Gavin happy as champions stick to the blueprint

For a long time yesterday afternoon it looked as if Meath might just address the one gaping hole in a summer filled almost to the brim with sporting drama.

After 43 minutes of this Leinster final, Michael Newman sold a pair of outrageous dummies before clipping a point over the bar and down the throat of Hill 16 to level the tie and elevate the dizzying prospect of a result that would bring a slumbering football championship to life.

It wasn’t to be, but Meath have at least left evidence of their passing on a Dublin side that had reduced the Leinster championship to recessionary status this past decade or so. The irony is that the Dubs will be all the better for it come August’s Bank Holiday weekend.