Royals fight to stay among aristocrats
MEATH’S PROGRESS PLEASES KEOGAN DESPITE THREAT TO TOP-TIER STATUS
MEATH welcome Galway to Páirc Tailteann on Sunday afternoon. It is a fixture dripping with history and tradition, two of the aristocrats of the game meeting in Division 1. But at present, only one of them seems to be going places.
While the Tribesmen are thriving under new manager Padraic Joyce, the Royals have had difficulty adjusting to life back in the top tier of the Allianz League. Four games so far have ended in four defeats. A fifth loss on Sunday against the resurgent Galway would see Meath dropping straight back down to Division 2.
However, Donal Keogan, the Royal skipper, is refusing to get down-cast about his team’s form. He was in the Allianz headquarters yesterday, as the insurance company announced a renewal of their sponsorship deal of the League for another five years, meaning they will have a 33-year association with the competition.
Meath won the League in the first year of their sponsorship. But they won’t be repeating that this year. ‘I think we are definitely going in the right direction,’ the defender insisted. ‘Andy [McEntee] gave us the analogy before of Facebook share prices. Nothing goes up in a straight line. There are ups, dips and troughs. The general consensus is we are going in the right direction.’
Even though Meath ended up on the losing side in Fitzgerald Stadium, they still pushed Kerry close last weekend, scoring 2-13. ‘Last week’s performance was very good. Obviously, the result didn’t go our way. But we are quite happy with the performance we are putting in. It is just about building on that.’
Even if the spring is all about survival now, Sunday’s opponents offered Meath a template for how newly-promoted teams can look comfortable in the top-flight.
‘At the start of the year, we targeted survival. There have been teams who have yo-yoed up and down. But Galway are a team I look at as having survived after getting promoted, and they have kicked on hugely. Our number one goal is to stay in Division 1 but the experience that lads have got, playing at this pace is going to be invaluable going forward.’
Last summer, Meath made the Super 8s. And even though they were beaten in all three games, they were competitive against Donegal, Kerry and Mayo for the first 50 minutes of each game. It will be an experience that will stand to the team in the future.
‘That was this team’s first experience of Division 1 football and it was very new to us at the time. Even that step up from Division 2 to Super 8s was huge. So in a way, it was great to go and get those three games and the League final, to give us the experience.
‘We’ve had the winter and the back end of summer to address those issues. We’ve been trying to address those and it’s been great to have those games to work on. Hopefully we’re better for it.’
Keogan believes the biggest difference between the top tier and the second tier is the efficiency of teams. ‘In Division 2, you could afford to be a bit wayward in the final third. But up here, they are just way more efficient with the ball. ‘If you got turned over down there, teams wouldn’t break as quickly or wouldn’t punish you as quickly. But in Division 1, if you get turned over in the final third or a shot drops short, it’s instantly an opportunity for the other team to counter. ‘I think that’s where we were getting caught a lot. So we’re working on that. ‘We’re working on our efficiency in front of goal. Our shot taking. Making sure you’re taking the right shot or the right person is taking it. Making sure every shot you take counts. That was one of the major learnings we got from the Super 8s. You have to mind the ball. When you have it, you have to protect it.’ Meath have three games left in the top flight to apply the harsh lessons learned from their opening four games. Keogan believes they will. ‘At this level, it is essential that you can create scores from a number of different areas. That’s something we are trying to address. We are working on that a lot and hopefully it will come together in the last few games. It is getting better and it is just about keeping going in the right direction.’