to the side which performed so poorly in the round three defeat to Antrim in Belfast two weeks ago but, if anything, this was worse. Much worse.

Meath managed just one point from play in the first 65 minutes. Not one of their much-vaunted forwards managed to raise a flag from anything other than dead balls and yet that is the least of their concerns. Men like Joe Sheridan and Shane O’Rourke will surely come good but the concerns further back the pitch — at centre-back and midfield in particular — offer far less room for encouragement.

Most worrying of all is the team’s total lack of momentum and pattern but the most notable aspect of all was the lack of intensity — aside from a brief flare-up at the death.

All that would be bad enough for your regular Meath manager but add in McEnaney’s birthplace and he is firmly wedged behind the black ball in the eyes of most Meath supporters less than three months into his tenure.

In fairness, he accepts as much.

“There’s no hiding,” he said. “That was the worst yet and there have been a few bad ones. There’s not a pile more to say. There are no excuses. We felt we would have a backlash after the performance in Antrim but we are in a bad place right now. It’s only ourselves that can dig our way out of it.

“The lads are working seriously hard for us in training but it is just nothappening for us in games at the minute. There will come a point when it will turn for us.”

However, with two points from four games, Division Three threatens.

“We’re in a bad place but, listen, Meath football has been in bad holes before and this management team has been in bad holes before and we will work our way out of it. That is the way it is.”

For those interested in grasping at straws, it could be argued that Meath were operating without the likes of full-back Kevin Reilly, wing-forward Graham Reilly and another key attacker in the shape of Stephen Bray to name but a few.

True, but Donegal were similarly hampered by the absence of defenders Leo McLoone and Barry Dunnion and yet Jim McGuinness’ side sailed serenely through the admittedly calm waters of Navan.

A glance through their starting 15 still revealed names like Michael Murphy, Colm McFadden, Rory Kavanagh, Karl Lacey, Neil McGee and Paul Durcan and McGuinness is clearly taking them in the rightdirection. A native of the county, he has been able to hit the ground running far quicker than McEnaney in his first season at the helm and they stand undefeated with two wins and a pair of draws under their belts without being fantastic.

They weren’t long in pulling away from Meath here, their first burst on the scoreboard coming towards the end of the first quarter with young Ryan Bradley in particular picking off some sublime scores.

Despite facing into the wind, Donegal ended the first-half 0-7 to 0-3 to the good. Meath were awful and went 26 minutes without a score at one point although they were well stocked for wides and shots into the keeper’s midriff.

The trend continued on the restart. Donegal widened the gap without setting the world alight, McEnaney emptied his bench and Meath just about kept the game alive with a handful of frees.

In reality, it looked beyond the Leinster champions with half an hour still to go. A pair of late goal chances came and went but Paddy Gilsenan’s effort grazing a post was the closest they came to any belated cheer.

Trevor Skelly wrapped matters up when he became the fourth Meath player to see red in three games after a crude challenge on David Walsh in injury-time. It could be a long year for Meath supporters, but a short summer.

Scorers for Meath: B Sheridan (0-2f); S O’Rourke (0-2f); B Meade (0-1); N Crawford (0-1); J Sheridan (0-1 ‘45’); B Farrell (0-1f); T Skelly (0-1).

Scorers for Donegal: M Murphy (0-6, 2f); R Bradley (0-3); C McFadden (0-3, 2f); R Kavanagh (0-2); D Molloy (0-1).

MEATH: B Murphy; B Menton, A Moyles, C King; G O’Brien, C McGuinness, A Nestor; B Meade, N Crawford; S Kenny, J Sheridan, S McAnarney; D Morgan, B Sheridan, S O’Rourke.

Substitutes: E Harrington for Moyles (48); P Gilsenan for Kenny (48); T Skelly for O’Brien (48); M Ward for Menton (53); B Farrell for B Sheridan (54).

DONEGAL: P Durcan; P McGrath, N McGee, K Lacey; A Thompson, F McGlynn, K Cassidy; R Kavanagh, M McElhinney; M Hegarty, M McHugh, D Molloy; R Bradley, M Murphy, C

McFadden.

Substitutes: D Walsh for Hearty (50); N Gallagher for McElhinney (69); A Hanlon for McFadden (69).

Referee: M Higgins (Fermanagh).