Misfiring Meath look over their shoulder
MEATH completed an unwanted hat-trick in the NFL at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday!
A third successive defeat leaves them in the relegation mire and they will have one foot in Division 3 if they go under to their neighbours Louth at the Gaelic Grounds next Sunday.
Not the position Meath would have wanted themselves in heading to Drogheda for the clash against the Wee County, but second from bottom is a fair indication as to where they are at present.
Their latest performance was an improvement on the displays shown against Cavan and Tipperary, but again the Royals were well beaten and it took an added-time goal from corner back Seamus Lavin to put a more respectable look on the scoreboard.
At no stage did Meath threaten to end their losing sequence and they were probably flattered by the final scoreline as the Leesiders looked comfortable from the early stages.
The visitors were better in virtually
Cork Meath 2-16 1-15
every department, sharper, much more mobile, had a far greater variety to their game and had a full forward line that could hit the target with regularity.
Between them Colm O’Neill, Mark Collins and John O’Rourke accounted for 2-14 of the Cork tally, with wily O’Neill the outstanding player on the pitch. O’Neill tallied 1-6, while his ‘partners in crime’ Collins hit seven points and O’Rourke 1-1.
The Meath team announced on Saturday morning showed two changes from that which started in Semple Stadium, but by throw-in time there were five changes to the team that was released on Saturday as well as three changes to the substitutes bench. Indications of a team in turmoil maybe.
Those late changes failed to have the desired effect, however, with 38-year-old David Gallagher coming in between the posts instead of Andy Colgan for his first start at this level since 2012.
It wasn’t a happy return for the big Dunboyne man and one misdirected kickout in the closing stages handed Cork their second goal. That wasn’t the reason for Meath’s defeat - they were a well beaten team at that stage - but it highlighted that the county has a serious goalkeeping problem ahead of the Leinster Championship.
Brian Conlon was a surprise inclusion at midfield alongside captain Bryan Menton, but that pairing struggled against the strong-running Ian Maguire and Cillian O’Hanlon. Harry Rooney was sprung from the bench approaching half-time at the expense of Mickey Burke, with Conlon reverting to his more familiar defensive role.
Early scores from Sean White and Mark Collins was an indication that Cork meant business in their attempts to ease their own relegation worries and get into the promotion mix. Graham Reilly opened Meath’s account, but the Leesiders added two further scores before Donal Lenihan hit the hosts’ second point.
Cork’s opening goal arrived on 11 minutes, with Sean White making a dart through the Meath rearguard before passing to O’Neill whose low effort from an angle was parried by keeper Gallagher, but the inrushing O’Rourke bundled the ball over the goal-line.
Meath responded well to that goal with successive points from Lenihan (two), the hard-working Ben Brennan and Reilly. Those scores left the minimum between the teams, but the home side then squandered chances to at least draw level.
Cork were much more clinical at the other end and hit the next four points to restore their five-point advantage on the half-hour mark.
Thomas O’Reilly and Mark Collins exchanged points to leave it 1-9 to 0-7 at the break.
Cork played with the strong breeze in that opening half and they were first off the mark on the restart, with Collins converting a free. That six-point advantage fluctuated at times throughout the second half, but Meath were never able to gather enough momentum to seriously threaten the lead.
With Donal Keogan winning some great breaks around midfield and Cillian O’Sullivan finally getting reward for his efforts in attack, Meath did manage to close the gap to four points. However, any prospects of a grandstand finish disappeared when Gallagher’s short kickout was intercepted by John O’Rourke who set up O’Neill and the full forward blasted to the net.
The game was in added time when a melee developed involved several players from both sides. Brian Power and Mark Collins were singled out, with Power receiving a second yellow card and Collins a black. Brian Conlon was also booked for his part in the same incident.
The clock had ticked over the 40th minute of the second half when Seamus Lavin blasted to the net for a consolation goal for the home side.
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