Naivety paves way to departure zone

Predictably almost, Dublin advanced to the Leinster Ladies SFC final following a flattering victory over Meath at Portmarnock on Saturday evening. The Dublin girls always looked superior, but they only made it into the comfort zone in the last five minutes when they reeled off six points before Meath managed the final score. That last point arrived from the boot of Grainne Nulty and, like so many other chances which the Royals created, it could have been a goal. The hard-working Nulty, who actually tried to do too much over the hour, saw her rasping shot skim the crossbar. The Seneschalstown player was unlucky in the opening half in similar circumstances while both Elaine Duffy and Niamh O"Sullivan could also have found the net. Ultimately, that was the difference between the sides and if Meath had managed even two goals from those four chances, it would have put a completely different complexion on the game. Tentative would be the best way to describe Meath"s opening half as they trailed by 1-3 to 0-11 at the break. Most of Meath"s problems stemmed from their inability to mark efficiently and one player, Tara Ryan was asked to do too much. Dublin wing-forward Mary Nevin regularly came back into her own half and it was left to Ryan to police the Na Fianna player and her own marker. The Meath half-back line stood off and as Dublin were good off-the-ball, big gaps opened and paved the way for those 11 points. Meath were ahead briefly (1-2 to 0-3) after Nulty rifled to the net in the ninth minute, but a more streetwise Dublin outfit recovered quickly. There was much to admire about Meath"s second-half performance. For about 20 minutes they played Dublin off the park, but failed to make any major impact on the scoreboard. Nulty claimed a brace of points which cut the deficit to four (1-5 to 0-12), but a couple of other chances were squandered and when Dublin "keeper Cliondhna O"Connor saved well from O"Sullivan it gave the hosts a major boost. Dublin eventually claimed their second point of the half with six minutes remaining, but there was even a touch of controversy about that after a Meath defender let the ball run wide, but the umpire signalled a "45." Another notable statistic was the number of frees awarded by referee John McLoughlin. Meath were awarded 30 compared to 15 for Dublin. As I understand it, the rules of ladies football punish persistent fouling with a yellow card which earns a 10-minute stint in the sin-bin. Dublin had at least two candidates worthy of consideration for that accolade, but they escaped censure. However, Meath really were the authors of their own demise. They were too slow out of the blocks, too hesitant in the tackle, with the exception of 20 minutes in the second-half, and conceded too much space in the opening half. Time to toughen up a bit and sharpen the reflexes. Following relegation in the league earlier this year, maybe NFL Div 2 football in 2009 will provide a more comfortable and less demanding existence? n Meath will have a chance to get back into the All-Ireland race when they tackle Down in the first round of the qualifiers at the end of this month. SCORERS Dublin - S Aherne 0-8, two frees; L Davey, K Hopkins 0-3 each; A McGuinness 0-2; C Murphy, AM Murphy, K Flood 0-1 each. Meath - G Nulty 0-5, two frees; E Duffy 1-1. THE TEAMS Dublin - C O"Connor; A Cluxton, N Comyn, M Kavanagh; O Colreavy, D Masterson, S McGrath; N McEvoy, A McGuinness; M Nevin, AM Murphy, C Murphy; A Clarke, S Aherne, L Davy. Subs - K Flood for C Murphy 43 mins; K Hopkins for Clarke 53m; M Redmond for Kavanagh 58m; N Hurley for Davy 59m Meath - Irene Munnelly (Wolfe Tones); Julie Ann Scanlon (Summerhill), Sinead Dooley (Simonstown Gaels), Ciara Daly (Summerhill); Lisa Keenan (St Michael"s), Louise McKeever (Seneschalstown), Jenny Rispin (Summerhill); Blaithin Brennan (Royal Gaels), Caitriona O"Shaughnessy (Donaghmore / Ashbourne); Niamh O"Sullivan (Royal Gaels), Katie O"Brien (St Ultan"s), Tara Ryan (Royal Gaels); Elaine Duffy (St Ultan"s), Grainne Nulty (Seneschalstown), Mary Sheridan (Seneschalstown). Subs - Ciara Kennedy (Summerhill) for Brennan 43 mins; Hayley Lawton (Donaghmore / Ashbourne) for Ryan, Geraldine Doherty (St Ultan"s) for O"Sullivan, both 57m REFEREE John McLoughlin (Kildare)