Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
He did not give them a Luke in..
LUKE MITCHELL kicked eight points as Meath won the Leinster MFC title in effortless fashion at Bord na Móna O’Connor Park.
Meath had the benefit of the wind in the first half and made it count, leading 0-7 to 0-1 at the end of the opening quarter, with all of the forwards on the scoresheet.
Kildare had their share of the ball but used it poorly and their front men were having no impact against the Meath defence, where James O’Hare excelled.
Kildare manager Padraig Carbury took off two of his forwards before half-time and used the interval to replace two defenders.
Mitchell kicked five points and David Bell two as the Royals established an 0-11 to 0-3 lead at the change of ends.
Lilywhite captain Alex Beirne did send over a towering score but like everything Kildare did in the opposition half, it was an individual effort rather than collective.
Carbury would have hoped for a quick restart from his charges with the benefit of the breeze but their hopes were shredded within eight minutes.
Kildare goalie John Ball made an outstanding double save from Matthew Costello in the 37th minute and then another excellent stop from Darragh Swaine moments later.
But the Clane custodian could do nothing to deny Bryan McCormack a minute later, after Costello had found his colleague with a peach of a kick pass.
It was a stroll from there to the end, with the highlight being a spectacular triple save by Ball to deny Meath a second goal before Marcus Kiely struck for a Kildare consolation goal in the game’s final act. TYRONE boss Mickey Harte said broadcasters Sky were to blame for narrowing the pitch in Omagh for last night’s visit of the Dubs.
Eyebrows were raised as Healy Park was as skinny as it has ever been. But Harte (left) claimed he wasn’t playing mind games with the Dubs and insisted the revamp wasn’t down to him.
He said: “Narrowing of the pitch is nothing to do with me at all.
“That was actually a request came through from Sky, that they would like more clearance at the side for their technology.
“The Omagh (St Enda’s) club asked me would I be okay with it and I said work away.”
Tyrone pushed the All-Ireland champions harder than they’ve been pushed all year.
They stayed in the game right to the finish – unlike last year’s 12-point hammering in the semifinal and were helped by Dublin ‘keeper Stephen Cluxton (left) hitting four kickouts straight over the sideline in the second half.
So did the narrow pitch unsettle the Dubs?
“No, I don’t think so,” said boss Jim Gavin.
“It probably brought the forwards a bit closer to the goal.”