Cork cruise to first round league victory

The enormity of the task facing Meath manager Eamonn O"Brien dawned at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday as Meath were crushed by Cork in a one-sided NFL Div 2 first round tie. The malaise that blighted Meath in the latter days of Colm Coyle"s reign were once again visible. Meath lacked the necessary steel, composure, handling skills and intensity to trouble their Rebel hosts. O"Brien had stated that performances were more important than results, but on Sunday"s evidence it will take a drastic rise in the performance levels if results are to improve to a satisfactory level. It must be taken into consideration that Cork are one of the top sides in the country and Meath"s task on Leeside was always going to be a difficult one. From that point of view the supporters shouldn"t be too worried. Experimentation is also the name of the game for O"Brien and his selectors Donal Curtis and Robbie O"Malley and Sunday"s game proved to be a useful exercise from that perspective, but there were very few positives to take from the defeat. Cork looked infinitely sharper, were more cohesive, had a specific game plan and were vastly more efficient when in decent scoring positions. From Meath"s perspective they did have plenty of the ball, showed the odd spark of creativity and when they discover a game plan that they are comfortable with and enhance their fitness levels, they will improve. The new disciplinary rules curtail the traditional tough Meath style. Gone are the days when players can be met with hardy shoulders and stopped abruptly in their tracks, instead players must be more wary in their challenges. With players only half-heartedly going in to tackles it allowed the opposition to comfortably side-step an opponent and create a decent opportunity. Cork looked more comfortable with the new rules. They were more fleet of foot, faster to the break downs and subsequently quicker at setting up a colleague in plenty of space. Meath were flat-footed. They tried to play their man from behind and that tactic left Kevin Reilly facing a handful with Michael Cussen. The Meath forwards chased after lost causes for the majority of the afternoon. The experiment with Caoimhin King at full-forward showed some signs of promise, but will the Dunshaughlin man be surplus to attacking requirements when Brian Farrell, Shane O"Rourke and Peadar Byrne return to the side? Anthony Moyles deployment as a corner-back might have been more fruitful if Cork had opted for a third midfielder, but they didn"t do that until late in the game when Cussen shifted outfield. Instead, Moyles was forced to patrol Donncha O"Connor and that didn"t work. Meath looked very heavy-legged throughout. When in possession the ball appeared to be a half-stone weight and they struggled with the basics like simple passing and retaining possession. A two-point return from the opening 35 minutes was not the fault of the strong wind that blew in Meath"s face, but rather an example of a failure to create enough decent scoring chances. It took Meath until the ninth minute to get off the mark when David Bray pointed after decent work by King, but by that stage they were already 1-1 in arrears. The first battle of Reilly"s war with Cussen went the way of the Cork man when he was fouled and Daniel Goulding opened the scoring from a 27-metre free. Joe Sheridan had a goal chance two minutes later, but he failed to connect with a fist to Cian Ward"s centre and the chance went abegging. Cussen made no mistake when a similar chance came his way three minutes later when he punched Goulding"s centre beyond Paddy O"Rourke for the only goal. By the 21st minute Cork"s supremacy was stretched to six points, (1-4 to 0-1) with further points from O"Connor (two) and Pearse O"Neill before Stephen Bray took advantage of rare hesitancy in the Cork defence to register Meath"s second point. That score should have settled the visitors, but instead it spurred on Cork. Frees from Goulding and O"Connor were followed by a simple fisted point from O"Neill as Cork established a 1-7 to 0-2 interval lead. With Fintan Goold, Conor McCarthy, Goulding and O"Connor in such exceptional form Cork never seemed likely to surrender their match-winning position and with Graham Canty, Anthony Lynch, Michael Shields and Noel O"Leary patrolling their defence superbly Meath never looked like bothering them. Meath should have been awarded a lifeline inside the opening minute of the second-half when King was clearly fouled by Noel O"Donovan, but Wexford referee Syl Doyle ignored the penalty claim and Cork went down the field where Goold stretched their advantage. Obviously nothing was going to go Meath"s way. They lost Brian Meade to a yellow card before Goulding made it 1-9 to 0-2. King did narrow the deficit when he reacted to Ward"s effort striking the upright, but by then Meath were out of contention. McCarthy volleyed over the bar and Goulding waltzed through the Meath defence either side of a Ward free to make it 1-11 to 0-4. Meath made a bright start to the final quarter scoring three of the next four points through Ward (free), King and Damien Sheridan, but then Reilly was ushered off on receipt of a second yellow card as the game petered out to a tame end. Meath posted the last two scores from substitutes Jamie Queeney and Chris O"Connor. However, they also had Shane McAnarney sent-off for a yellow card offence at the final whistle. Cork exploited Meath"s weaknesses and were well worth their nine-point win. The challenge now will be too see how Meath bounce back when they face Fermanagh on St Valentine"s night at Pairc Tailteann SCORERS Cork - D Goulding 0-5, three frees; D O"Connor 0-4, one free; M Cussen 1-0; P O"Neill 0-3; C McCarthy 0-2; F Goold 0-1. Meath - C King 0-2; C Ward 0-2, two frees; D Bray 0-1; S Bray 0-1; D Sheridan 0-1; J Queeney 0-1; C O"Connor 0-1. THE TEAMS Cork - Alan Quirke; Michael Shields, Noel O"Donovan, Anthony Lynch; Noel O"Leary, Graham Canty, John Miskella; Alan O"Connor, Pearse O"Neill; Conor McCarthy, Fintan Goold, Paddy Kelly; Daniel Goulding, Michael Cussen, Donncha O"Connor. Subs - Kieran O"Connor for O"Leary 41 mins, Ray Carey for O"Donovan 47m, Andrew O"Sullivan for O"Neill 63m, Paul O"Flynn for Cussen 64m, Paul Kerrigan for Goulding 66m, Ger Spillane for Lynch 69m. Meath - Paddy O"Rourke; Anthony Moyles, Kevin Reilly, Eoghan Harrington; Shane McAnarney, Barry Regan, Stephen McKenna; Damien Sheridan, Brian Meade; David Bray, Stephen Bray, Eoin Reilly; Joe Sheridan, Caoimhin King, Cian Ward. Subs - Chris O"Connor for Reilly half-time, Nigel Crawford for Meade (yellow card) 39 mins, Seamus Kenny for D Bray 46m, Niall McKeigue for McKenna 47m, Jamie Queeney for Reilly (yellow card) 55m. REFEREE Syl Doyle (Wexford).