Under-20s beaten by Meath in last eight
Wexford played with handbrake on in seven-point loss
A CHEAPLY conceded goal early in the second-half gave Meath a lead they never looked like relinquishing in this Eirgrid Leinster Under-20 football championship quarter-final played in appalling weather conditions in St. Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy, on Saturday.
Senior player Shane Walsh applied the finish from close range after a sloppy Wexford pass was intercepted near midfield, and from that point onwards the only matter open to debate was the Royals’ likely winning margin.
And although the home side could never be accused of giving up the fight, by the same token they didn’t look like turning that deficit around either as they eventually succumbed by seven points.
It was generally felt beforehand that Meath contained the stronger set of players, so their qualification for the semi-finals should come as no surprise.
However, it was somewhat disappointing to note that Wexford performed with the handbrake on at this level for the second year running, with their reluctance to push players forward when boosted by the strong wind in the first-half a source of frustration.
It may be recalled that last season, in an apparent attempt at damage limitation that clearly didn’t work, the Under-20s deployed a double sweeper in their Leinster semi-final clash with Dublin in Parnell Park and still lost by 1-17 to 0-6.
This time around, they persisted with a two-man inside forward line even after getting a major tonic in the form of an excellently-taken Todd Hynes goal after a mere 74 seconds.
But instead of promoting a more adventurous approach, the conservatism that followed ensured that only two points were added before half-time, by which stage Wexford held a narrow 1-2 to 0-4 lead.
It was never going to be enough, with Meath rewarded for positivity on the re-start when they set up with six forwards and effectively put the contest to bed by picking off 1-1 inside four minutes.
It mitigation, it must be noted that deploying Páraic Hughes as a sweeper was an understandable move for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, he is at his best when carrying the ball forward from deep positions, and he was Wexford’s stand-out player by a mile in defeat, an absolute must to be added to the Senior squad without delay.
Secondly, additional cover was always going to be needed in front of the highly-rated Shane Walsh, although class will always win out and he still ended as the game’s top scorer with 1-3 from play in the second-half.
Meath captain Liam Byrne won the toss and opted to play into the very strong wind first, giving Wexford an opportunity to show what they were capable of in an attacking sense – but that chance wasn’t taken.
Possession wasn’t easy to obtain, and on most occasions when the ball was won in the middle third, Wexford didn’t have runners arriving at pace off either shoulder to drive at their opponents.
For a time, too, it appeared as if a magnet was guiding aimless kicks into the grateful arms of Meath’s spare man in defence, James O’Hare, who had been called into the team as a replacement for the originally selected full-back, Seán Ryan.
Nathan O’Connor and Diarmuid Kehoe replaced Ciarán Regan and Diarmuid Barry in the home starting line-up from the win against Carlow, with the former starting at centre-back while the latter operated from left half-forward.
Páraic Hughes moved back immediately from the right wing to sweep, with Colum Feeney drifting out to the number 10 position and leaving a two-man inside forward line of Todd Hynes and Seán Forde, with the latter having travelled down from his uncle Matty’s wedding in Donegal on Friday in order to play.
And in terms of an encouraging start for the underdogs, it couldn’t have gone any better as a Kehoe interception led to a superbly-finished low left-footed drive to the corner of the Meath net from Hynes in the second minute.
However, the concession didn’t provoke any panic from the Meath lads, as they went on to have the majority of the ball despite facing into the elements, and they were happy enough to maintain possession for lengthy periods.
Jordan Morris opened their account with a sixth-minute point, but there was an impressive response from Colum Feeney who kicked sweetly between the posts from the right wing after Seán Forde teed him up when he collected a Páraic Hughes free.
A Wexford defender’s body got in the way of a goalbound Cian Rogers shot in the 21st minute, but Meath got to within one of their rivals after Jack O’Connor fisted over the bar before Aaron Lynch made it 1-1 to 0-3 from the left of the posts.
Senior player Matthew Costello was content to take an equalising point when a goal looked on in the 24th minute, but Wexford did manage to ease ahead again before the break.
A Feeney free deflected off a back’s hands and then the crossbar in the 28th minute, but he had an easier chance just over 60 seconds later after a foul on Páraic Hughes, and duly tapped over to make it 1-2 to 0-4 at the interval.
Wexford had only added two wides to that first-half haul, from Seán Forde and their Hong Kongborn midfielder Tiarnan Neville, son of John Joe who was a panel member when the Slaneysiders brought Offaly to four games in that never to be forgotten Leinster Under-21 football final saga in 1988.
That, in itself, was an indication of their lack of thrust in the attacking side of the game, and their hopes of a surprise win quickly unravelled on the re-start.
A neat ball in by Michael Murphy led to Shane Walsh kicking the leveller, and the visitors’ goal followed when Matthew Costello intercepted a Seán Forde handpass near midfield.
He careered forward, played a one-two with Cian Rogers, and then unselfishly parted to his right for Walsh to steady himself and roll the ball to the net for a 1-5 to 1-2 advantage.
Jack O’Connor and Jordan Morris, from a mark, extended the lead to five, with a Colum Feeney free in between from the left drifting across goal before Meath managed a clearance.
Shane Pettit did pull back a point in the 41st minute, after good work by substitutes Ciarán Regan and Diarmuid Barry plus Feeney, but Meath replied immediately courtesy of Shane Walsh who had far too much ability for Sam Audsley to curtail.
Feeney tapped over a closerange free after a Meath player touched the ball on the ground, but the Royal replacements then made an impact as Luke Mitchell scored with his first kick before Conor Farrelly left them 1-10 to 1-4 clear in the 52nd minute.
Anthony Larkin saved an effort on goal from Jack O’Connor, shortly before an injury forced him to leave the fray, with the versatile Colum Feeney moving back to fill his regular soccer position.
Shane Pettit kicked the last Wexford point from a free earned by Tomás Murphy, the goalscoring hero of the previous round, but Meath’s clear superiority was underlined in added time when Luke Mitchell and Shane Walsh extended the final margin to seven as they booked a date with Dublin.
Wexford: Anthony Larkin (Starlights); Liam O’Connor (St. Mary’s, Rosslare), Sam Audsley (St. Martin’s), Ryan Furlong (Sarsfields); Niall Murphy (Ferns St. Aidan’s), Nathan O’Connor (Starlights), Ciarán Kavanagh (HWH-Bunclody); Liam Coleman (Castletown, capt.), Tiarnan Neville (Shelmaliers); Páraic Hughes (Kilanerin), Shane Pettit (St. Fintan’s, 0-2, 1 free), Diarmuid Kehoe (Geraldine O’Hanrahans); Todd Hynes (St. Mary’s, Maudlintown, 1-0), Colum Feeney (Adamstown, 0-3, 2 frees), Seán Forde (Kilanerin). Subs. - Diarmuid Barry (St. Martin’s) for Forde (38), Ciarán Regan (HWH-Bunclody) for Neville (38), Fiachra Hourihane (Oylegate-Glenbrien) for Hynes (48), Tomás Murphy (Blackwater) for Audsley (48), James Byrne (Kilrush) for Larkin, inj. (57), also Josh Burke (Our Lady’s Island), Colm Parnell (Ballyhogue), Cormac Cooney (Glynn-Barntown), Emmet Cullen (Gusserane), Garbhan MacCormack (Glynn-Barntown), Conor Kehoe (Sarsfields), Adam Fleming (Réalt na Mara), Peter O’Neill (Kilrush), Rees Broaders (St. Mary’s, Rosslare), Ben O’Connor (Kilanerin), Conor Mahoney (Glynn-Barntown).
Meath: Seán Brennan; Michael Gavin, James O’Hare, Ben Wyer; Cathal Hickey, Liam Byrne (capt.), Michael Murphy; Jack Flynn, Daithí McGowan; Matthew Costello (0-1), Cian Rogers, Jack O’Connor (0-2); Jordan Morris (0-2, 1 mark), Shane Walsh (1-3), Aaron Lynch (0-1). Subs. - Matt Moyles for Lynch (HT), Conor Farrelly (0-1) for Murphy (46), Luke Mitchell (0-2) for Rogers (49), Seán Bannon for Hickey (60+1), Barry O’Connell for Morris (60+1).
Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).