WE GOT A DUBBING
1-11 O’rourke admits Meath have long way to go after defeat
MEATH manager Colm O’rourke admitted they got a good “going over” from the old enemy as Dublin all but secured promotion back to Division One.
Killian O’gara capitalised on a rare start in attack with 1-3 for Dublin while free-taker Cormac Costello netted at the death and finished with 1-4.
There were big performances too from midfielder Brian Fenton and Con O’callaghan as the visiting Dubs ran riot.
They were nine points clear at half-time and stretched the gap to 11 by the final whistle.
The Leinster champions will wrap up their Division Two group campaign with a home tie against Louth at Croke Park next Sunday.
Louth and Cork could still scupper Dublin’s promotion bid but it’s highly unlikely.
As for struggling Meath, they should avoid relegation but the Tailtean Cup remains a concern and they lost captain Donal Keogan to a worrying hamstring injury late on.
O’rourke said: “We got a going over – from start to finish. It just demonstrates the long road ahead for us if we want to be a match for Dublin who are maybe in the top two or three in the country. We are a long way behind. The Derry and Dublin games in the League have demonstrated that to us. We have a very, very long road to travel.”
Meath will seek to finish their campaign on a high against Kildare in Newbridge next Sunday.
Dublin’s campaign appears to have another two games to run with a Division Two final, probably against Derry, looking likely.
O’gara has fired himself right into contention for further starts after this display.
The younger brother of former Dubs star Eoghan was a late addition to the line-up and repaid Farrell’s faith with a razor sharp performance that included
a stunning goal. Farrell said: “He has been chomping at the bit and biding his time. We just felt from looking at how he’d gone over the last fortnight that he was ready to make a play and he got his opportunity and grabbed it with both hands.”
The All-ireland winning Dubs manager said he was happy with Dublin’s strong 70-minute showing. He added: “That consistency over the four quarters, that’s what we were looking for. We had been lacking in that in some of our previous performances.”
Meath won the toss and elected to play into the stiff wind. It was a gamble that misfired because Dublin were virtually out of sight by half-time with a 1-11 to 1-2 lead.
They restricted Meath to just three scores in that period and the 21st minute goal from Mathew Costello was a fluke.
The Dunshaughlin man was going for a point from the left channel but the ball dropped in over David O’hanlon’s head.
A large home crowd roared their approval and hoped it would signal a turnaround but Dublin finished the half strongly and O’gara’s goal arrived close to the interval.
It was a terrific score as James Mccarthy won a free deep in his own defence, beginning a lightning fast counter attack that had Eoin Murchan at its core.
O’gara, Fenton and O’callaghan popped scores for fun at the other end and Dublin killed the game with five points in a row between the 53rd and 60th minutes. Aaron Lynch came off the bench and sniped two for Meath but they badly missed Shane Walsh.
Farrell knew the game was up so ran in the likes of former All Star Brian Howard and the Basquel brothers in attack.