Meath reign in top flight is over after fifth defeat
THE expression ‘they died with their boots on’ come to mind when summing up this latest defeat for Meath in Division 1 of the NFL at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday.
A fifth successive loss was enough to condemn the Royals to relegation after just one season in the top flight. And while it has been a chastising experience, it could stand them well going forward, based on the improvement shown throughout the campaign.
Yet again this was another game that Meath could and should have won.
A stranger at the match would have difficulty distinguishing between which team was chasing a final spot and which was fighting to avoid the drop.
After half an hour’s play Meath enjoyed a 1-6 to 0-1 lead when playing with the advantage of the stiff breeze. They eventually had to settle for a 1-6 to 0-5 interval lead after Galway hit four unanswered points in a seven-minute spell before half-time.
After another defensive error gifted the visitors a goal Meath still managed to recover from that setback to be in contention entering the closing stages.
Even when they went three points clear Galway were unable to close out the match as Meath responded to the challenge to be on level terms in the 69th minute.
It was the intervention of captain Shane Walsh that swung the game back in Galway’s favour, with the number 14 hitting a wonder point on 70 minutes before securing the insurance score from a free deep into added time.
The closing seven minutes of the first half and the opening 10 minutes of the second hurt Meath the hardest and undid a lot of good things prior to that.
The hosts made a great start to proceedings with early points from Oisin O’Brien, James Conlon and Bryan Menton, before Ethan Devine finished a fine move to the net after taking a final pass from Conlon on 16 minutes.
Galway only managed a single point in the same period from Michael Daly.
Conlon hit two further points and Bryan McMahon also found the target before Shane Walsh ended a 21-minute spell without a score for Galway by converting a free following a foul on substitute Paul Conroy.
There was an abundance of pulling and dragging off the ball in the closing stages of the half which seemed to benefit the Tribesmen and at the same time knock Meath out of their stride. Galway hit three further points before the end of the half, two from Walsh and another from Eoin Brannigan to leave themselves in a much healthier position at the break.
Walsh was wide from another free at the start of the second half, but the table-toppers received a massive boost when Brian Conlon needlessly kicked possession away and midfielder Ronan Steede finished to the net to leave the minimum between the teams.
Sub Conroy, who had an enormous bearing on proceedings, kicked the first of his four second-half points to level matters. Conroy was then fouled for a free which was brought closer following dissent and Walsh made no mistake to edge his side ahead for the first time.
Meath badly needed a score and they got one 14 minutes into the half when Bryan McMahon pointed. Galway were much more threatening at this stage and Steede and Conroy had them two clear by the 54th minute.
They were still two clear after Conroy hit his third score and Walsh pointed another free to leave it 1-11 to 1-8 on 60 minutes.
Sub Donal Lenihan kept Meath in the hunt with two converted frees and there was still the minimum between the sides after Bryan McMahon’s third point on 69 minutes.
Then in a hectic finish Lenihan equalised from play before Shane Walsh’s classy point restored the lead for Galway.
Lenihan was then short from a 43-metre free and when Cillian O’Sullivan lost possession Galway counter-attacked and Thomas O’Reilly was forced to drag down Liam Silke, resulting in a black card and the insurance score for Walsh. GALWAY: Connor Gleeson; Sean Kelly, Sean Mulkerrin, Johnny Heaney; Liam Silke, John Daly, Gary O’Donnell; Ronan Steede 1-1, Tom Flynn; Eamonn Brannigan 0-1, Cein D’Arcy, Michael Daly 0-1; Martin Farragher, Shane Walsh 0-7 (6f), Adrian Varley. Subs: Paul Conroy 0-4 (1m) for Farragher (27), Gareth Bradshaw for O’Donnell (52), Robert Finnerty for Varley (55), Darragh Silke for Daly (61), Matthias Barrett for Steede (65). MEATH: Marcus Brennan; Robin Clarke, Conor McGill, David Toner; James McEntee, Ronan Ryan, Donal Keogan; Bryan Menton 0-2, Brian Conlon; Ethan Devine 1-0, Bryan McMahon 0-3, Cillian O’Sullivan; James Conlon 0-3, Oisin O’Brien 0-1, Thomas O’Reilly. Subs: Shane Walsh for O’Brien (48), Donal Lenihan 0-3 (2f) for Devine (55), Jack O’Connor for James Conlon (55), Padraic Harnan for Brian Conlon (55). REF: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh)