Minors restore lost pride

AFTER Saturday"s debacle along the banks of the Shannon it was left to the county minors to bring some sunshine and light to Meath football when the Leinster MFC title was garnered with a narrow win over Offaly close by the Royal Canal on Sunday. This was the 10th time Meath have won the provincial MFC crown and arguably no victory at this level was as welcome or as badly needed to bring a touch of optimism to an otherwise gloomy scenario. The Meath players, officials and management danced on the picture-perfect Croke Park surface seconds after this victory over the Faithful County. Up in the stands a smattering of supporters from the Royal County celebrated a win that was a welcome as shower of rain on a parched land. Many qualities are required to win a championship. One of them is character and Pat Coyle"s players certainly have displayed bucketfuls of that commodity on their march to success. Spirited revivals against Dublin and Longford in earlier rounds underlined the desire in the ranks. That powerful will to win was emphasised again on Sunday. The sequence of events that led up to the winning point is sure to be played and re-played many times on the DVD by the Meath players. David Ryan, in particular could be forgiven for giving it more re-runs than most as his late, late point proved decisive. The game looked destined to end in a draw when Meath launched an attack. Mark Battersby was fouled for the umpteenth time and the St Vincent"s/Curraha player stepped up to take the free himself. As well as a tricky angle and a capricious wind, Battersby also had to contend with a crescendo of boos that cascaded down the Dublin supporter-filled Hill 16 terrace. Battersby lofted the ball goalwards and an Offaly player sought to punch clear from in front of his square. He didn"t get the purchase on the ball he sought; it broke to Paddy Gilenan who set up Ryan. On the field a little over six minutes, Ryan made a few inches of space, pulled the trigger and rifled the ball between the posts. The denizens of the Hill were momentarily silenced. Offaly spent the final minute of so trying to get an equalising point. Instead Meath held firm to clinch a victory and add to the last Leinster MFC crown won two years ago, also against the Faithful County. It was fitting that Battersby should be involved in the winning score as he was involved in many of Meath"s most enterprising moves. His jinking runs tormented his marker Lee Dunning who picked up a yellow card near the end for persistent fouling. Battersby picked off two fine points from play and overall made a nuisance of himself. The Meath half-forward line had a big influence on the final outcome. Michael Newman underlined his promise with two points while Mark Collins split the posts on four occasions. His only point from play came early in the second-half when he powered past a few opponents before lofting over. It was an important score as it gave Meath a lift at a time when their opponents were enjoying something of a purple patch. Soon after Collins also lofted over a free in front of the Hill from about 25 metres out to put Meath in front, 0-12 to 2-5, and for the first time in the second-half. Darragh Smyth buzzed around the pitch all afternoon in a relentless display of running, often breaking from midfield into attack in a constant quest for openings. His non-stop movement gave Offaly plenty to think about. The Bective player was rewarded for all his effort when he was in the right place, at the right time to slot home Meath"s crucial goal. Collins swept in a free from the Hogan Stand side of the field. A number of hands went up to claim possession in the Offaly goalmouth, the ball broke and the alert Smyth stuck out a leg to shoot to the net from a few metres out. It was a real opportunistic goal and how valuable it proved to be. The nearest the young Royals came to grabbing a second goal came when Harrison Silke found himself in a good position in the second-half but he shot wide. At midfield Jamie Owens and Damien Carroll put in a lot of good work around midfield. Carroll got one point and was unlucky not to get another after the break when his effort rebounded off the upright. Meath still made hay as Paddy Gilsenan displayed sharp instincts to pounce on the rebound and point. Andrew Tormey and Willie Carry also contributed a point apiece. At the back Meath experienced considerable difficulties particularly in the opening half. By the interval Offaly could easily have led by more than 2-4 to 0-9 as the Meath backline struggled to come to terms with tricky, inventive attackers such as Anton Sullivan, Patrick Rigney and Ruairi Allen. Meath"s defensive frailties were cruelly exposed in the 21st and the 24th minutes when two goals from Patrick Rigney looked like they might provide the platform for the Faithful County to go on and win. Half-time alterations in the Meath defence resulted in Sean Curran moving to full-back and Ciaran Lenehan switching to left-corner-back and that helped to shore up the leaks. Then there was the performance of Padraig Curran. The Meath goalkeeper made a series of fine saves that prevented Offaly from adding to their goals tally. He saved well from Keith Lawlor and Graham Guilfoyle before the interval. The Dunboyne netminder also did well to deny Sullivan late in proceedings, quickly racing to push a stinging drive over the bar. Every team needs a little luck to win a trophy. Meath received a huge slice of good fortune early in the second-half. A fast-paced Offaly attack ended with Lawlor steaming in on the Meath goals. He neatly side-stepped Padraig Curran and somehow contrived to miss an open goal. It was a big let off for the Royals. They thanked the gods, took advantage and went on to deservedly claim the crown with Ryan"s late score seeing them through to a 10th, and deserved, minor title. SCORERS Meath - D Smyth 1-1; M Collins 0-4, two frees; M Newman 0-2, M Battersby 0-2; D Carroll 0-1, W Carry 0-1, P Gilsenan 0-1, D Ryan 0-1, A Tormey 0-1. Offaly - P Rigney 2-0; A Sullivan 0-3; R Allen 0-2; N A Graham 0-1; B Connor 0-1, one free; K Lawlor 0-1, B Allen 0-1, R Knight 0-1. TEAMS Meath - P Curran; S O"Brien, C Lenehan, C Curran; W Carry, T Johnson, D Tobin; J Owens, D Carroll (0-1); D Smyth, M Newman, M Collins; A Tormey, H Silke, M Battersby. Subs - P Gilsenan for Silke 35 minutes, S Dalton for Collins 52m, E Nulty for Carry 53m, D Ryan for Owens 54m. Offaly - S Nally; L Dunning, J Moloney, D Ryan; D Kelly, B Geraghty, A Murphy; B Connor, N A Graham; K Lawlor, P Rigney, G Guilfoyle; B Allen, A Sullivan, R Allen. Subs - R Knight for B Allen 42 minutes; M Mangan for Lawlor 42m. REFEREE Gary McCormack (Dublin).