Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Stand up to the bullies Meath & give them a right Royal rumble
DESSIE FARRELL claimed in the build-up to tonight’s Leinster final that opponents Meath “warrant plenty of attention”.
If he genuinely believes that then Meath have a real chance under the Croke Park lights.
The Royals were treated with total disdain during Jim Gavin’s reign, looked upon as second class citizens in football terms.
And, more often than not, Meath b ehaved t h a t way, accepting what was dished out with very little resistance.
The Dubs bullied them having lost respect for them as rivals.
Yet in the days when Meath beat Dublin for fun, it was my county’s players who set the tone and were the bullies.
Tonight is the night that this Meath team must regain that respect. They must say enough is enough and go to war from start to finish.
Despite poor results, Andy Mcentee has got a lot out of his players over the last year.
But he’s not happy with always being second. He wants to win and to do so at all costs.
Now his players must do the same when it matters most.
Andy is desperately trying to instil those old core values that made Meath such a success – marrying them with modern day systems and tactics.
He’s a modern day manager who knows deep down what it takes to beat Dublin.
He knows Meath have been too soft in the past and have given the Dubs too much respect – including last year when some players threw in the towel with 20 minutes remaining. The Royals have been nowhere near aggressive enough and ruthless enough. There’s no nice way to beat Dublin. There never was.
So no wonder Andy has looked so frustrated over the last few years after sub-standard Meath performances.
I liked his interview last week after beating Kildare. He immediately spoke about how poor Meath performed in the first half.
He knows a repeat tonight will leave his side trailing by 16 points, not six.
So it’s time for this Meath team to man up and say, ‘no more’ – no more bullying, no more doing what you like to us. For the first time in years there’s a realistic belief that they can rattle Dublin. When Meath got on a winning roll in the past, it followed an injection of new blood and you can see the character and calibre is changing for the better with the influx of new faces. They ’ve shown the right attitude and commitment thus far. Meath must tighten up defensively and get their kick-out strategy right.
But i t ’s just as important that they give everything to the cause and fight to the bitter end. They will make mistakes but must keep playing on the edge and be brave like never before.
Dublin’s defence is there for the taking but to blunt the Dubs’ attack, Brian Fenton and Ciaran Kilkenny must be shackled.
I would put Bryan Menton on Fenton while Donal Keoghan needs to do a Lee Keegan-type job on Kilkenny and have the game of his life.
When Kilkenny is off, Dublin struggle.
Meath might come up short but the new breed – Ronan Jones, J ordan Morris, Matt Costello, Shane Walsh, Thomas Reilly and Cathal Hickey – will make a real difference.
We’ ll know exactly where Meath are by the final whistle. I’m quietly confident we’ ll go close.
More i mportantly, Meath must make a bold statement that they will no longer be bullied by their neighbours and rivals.