Super-sub Tobin draws
AFTER trailing by five points and looking out of contention, Meath staged a dramatic revival to lead by four going into added time of this topsy-turvy NFL Division 2 opener at Dr Hyde Park Roscommon last Sunday.
However the story of this encounter doesn’t end there as the Royals then let what looked a certain win slip from their grasp. They were forced to settle for a share of the spoils following an equalising penalty goal from Donie Smith in the seventh minute of added time.
It was the second successive outing that Andy McEntee’s side squandered a four -point advantage in added time, after also pulling up short of the winning post in the O’Byrne Cup semi-final against Longford.
And while most Meath supporters would have gladly settled for a draw at one stage in the second half, a disappointed manager was in no doubt when asked afterwards if this was a point lost.
‘Without a shadow of a doubt. Great spirit, great heart, four points up, injury time, we draw the game. You can look at it any way you like - it was a point lost,’ a despondent McEntee said.
‘We came down to win the game, that is why we work as hard as we do. In fairness we turned the game around. From five points down to four points up, a nine-point swing, and then we stop doing what has got us there in the first place. That is what is disappointing.
‘We started going side-ways and back-ways instead of going at them and that’s what turned the game around. I think it is like a lot of teams, you see the winning line and you start to back off. That is possibly what happened.
‘That is what happened against Longford. I don’t want to be too harsh - the truth is lads put in a great effort on a heavy pitch. A strong wind, and to come from five down and go four up was a massive achievement. You have got to be able to see out games at that stage though.’
Regarding the penalty decision which resulted after a Roscommon player seemed to be bundled over, McEntee said: ‘Referees being referees, penalty, injury time, the scores are equal afterwards, it’s an easy decision to make. I’m not arguing with the penalty, I’m arguing that they got up there into a position to get the penalty, that is the part that is annoying.’
Roscommon, who were relegated from the top tier last year after recording their only win of the campaign against Cavan when their fate had already being decided, were full value for their 1-11 to 1-6 lead by the 46th minute. However, they then suffered a blow when Diarmuid Murtagh, scorer of five points, was forced to leave the action with an injury.
That took much of the sting out of the Roscommon attack, though it was the introduction of a number of substitutes that eventually helped turned the game in Meath’s favour.
Padraig McKeever, who came on at the start of the second half, fired over three points in that revival, which saw Meath register 1-6 in a row. McKeever’s Simonstown teammate Sean Tobin contributed two points, while the goal came from Eamon Wallace after Tobin had created the opening.
Wallace’s goal was Meath’s last score, after corner back Seamus Lavin had earlier shot the Royals ahead on 65 minutes.
The game was in added time when Finbar Cregg cut the deficit from a free, and then in a pulsating finish Meath squandered possession and when Cregg went down in the penalty area referee Barry Cassidy pointed to the spot.
Penalty taker Donie Smith, who had only entered the fray 10 minutes earlier, was forced to endure an agonising wait as black cards were flashed at the Wallace brothers, Joey and Eamon.
However, Smith held his composure and produced an expert finish, giving keeper Andy Colgan no chance.
Colgan, making his league debut, earlier prevented Roscommon from building a much more substantial lead by producing brilliant saves to deny Conor Devaney and Enda Smith.
The Connacht champions played against the strong breeze in the opening half but were off the mark following two early points from Diarmuid Murtagh.
Ben Brennan opened Meath’s account from a free and then on 10 minutes Cillian O’Sullivan raced through after being set up by Graham Reilly and the Moynalvey man finished with aplomb to the Rossies’ net.
Meath were then punished for some sloppy play and they sides were level, 0-4 to 1-1, mid-way through the half following a Niall Kilroy point.
Worse was to follow for Meath as the rampant Murtagh set Sean Mullooly free and the centre back produced a superb finish with a lob over the head of the advancing Colgan for Roscommon’s opening goal.
The hosts eventually went three points clear and Meath were fortunate that the gap wasn’t bigger, before points late in the half from Thomas O’Reilly (free) and Joey Wallace left the minimum between the teams at the break, the home side ahead 1-6 to 1-5.
Kevin McStay’s charges added further points from Ciaran Lennon, David Murray and Diarmuid and Ciaran Murtagh before James McEntee opened Meath’s second-half account.
It looked all over when that lead stretched even further. However there was a response from Meath and whether it was a point gained or a point lost will only be determined when the Division 2 standings are finalised following the last round of matches. MEATH: A Colgan; S Lavin 0-1, C McGill, M Burke; D Keogan, B Power, S McEntee; B Menton 0-1, A Flanagan; J McEntee 0-1, B Brennan 0-2fs, G Reilly; J Wallace 0-1, C O’Sullivan 1-0, T O’Reilly 0-1f. Subs: B Conlon for Burke (30), P McKeever 0-3 (1f) for O’Reilly (h-t), E Wallace 1-0 for Brennan (46), S Tobin 0-2 (1f) for Reilly (47), D O’Neill for O’Sullivan (59), A Douglas for B Power (BC 70), E Wallace and J Wallace (BC 75, not replaced).
ROSCOMMON: C Lavin; D Murray 0-1, J McManus, N McInerney; F Lennon, S Mullooly 1-0, C Devaney; T O’Rourke, I Kilbride; N Daly, N Kilroy 0-1, E Smith 0-1; D Murtagh 0-5 (2f), C Lennon 0-1, C Murtagh 0-2 (1f). Subs: Finbar Cregg 0-1f for Kilbride (26), C Daly for D Murtagh (46), C Cregg for Kilroy (53), P Domican for Murray (BC 60), D Smith 1-0 pen for C Murtagh (64).
REF: B Cassidy (Derry) AFTER producing strong displays when introduced against Longford in the O’Byrne Cup and last Sunday in the opening round of the NFL against Roscommon, Sean Tobin will be hoping to get the nod from manager Andy McEntee when the team is announced to take on Clare at Pairc Tailteann this Sunday at 2pm.
The Simonstown clubman scored 1-2 following his second-half introduction in the O’Byrne Cup semi-final and he played a pivotal role in the county’s revival in the opening league encounter at Dr Hyde Park.
‘At the end of the day I’ll play any role I’m asked for the county,’ Tobin said. ‘If I’m asked to come off the bench and make an impact that is what I will do. I’m enjoying my football and looking forward to Sunday.
‘It was a strange game against Roscommon, end-toend stuff. Both teams were trying to break each other on the counter,’ the two-time Keegan Cup winner continued.
‘A tough day for football, the underfoot conditions were very slippy. We went four points up, maybe we could have held onto the ball better at that stage and converted another chance to go five points ahead. But we let them back into the game and to be fair to Roscommon they dug deep and Donie Smith took the penalty well.
‘It is disappointing, but at least we didn’t lose, we got the point.’
The substitutions made a huge difference and between Tobin and his Simonstown teammate Padraig McKeever Meath scored five points in a row before another sub Eamon Wallace got the goal to turn the game in his side’s favour.
‘Myself and Padraig worked well together even though it was tough against that wind. Anything that came our way we kicked well, but it was disappointing not to get the win. Overall, though, it was a team effort, the lads showed great resilience with everyone pushing forward.
‘It kind of feels like a loss though, because we had them dead and buried. If we had to be a little smarter in the final third of the pitch we would have held out.’
With Clare and Cavan also sharing the spoils at the weekend, Tobin said the division is wide open.
‘It is completely wide open. It looks like nine or 10 points would be enough to get up, but all we can do now is look forward to next Sunday against Clare and get a home win,’ Tobin concluded.