Rules confusion in Newry as Meath pull away from Down

Down’s Odhran Murdock tackles Seán Rafferty of Meath. Pic ©INPHO/Leah Scholes

Allianz NFL Division 2: Down 1-18 Meath 0-24 

Meath got the better of Down in front of a big crowd at Pairc Esler on Saturday evening in another exciting Allianz League Division 2 fixture that came close to the wire.

Both sides came into this game with a win and a loss under their respective belts so it was a big result for Robbie Brennan’s side as the competition edges towards the midway point.

The last time the counties met was at the 2023 Tailteann Cup final in Croke Park and while Meath claimed victory back then, there were a lot of personnel changes for both teams since then and the new rules have had a big impact on results.

Down came back from the dead against Cork in their previous fixture, so when Meath pulled away in the second half of this game, to lead by seven, it was well within the realms of possibility for Conor Laverty’s men to battle back.

They did get to within two before the finish but Meath held firm to claim the points.

The new rules allowed both sides to notch up scores quickly, but there was also some controversy on Saturday when two points were awarded to Meath for a Ronan Jones score that was clearly inside the arc. When the decision was questioned after the game, the reasoning that the extra point stood was unclear.

With a three-point margin of victory, it may not have mattered much on this occasion but the confusion about some of the rules was something both managers addressed after the game.

There was nothing between the teams for much of this match, with the sides level five times before Ryan McEvoy scored a maximum for Down set up by Shay Millar just after the half hour mark.

The Royals responded by hitting two of the last three scores of the half to make it 1-9 to 0-10 at the short whistle.

Straight after the restart Meath were awarded a two-point free that Eoghan Frayne sent over the bar but Pat Havern replied with a point at the other end putting the hosts back into a narrow lead. 

There was still nothing to separate the sides and they were level again 1-11 to 0-14 until Meath upped their game and pulled away scoring seven points in a five-minute spell. Two of those were two-point scores from Jordan Morris who had a terrific game for Meath along with Frayne – both players scoring 0-8.

Down didn’t give up however and a couple of two point scores from sub Miceal Rooney and Daniel Guinness, added to points from Ceilum Doherty, Havern and Danny Magill, they got back to within two.

Meath held their nerve though and Frayne scored the last point of the game from a free to make it 0-24 to 1-18 when the buzzer sounded.

It was a good win for Meath wo play Roscommon at home next, while Down travel to Louth for their next fixture.

Scorers for Down: P Havern (0-9, 1tpf, 6f), R McEvoy (1-0), D Guinness (0-3, 1tp), C Doherty (0-2, 1tp), M Rooney (0-2, 1tp) D Magill (0-1), O Murdock (0-1). 

Scorers for Meath: J Morris (0-8, 1tp, 1tpf) E Frayne (0-8, 3f, 1tpf), B Menton (0-2), R Jones (0-2, 1tp), B Hogan (0-1,1’45); C Caulfield (0-1); J Flynn (0-1), S Walsh (0-1) 

DOWN: R Burns; P Fegan, P Laverty (Capt), C Doherty; R Magill, D Guinness, P McCarthy; C Mooney, R McEvoy; D Magill, O Murdock, J Guinness; O Savage, P Havern, C McCrickard. 

Subs: M Rooney for Mooney (h-t), A McClements for Millar (51), C Francis for Magill (54), E Brannigan for J Guinness (59), P Brooks for Doherty (63) 

MEATH: B Hogan; S Lavin, S Rafferty, D Keogan; B O’Halloran, S Coffey, C Caulfield; J Flynn, B Menton; C Duke, J Kinlough, R Jones; J Morris, S Walsh, E Frayne (Capt). 

Subs: A O’Neill for O’Halloran (45), J Conlon for Walsh (47), K Curtis for Duke (59), D Magowan for Kinlough (64), R Ryan for Rafferty (68) 

Referee: Sean Lonergan (Tipperary)