Meath boys survive Ballymahon elements

Meath advanced to the next round of the Leinster Vocational Schools" SFC at windswept and rain-lashed Ballymahon on Saturday when they proved too strong for Longford. This game was played in deplorable conditions and that either team even managed to score reflects positively on the determination and skill levels of the players. The well-appointed Ballymahon ground boasted excellent spectating facilities which would leave the majority of club grounds in Meath well adrift in its wake. And the stand provided vital sanctuary for the reporters and spectators who braved the elements and were rewarded with an entertaining contest which was full of honest endeavour. Difficult as it was for the players, the referee, umpires, substitutes and team officials also had to endure 60 minutes of very inclement weather and Meath manager Kit Henry summed it up after the final whistle. 'The conditions were unreal, it was as bad for them as it was for us, but I"ve never experienced anything as bad as that before,' he told the Meath Chronicle as he battled his way, against the wind, to the dressing rooms. Wind-assisted Longford could only manager parity at the interval (0-2 apiece) after they were forced onto the back foot for most of the opening 30 minutes. And the equalising point arrived with the last kick of the half when Bernard Crawford split the Meath posts from play. Twenty one minutes had elapsed before Longford hit the target and that score arrived Marty Mulvey moments after Meath "keeper Padraig Curran proved his worth with a reaction save which spared Sean Lynch"s blushes. Lynch had deflected a shot from Joe Dempsey and a Longford goal looked certain until Curran somehow managed to get a hand to the ball. Thomas Rahill was a tower of strength in the half-back line as Meath worked hard, but they wasted a number of good chances in attack after a promising start which produced early points from Bryan Menton and Andrew Tormey. Within 10 minutes of the resumption Meath were ahead by 0-6 to 0-2 and even at that early stage there was no way back for Longford. Conor Devereux (two), Menton and Niall Farrell claimed the points while Liam Tolan was denied a goal by the woodwork and soon after was wayward again when he had to settle for a point. Sean Berry managed a point for Longford in a rare attack before Devereux found the net for Meath in the closing stages. Berry also claimed Longford"s late goal from a penalty, but there was never any real doubt about the outcome. Next up for the defending Leinster champions is an away test against Carlow this Saturday. Meath - Padraig Curran; Sean Lynch, Darren O"Sullivan, Anthony Owens; Phelim Dowling, Stephen Kavanagh, Thomas Rahill (0-1); Bryan Menton (0-2), Conor Devereux (1-3); James Hegarty, Andrew Tormey (0-2), David Coyle; Eamonn Bowe, Niall Farrell (0-1), Liam Tolan (0-1). Subs - Matthew Carroll (0-1) for Bowe (half-time), Matthew Devine for Coyle 50 mins; Bob Maguire for Tolan, Rob O"Connor for Hegarty 55m. Longford - S Percival; J Kavanagh, A McLoughlin, P Fox; T English, A Madden, K Cox; A Jones, T Mulvihill; S Egan, C Keegan, M Mulvey (0-1); J Dempsey, S Berry (1-1), B Crawford (0-1). Subs - G Rogers for Egan 25mins; J Madden for Madigan (half-time), D Gallagher for Dempsey 34m, S Coughlan for McLoughlin 55m. Referee - Sean Sheridan (Westmeath).