Cavan stun Meath with early blitz
CAVAN’S turbocharged first-half display worked the oracle as they leapt to the top of the table courtesy of this comfortable victory.
Meath were all but frozen out as the cock-a-hoop hosts raced into a 1-8 to 0-4 interval lead en route to their second win of the campaign in this rearranged fixture that was postponed twice last weekend.
The Ulstermen had the Midas touch early on in front of a bumper 6,572 attendance, and while they tired in the final quarter they were in no danger of being pegged back.
Predictably, the Royal County recovered from their near comatose beginning to make Cavan earn the spoils with a gutsy, if ultimately fruitless, second-half performance.
Played on an ice rink of a pitch made even worse by rain, two points apiece by the elusive and lively pair of Caoimhín O’Reilly and Niall Clerkin helped propel the hosts into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead after just 14 minutes.
Eamon Wallace’s fourth-minute point brought Meath onto level terms but they were to play second fiddle for the remainder of the half as their opponents took control.
Meath toiled in the final third while Cavan thrived.
After Bryan Menton’s swirling effort made it four wides for the visitors, team-mate Graham Reilly had better luck to cut Cavan’s lead to a slightly more manageable 0-7 to 0-2.
Moments later, Cavan consolidated their healthy advantage when Conor Moynagh reacted quickest to rifle the ball into the net after Adrian Cole’s shot had rebounded off the upright.
Just to rub further salt into Meath’s wounds, Cavan brought on some heavy artillery at halftime with the introduction of Gearoid McKiernan and Cian Mackey.
However, just nine minutes after the restart, the Blues headed for home with Ciaran Brady’s fine solo goal putting even further distance between the neighbouring counties.
His belter catapulted the Ulstermen into an unassailable 2-10 to 0-6 lead. The game looked over as a contest at that point, yet Meath hung in there.
A converted penalty in the 49th minute by Donal Lenihan resurrected the visitors’ flickering hopes of redemption, but they were soon extinguished.
A brilliant diving save thereafter by Meath goalkeeper Andy Colgan denied talismanic sub McKiernan a goal in the 54th minute as Cavan sought to see the game out.
They lost control of the final quarter but Meath’s position in the driving seat was anything but secure. Cavan’s discipline in the tackle was exceptional over the 70 minutes and, as a result, Meath’s lack of opportunities from set-pieces was conspicuous.
In the dregs of the game, it was obvious Meath needed goals to pull the fat from the fire but with Pádraig Faulkner and Brady in no mood to surrender down the spine of the Cavan defence, there was no way back for the mean from Leinster.
CAVAN: R Galligan; N Murray, P Faulkner, D Phillips (J McLoughlin 51); M Reilly, C Brady, E Flanagan (S Murray 54); K Clarke, B Magee (R Connolly 68); D McVeety, C Moynagh, O Kiernan; C O’Reilly (T Galligan 63), A Cole (G McKiernan h-t), N Clerkin (C Mackey h-t).
Scorers: C Brady, C Moynagh 1-0; C O’Reilly (1f) N Clerkin 0-3, G McKiernan, B Magee (2f) 0-2, A Cole, D McVeety, R Galligan (1 45), K Clarke 0-1.
MEATH: A Colgan; S Lavin, C McGill, D Keogan; B Conlon (D O’Neill 55), B Power, S McEntee; B Menton, A Flanagan (H Rooney 42) (C Halligan BC 60); J McEntee (S Tobin 55), P McKeever, G Reilly (T O’Reilly 62); E Wallace, C O’Sullivan, B McMahon (D Lenihan h-t).
Scorers: D Lenihan 1-0 (pen), P McKeever 0-3 (2f), E Wallace, G Reilly, C O’Sullivan, B Menton 0-2, D O’Neill 0-1.
Referee: N Cullen (Fermanagh).