No back door focuses minds as Minors get set for Dubs
THE home and away arrangement that Meath have in place with rivals Dublin gives the Royals the advantage going into this shortened Leinster MFC campaign which begins on Saturday.
Even though the Dubs were first out of the hat in the new format, which is straight knockout, this opening-round tie takes place at Pairc Tailteann, with the throw-in at 2pm.
It is of course the first of two meetings between the counties as the seniors will lock horns later on Saturday evening in an NFL round six tie at Parnell Park.
However, their greater familiarity with the Navan venue will be Meath’s only advantage as the game will to all intents and purposes be behind close doors, with only a handful of parents allowed to be in attendance.
Meath were the holders when they faced up to Dublin in the opening game of the round-robin section at Parnell Park in April 2019. The concession of soft goals proved fatal that day as the hosts won out on a 4-10 to 2-10 scoreline.
Subsequent wins against Offaly and Wexford were enough for Meath to progress to the knockout stages, but they surrendered their title to Westmeath in Mullingar following extra time.
Conor O’Donoghue’s charges had held a two-point advantage going into the four minutes of added time, but they were unable to hold on and eventually went down 2-15 to 1-14 following the additional 20 minutes.
Summerhill’s Eoghan Frayne, who registered nine points in that defeat, will captain this year’s side, while Sean O’Donoghue (St Colmcille’s) is also eligible again and will be a key player. Adam McDonnell (Summerhill), another member of the side that lost to Westmeath, is ruled out because of injury.
Manager John McCarthy also has injury worries concerning
Liam Stafford (St Colmcille’s) who would be expected to start if fully fit.
One of Meath most recent challenges was against Down in Pairc Tailteann, a game which they won, and they also defeated both Cavan and Monaghan in earlier challenges.
The recent club MFC final was a good advertisement for underage football in the county and a number of those in action that day will be key figures on Saturday.
Conor Gray was an imposing presence at midfield for Dunshaughlin that day and will be expected to play a big part, along with his clubmates Ruairi Kinsella and Fursey Blake.
Longwood’s Billy Hogan will likely start between the posts, while Alan Bowden (Duleek-Bellewstown), Sean Emmanuel (St Patrick’s), Oisin Kelly and Cian Smith (both Ratoath) and Ciaran Caulfield (Trim) will also be in contention for starting places.
Most of those in action will not be unfamiliar to each other as the counties clashed in last year’s Gerry Reilly U-16 FT Final in Oldcastle. Meath had a single point to spare in that one, winning 2-11 to 2-10. With a few exceptions the personnel on both teams will be largely the same and another close battle in anticipated.
The stakes are much higher this time, however, with no second chance for any county. It will be a tough ask for Meath, but they may have a better chance of overcoming Dublin in the opening round than if they crossed paths later in the campaign.
This year’s championship will be like no other and much will depend on how players coped during lockdown. The threat of individual players and squad members picking up the virus and being ruled out of playing could unfortunately be a factor in how the championship plays out in these uncertain times.
Regardless of who comes out on top, the hope is that all county panels remain Covid free and can take a full part in the championship.
The winners on Saturday will have a quarter-final home tie against Westmeath to look forward to and that game is scheduled for Wednesday October 28th.
Manager John McCarthy, who was an All-Ireland MFC winner with the county back in 1990, has Joey Farrelly, Justin McCarthy, Paul McCarthy (all Walterstown), Paul Nestor (Dunshaughlin), Michael McDonnell (Na Fianna) and Cathal Sheridan (Moynalvey) as his selectors.