Pete out to earn Down a Royal pardon in derby clash

ALLIANZ LEAGUE DIVISION 2

DOWN will be hoping that their former boss Pete McGrath can do the county a favour by plotting Meath’s downfall when his Louth team take on the Royals in their rescheduled NFL Division 2 tie at the Gaelic Grounds this Saturday (3.00).

Eamonn Burns side must beat Tipperary in their final match and hope that already relegated Louth can cause an upset by beating their neighbours, thus consigning them to Division 3 football as well.

The mathematics are much more clear-cut for Meath, beat Louth and they retain their Division 2 status.

Meath ended a three match losing sequence when producing probably their best performance of what has been a hugely disappointing campaign by having nine points to spare over last year’s Ulster finalists at Pairc Tailteann.

In Ennis Louth fell to their sixth defeat on the trot and team captain Andy McDonnell admits that while the Reds now have one eye on Carlow, they will be going all out to turn their season around against Meath.

‘It’s about a bit of pride, and anytime we do play Meath, it’s quite a competitive game,’ insisted the Newtown Blues man. ‘We’re going to take as preparation for Carlow, and they’ll be mad to stay up, so we’re going to have to come out strong from the first whistle/

‘They’re some quality players - Eamonn Wallace, Killian O’Sullivan - you know they’re seriously good football players, and we’re going to have to try and stop them.

‘It’s basically playing for pride and our place against Carlow, because that’s our main concern for the year. Carlow on 13th May, that’s what we’re aiming for.’

‘They’re on the way up, and we’re on the way down. Winning’s a habit, losing is a habit, but we’re going to have to break it at sometime, and please God, we’ll be able to maybe stop the rot against Meath.’

The Royals win over Down proved a massive confidence-booster ahead of the Drogheda showdown but manager Andy McEntee said he will be taking nothing for granted when his side take on the Wee County.

‘We all know Louth and Meath is a local derby, Louth are preparing for championship, Pete McGrath is no dud and he’ll be trying to get something out of that game so we’ve got to go there and get a performance,’ McEntee said after the Down victory.

‘I think if we can produce a performance we give ourselves every chance.

‘If we don’t produce the performance we get beaten , that’s the way it has been with us.

‘If we perform to the level we can we give ourselves a good chance of winning.

‘I have no doubt but that Louth will be up for this game, not that Pete McGrath will have to do much because Louth are always going to be revved up playing Meath.

‘Momentum is huge, to finish with two wins when you really have to would be good for us but I’ve no doubt that next week will be a hell of a battle and if we don’t put in another performance we won’t get the result we’re looking for.’

Meath were fortunate not to concede a goal within 30 seconds against the Mourne men, keeper Andy Colgan blocking an effort from Connaire Harrison.

That block proved vital as Meath went straight upfield and won a penalty which was expertly converted by Donal Lenihan.

‘It could have been so different,’ McEntee continued.

‘Down get a goal after 30 seconds and their tails are up, we’re back in the same old situation we’re coming from behind and it’s a totally different game.

‘People will look at the scoreline and they’ll say ‘that was a comfortable win’ but we all know it wasn’t comfortable, it could have been an awful lot different.

That save was huge, for a team that’s probably a little bit low on confidence to concede a goal after 30 seconds you’d probably say ‘here we go again’.

‘Most teams are confidence teams and I just have to give credit to the players for the effort they put in, they know themselves what the mood is like around the county, it’s like everywhere and they’ve knuckled down and put in a good shift.

You’d have to be delighted with the players and the type of performance they put it in, they put in the sort of performance we’ve been looking for for the last couple of games.

It’s not always easy to do it when the pressure is on, the pressure was definitely on today and it was probably one of our better displays.’

It was a very different story for Louth in Cusack Park as their hosts netted their opening goal after 15 seconds and added another couple before the interval. McDonnell says they can talk until they’re blue in the face, but at some point the players to take responsibility.

‘We can talk all about it in player meetings, manager meetings, and then when it comes to the time to do it and to stand up, we’re not doing it. We just don’t seem to give ourselves a chance.

‘We’re going to have to drastically change things. Listen, it’s Division 2, you’re going to be punished, you know, this isn’t Division 3 or Division 4. This is against top teams, and we have been punished, and we need to sit down and look at ourselves, because we’ve got the championship in six-weeks-time.’

They’re on the way up, and we’re on the way down. Winning’s a habit, losing is a habit, but we’re going to have to break it at sometime, and please God, we’ll be able to maybe stop the rot against Meath

Decaln Byrne gets his hand to a high ball ahead of Clare’s Gary Brennan during their Allianz League Divison 2