A long day"s night

Efforts to accommodate Meath supporters making the long journey to Limerick for Saturday evening"s All-Ireland SF qualifier proved fruitless as the Limerick management rejected pleas to bring the game forward to a 5.0 throw-in and facilitate the three-hour trip most followers will have to make and hope wont end in more disappointment. Meath Co Committee approached their Limerick counterparts last week to seek a change and the host county"s executive looked favourably on the proposal. However, once the request was put to the Limerick selectors and manager Mickey Ned O"Sullivan the idea was rejected. It is thought that pressures of work was one of the reasons why Limerick believed such a switch was impossible, but surely in this day and age no inter-county footballer works a full day prior to an evening throw-in in the All-Ireland championship. If players" work was a major problem for the GAA then Saturday games would have been knocked on the head a long time ago. How can the Limerick management complain about players working, while they expect the Meath panel to travel from early morning to the Munster venue if they are to be properly prepared for a game that could see the end of their season if things don"t go right. Several Meath players are involved in jobs that include Saturday hours, but that has never been offered as an excuse when other counties have asked the Meath Co Committee to facilitate a time change. On a number of occasions last year one Meath player often had to work until 4.0 in the afternoon before being allowed leave to play a game at 7.0 and his performances weren"t hindered as he was one of the county"s best players. With so much riding on one game it is vital that all preparations are spot on. Meath played and defeated Louth in a challenge on Wednesday last. Details are scarce about the game as Meath are operating below the radar in the hope of sneaking up along the rails and surprising a few more teams in the championship. That surprise factor was a major part of Meath"s run to the All-Ireland SFC semi-finals last year, but that is gone now. Everyone knows Meath"s capabilities, but the country has yet to see Colm Coyle"s charges with a full hand to play with and that may count in Meath"s favour. Meath will be without the injured Anthony Moyles and the suspended Kevin Reilly for the Limerick game while Shane McAnarney is also a doubt with a broken nose. However, on the plus side, the management can welcome back four of the suspended five, Brendan Murphy, Niall McKeigue, Nigel Crawford and Seamus Kenny and Coyle will also have a fully fit Brian Farrell and Shane O"Rourke available. Trying to accommodate that returning half dozen might be more difficult than some would assume. Meath have performed brilliantly for the most part of this year"s championship. The final 15 minutes of the defeat against Wexford will haunt the memories for a long time, but that period aside Meath have been excellent with many of the newcomers doing well. If Michael Aherne, Chris O"Connor, Cormac McGill, Brian Meade, Alan Nestor or Joe Sheridan lose their places then they can consider themselves unlucky because none have played so poorly that they deserve to be dropped. However, it will be impossible for Coyle to leave players of the calibre of Murphy, Kenny and O"Rourke out. O"Rourke excelled in a recent challenge match against Laois when he contributed nine points to Meath"s losing total of 0-13. His return to fitness is a huge boost and even if all six of his returning colleagues don"t make the starting line-up, then Coyle will be aware that he has a very strong bench to use should the need require them. 'The preparations are going well, but the major thing is who will be centre-back,' said selector Dudley Farrell 'We are happy with the preparations for the game, but we aren"t happy with the game not being brought forward to 5.0 for the supporters. 'The Limerick management are just being awkward. It is hard on supporters asking them to go down there when the last train out of the city is 8.0. 'Most wont be home until around midnight and then they are expected to be in Croke Park for the Leinster minor final the next day. 'It is disappointing, but what can we do? The Limerick Co Committee agreed to changing it, but the management said no. They shouldn"t be allowed to dictate what time the game is played at. 'From a playing aspect we are only without Anthony Moyles and the lads are mad eager to get back out playing after the Wexford game. 'They have put in a lot of work and they are well focused. If we can get over this game then it will set the wheels in motion again. 'Limerick will be no pushovers and we know it will be tough so we will not be complacent in any way,' concluded the Meath selector. Throw-in remains at 7.0 and tickets are not necessary for admission. Seats in the stand will cost €20, while admission to the terrace will be €15. Senior citizens and students with ID will be charged €10, but children under-16 years old will be admitted free when accompanied by an adult.