First impressions important

First impressions are important and on the basis of last Sunday"s easier than expected O"Byrne Cup win over Westmeath at Pairc Tailteann the future could be bright for Meath and their new management team. The Westmeath team that were on view in Navan on Sunday bore no resemblence to the team that featured in the Lakesiders league or championship campaigns in 2008 and so Meath"s victory should be treated with caution. Despite Westmeath"s obvious disregard for the O"Byrne Cup, Meath could only beat who were put in front of them and they did so in good style and with plenty of passion and commitment, commodities that were missing in the last 12 months. New manager Eamonn O"Brien and his selectors Donal Curtis and Robbie O"Malley have had precious little time to work with their charges, but they will have been pleased with the endeavours of several of the newcomers and the commitment of the regulars. O"Brien has stated from the outset that he will treat the O"Byrne Cup as an opportunity for fringe players to grab their chance and several of those made decent impressions and have justified their initial selection. Terry Skelly was the pick of a sound defensive unit, while the half-forward line of Graham Reilly, Eoin Reilly and David Bray did their prospects for being picked again no harm with all three impressing in a solid team display. Drumconrath"s Skelly was very sound in his defensive duties and his hunger to get forward and supply decent possession to the full-forward line ensured an industrious display. The half-forward line were nervous in the early stages, but once they settled they were very potent. Andrew Collins also returned to the Meath colours and rarely put a foot wrong, but the threat imposed by Westmeath was minimal and it is unlikely that the defensive unit will have such an easy time of it again. Westmeath started well and it looked as if their unrecognisable side were going to issue notice that they have the back-up to support their already impressive first team. Meath were very shaky in the opening 14 minutes and struggled to gain any kind of a foothold on the game. That allowed Westmeath race into a 0-5 to 0-0 lead. They added two more points in the following six minutes then failed to score again. It really was a shambolic display from the visitors and the contest was hardly an experiment for the new disciplinary rules. Only Shane McAnarney fell foul to the new 'yellow card and you"re off" edict from Croke Park, the rest of the contest was tame. However, that was no fault of Meath. Their application was near perfect, their hunger look ravenous at times and the commitment appears to be there amongst a strong panel that Meath football needs to be back at the top, where it belongs. Mark Ward and Damien Sheridan dominated midfield and the direct route style of football that worked so well in 2007 was once again deployed, much to the benefit of the effective Joe Sheridan and the lively attacking threat of the impressive Cian Ward and Stephen Bray. The Meath full-forward line were far too much for Westmeath to handle. Even if the Lakesiders had their full complement of experienced defenders on show they might have struggled to contain Meath"s lethal front three. Even the most optimistic Meath supporter would not have predicted such a comfortable victory after the opening 14 minutes. A mix of nerves and trepidation about the new rules led to some weak defending and allowed Declan McGuinness, Dermot Bannon and Enda Leonard post points for the visitors before Meath even registered an attack. That first green and gold foray forward ended with Cian Ward"s tame effort falling short into the arms of Cathal Mullen. The signs were all pointing in Westmeath"s favour when a couple of fouls by Skelly and McAnarney led to points for Peter Tormey and Paul Kelly and a 0-5 to 0-0 lead. Mark Ward emulated his cousins earlier effort by dropping his point attempt into Mullen"s hands, but the first score of the O"Brien era came as the opening quarter drew to a close and was a well-worked goal. Graham Reilly"s poor sideline was fumbled by Joe Clarke and gathered by Eoin Reilly. The Donaghmore / Ashbourne player fed Stephen Bray and he picked out Cian Ward who produced a good finish to bring Meath back into the game. Joe Sheridan had a goal chance a minute later, but after his initial effort was superbly blocked by Mullen he fisted over and 30 seconds later Graham Reilly pointed to restore parity 1-2 to 0-5. It was all good quality football. Westmeath re-took the lead when Collins became the first player to be black-booked and Tormey converted the free. Paul Bannon made it 0-7 to 1-2 on the 20 minute mark and Westmeath looked comfortable. However, that proved to be their last score as Meath assumed complete control. A brace of fine Cian Ward frees had Meath level and it was an excellent point from Eoin Reilly that pushed Meath ahead for the first time, 1-5 to 0-7. A minute before the break McAnarney was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Clarke and replaced by Dunboyne"s Stephen McKenna, but Meath held onto their one-point interval advantage. Within 16 seconds of the retsart a brilliant ball from Joe Sheridan set up David Bray, but he was fouled by McGuinness. Joe Sheridan blasted the subsequent penalty over the bar and by the eighth minute of the second-half further scores from Cian Ward (free), Eoin Reilly, Stephen Bray and Graham Reilly stretched Meath"s advantage to 1-10 to 0-7. Westmeath introduced their substitutes, but to no positive effect. Eoin Reilly dragged another goal chance wide before Cian Ward (free), Stephen Bray and David Bray (free) made it 1-13 to 0-7. There was very little Westmeath could do. Graham Reilly tagged on another score before Jamie Queeney made a decent impact, forcing Mullen into a fine save, contributing two points to the cause and putting the gloss on an easy win and a great start for Eamonn O"Brien. SCORERS Meath - C Ward 1-5, five frees; G Reilly 0-3; J Sheridan 0-2, one penalty; E Reilly 0-2; S Bray 0-2; J Queeney 0-2; D Bray 0-1 free. Westmeath - P Tormey 0-2, two free; D McGuinness 0-1; D Bannon 0-1; E Leonard 0-1; P Kelly 0-1 free; P Bannon 0-1. TEAMS Meath - P O"Rourke; S McAnarney, A Collins, E Harrington; S Kenny, B Regan, T Skelly; M Ward, D Sheridan; D Bray, E Reilly, G Reilly; S Bray, J Sheridan, C Ward. Subs - S McKenna for McAnarney (yellow card) 34 mins, J Queeney for E Reilly 61m, M Kennedy for D Sheridan 63m, D Flood for Collins 63m, T Johnson for S Bray 65m. Westmeath - C Mullen; A Claffey, B Murphy, F Boyle; K Scally, J Clarke; D McGuinness; A Browne, P Bannon; P Kelly, E Leonard, D Harte; P Tormey, D Bannon, K Martin. Subs - D O"Donoghue for Clarke 40 mins, M Dalton for Boyle 44m, T McDaniel for Bannon 51m, D Kilmartin for McGuinness 52m, E Farrell for Scally 56m, F Spollen for Martin 65m. REFEREE Tom Quigley (Wexford).