Variety key to Meath's forward thinking says Brennan

The Royals claimed another scalp against Tyrone on Saturday night.

Mon, 16 Mar, 2026 - 08:57

Paul Keane

National Football League, Division 2: Meath 3-24 Tyrone 2-22

Robbie Brennan says the variety of Meath's attacks is a major asset as they close in on a return to Division 1 football.

In the penultimate group game of a campaign notable for Jack Flynn's booming two-pointers, the prolific scoring of Jordan Morris, Eoghan Frayne's subtle excellence and Aaron Lynch's craft, Jack O'Connor this time stood out, scoring 1-8 from play.

The speedy Curraha forward was away last year travelling and only made his first start of 2026 in Round 5 but has already put 1-15 on the board.

He helped Meath establish a 12-point lead 10 minutes into the second half at Croke Park and while Tyrone whittled it down to a two-point game late on, it proved to be enough of a cushion.

A draw in Tullamore next Sunday against rock bottom Offaly will be enough to secure Meath a League final place. Cork can say the same ahead of their trip to Tyrone, so a Meath-Cork rematch in the Division 2 final seems likely.

"I would think every one of our forwards are very different to each other," said Meath manager Brennan after watching his team clip 3-23 from play. "Very few of them are similar in what they do and how they play the game so I think that gives the opposition lots of different headaches.

"I think it's massive for us in a weird sort of way that Jordan was held scoreless from play, because Tyrone did really well on him, but the fact that Jordan was held like that and we were still able to score and looked strong up front, that was really good."

Meath didn't have the injured Mathew Costello either, their main man in attack for several seasons. And the fit-again James Conlon only got the last 12 minutes or so. There's still no Ronan Jones or Jack Kinlough either, two options in the half-forward line. O'Connor stepped up with an individual exhibition, hitting no less than four two-pointers and a goal.

"With Jack, we've encouraged him to just keep doing it and going for it," said Brennan. "There's some days it's not going to work and we still keep encouraging him to keep doing it. You say to him, 'Let's see can they handle you. If they can, they can. But if they can't, then keep at it'."

And yet O'Connor's 1-8 tally was still shy of Ethan Jordan's 1-9 for Tyrone. Initially, it was the Jordan show as the Eglish man registered 1-4 - the four points all came from 45s - in the opening 13 minutes alone.

Brennan felt Meath's early goal, from Lynch, blunted his own team's edge for a period and Tyrone took advantage to run up a 1-5 to 1-0 lead.

Then Meath came alive with four O'Connor two-pointers in a matter of 14 minutes before the same player darted in through a corridor of space and fired low to the Tyrone net.

Oisín O'Kane was the man in the Tyrone goals. Niall Morgan was initially listed as number 16 before being replaced as a sub ahead of the game by Jack Gibney from Eglish.

Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke was unavailable for media duties afterwards so there was no explanation around Morgan's absence or the surprise inclusion of Darragh Canavan, a second-half substitute, whose plans for a month-long break were scuppered by logistical problems linked to the war in Iran.

Four ahead at half time, Meath got the margin out to 12 after the restart with three more two-pointers, from Frayne and Ruairí Kinsella this time, along with a second Lynch goal.

Canavan's introduction coincided with another Tyrone purple patch and a couple of Jordan two-pointers, as well as a Niall Devlin goal, helped the 2025 All-Ireland semi finalists cut the gap to two points. But they never got any closer and Meath stretched the lead out to five by finishing the game with their eighth two-pointer, from the boot of goalkeeper Seán Brennan after Tyrone were punished for failing to keep four players back.

The Red Hands at least have no relegation concerns. As for Meath, their first win over Tyrone in eight games, stretching back to the 2007 All-Ireland quarter-final, has left them poised to return to Division 1 for the first time since 2020.

"We're just focusing on Tuesday, training on Tuesday, then it's on to Thursday and we'll head to Tullamore on Sunday," said Meath captain Frayne, refusing to indulge any hype.

The county SFC winner with Summerhill man did acknowledge that his own form is improving after a serious calf tear last November.

"I was surprised the injury was as bad as it was," said Frayne. "I was just delighted all the recovery and rehab went to plan but definitely I was rusty at the start of the League. I feel like I'm getting my sharpness back game by game now."

Meath scorers: J O'Connor (1-8, 4 tp); A Lynch (2-1); R Kinsella (0-5, 2 tp); E Frayne (0-4, 1 tp); S Brennan (0-2, tpf); J Morris (1 free), S Coffey, C Caulfield, B Menton (0-1 each).

Tyrone scorers: E Jordan (1-9, 4 45, 2 tp, 1 free); D McCurry (0-4, 2 frees); N Devlin (1-0); D Canavan (0-2, tp); R Canavan, R Cassidy (0-2 each); M Donnelly, S O'Donnell, J Clarke (0-1 each).

Meath: S Brennan; S Rafferty, S Lavin, B O'Halloran; D Keogan, S Coffey, C Caulfield; B Menton, J Flynn; J O'Connor, R Kinsella, A O'Neill; J Morris, E Frayne, A Lynch.

Subs: C O'Connor for O'Neill (51); C Hickey for J O'Connor (54); K Curtis for Lynch (54); J Conlon for Frayne (58); J Scully for Flynn (68).

Tyrone: O O'Kane; A Clarke, P Teague, C Quinn; J Clarke, N Devlin, M Rafferty; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; S O'Donnell, R Cassidy, C Daly; R Canavan, M Donnelly, E Jordan.

Subs: D McCurry for R Canavan (28); M McKernan for Rafferty (32); D Canavan for Daly (43); E McElholm for Cassidy (59); F Burns for Clarke (64).

Ref: N Cullen (Fermanagh).