O’Dowd uses break to advantage
The Royals were among four counties who belatedly joined the championship fun over the weekend just gone, six weeks after Leitrim and New York had cut the ribbon in the Bronx and seven after Meath and Monaghan met in the Division 3 final.
O’Dowd’s reasoning was solid enough: with a new management team and an evolving squad that boasted some less than familiar faces, the more time they had to prep for this initial audition the better.
O’Dowd opted against a detailed post-mortem on Saturday after this five-point win but did admit his side would need to discover another 20% to overcome Wexford in the provincial semi-final in two weeks’ time.
“It was the first round [for Meath] and we had been working hard for six weeks so you are never sure how it is going to go,” said the man from Skryne. “So, to get a win under those sort of circumstances is pleasing.”
It’s a fair assessment.
An Aughrim swept by wind and rain and humming with anticipation after the earlier defeat of Longford made for an awkward first assignment and Meath looked in real trouble as the first half ebbed away.
Though playing with the wind, the visitors had done more of the defending and led by just a single point, thanks to a Paul Earls goal for Wicklow when a penalty was harshly awarded against goalkeeper Paddy O’Rourke.
What followed was, for Wicklow, GUBU-esque.
Not only was Seanie Furlong’s limp spot-kick saved by O’Rourke but then Kevin Reilly’s speculative punt from his own 65 bounced on the square’s edge and zipped over goalkeeper John Flynn and into the net.
Bryan Menton added a point shortly after to complete a seven-point swing and, though O’Dowd sought to dilute the significance of that 60 seconds, it established a platform for Meath that Wicklow could never quite surmount.
But what of Meath? Was this just a meeting of minds between two mediocre sides or the first steps in what could be a significant journey for a county that has been tormented by inner turmoil for far too long?
Judgement must be reserved for now but Meath are probably on the right track and the manner in which they closed out this game after Wicklow’s early second-half surge was most impressive.
When Harry Murphy’s men landed four points in as many minutes on the restart, the crowd’s howls matched that of the elements. Meath appeared to be in considerable trouble yet they were comfortable come the final whistle.
“Yeah, they had the wind and got those scores straight after half time,” said O’Dowd. “You are not delighted when you see a six-point lead whittled down to two but at the same time you had plenty of faith that we would get our hands on the ball and do something. There was two good scores kicked that broke their momentum.”
Meath’s defence and midfield have been flagged as weaknesses for a number of years. There were concerning signs at stages in both departments here and yet, in Kevin Reilly and Brian Meade, they had star performers.
Reilly kept a close watch on Furlong throughout while Meade caught a world of ball in the second period when Meath absolutely needed it most and there was encouragement to be mined from the forwards too.
Graham Reilly cut deep into Wicklow’s heart time and again and claimed four points from play while the two youngsters making their championship debuts, Michael Newman (0-5 frees) and Eamonn Wallace (0-3) hit the ground running.
Most promising of all, perhaps, was a bench which emptied to provide an enviable class of reinforcements in the shape of former captain Seamus Kenny, Joe Sheridan, Brian Farrell and Paddy Gilsenan.
“That’s what we need,” said Graham Reilly. “It’s something we maybe lacked over the last couple of years… Those lads are pushing to get a start the next day. They want their turn and, you never know, they could be in the next day.”
Scorers for Wicklow: J McGrath 0-4 (3f), P Earls 1-0, A McLaughlin 0-3, S Furlong 0-2 (2f), D Hayden, P MacWalter, R Finn 0-1 each.
Scorers for Meath: M Newman 0-5 (5f), G Reilly 0-4, K Reilly 1-0, E Wallace 0-3, P Byrne, B Meade, J Sheridan, P Gilsenan, B Menton0-1 each.
Subs for Wicklow: JP Dalton for O’Sullivan (ht), P Dalton for JP Dalton (42), L Benson for Healy (48), B McCrea for Kelly (52), B Coen for Furlong (68).
Subs for Meath: S Kenny for Burke, P Harnan for Lenihan (both ht), B Farrell for Carroll (46), J Sheridan for Newman (61), P Gilsenan for Byrne (66).
Referee: C Lane (Cork).
