Chumbawamba time for Meath footballers

When you fall down, the best thing to do is get back up again. Next Saturday evening the Meath footballers will try to that as they attempt to put the pain of their heavy defeat by Cork behind them when they welcome Fermanagh to Pairc Tailteann for the second round of NFL Div 2. The defeat at Pairc Ui Chaoimh was a painful one for the small band of supporters who travelled to the Cork headquarters and the level of the performance was even more disappointing as Meath were clearly second best. The only way is up - we hope? A repeat of the Cork performance against Fermanagh on Saturday will surely result in another defeat, but the Ulster side are not a patch on the Munster men and Meath should be capable of finding enough improvement for victory. There is no denying that there is a lot of work to be done following the debacle of 2008, but the performance against Cork indicated that Eamonn O"Brien has a tough mountain to climb rather than a steep hill. The only positive O"Brien could take from the humbling loss to Cork was that his side will learn from the experience. If they don"t, then Meath supporters can forget about a long summer of inter-county football. Against Cork, Meath were just not at the races. The experiment of trying so many new players backfired. To hand five players debuts in the opening game of the league and against such a strong opposition was a gamble that went awry. Instead of going into the game with a strong hand, forcing Cork to work hard for their early lead and then springing youth and inexperience from the bench, Meath did it the other way around. There will be more changes for Saturday"s game against Fermanagh. If Meath win then the management will be praised for correcting the errors made in Cork. However, the Erne men are not in the same class as the Rebels and next Saturday"s game would have been a better time to experiment. The new rules regarding the application of disciplinary cards have caused problems and have sterilised the game. There were no meaty challenges during the defeat by Cork and the hard-hitting excitement of Gaelic football appears to have lost its edge. Players are afraid to go full-blooded into tackle for fear of being yellow-carded. The restrictions on tackling caused problems for Meath and led to many of the defenders standing-off their opponents and that allowed forwards pick off scores with greater ease. Meath need plenty of coaching in close-quarter tackling, without fouling. If coach Colm Brady can work that into his training sessions then Meath will improve. If they fail to mark up a lot tighter against Fermanagh then the fate that befell them in Cork could be repeated. If the nine-point loss to Cork was just a bad day at the office then the majority of the players should have a chance at redemption, but O"Brien will probably make a few changes. The defence might have to be reshaped. Kevin Reilly struggled to bring his outstanding club form to the county jersey and may be better suited further outfield. Eoghan Harrington did well when shifted into full-back after Reilly was yellow-carded against Cork and that may be an option. Moving Anthony Moyles to midfield should also be considered as his experience and drive is more crucial there. Seamus Kenny and Chris O"Connor could be handed starts against the Ulster side and with Mark Ward expected to return from injury he could form a new partnership with Moyles at midfield. The attacking options are still limited. Peadar Byrne was omitted from the panel for the Cork game and O"Brien explained that he was trying out different players. The Ballinlough man"s energy could be crucial for Meath, but his propensity to pick up yellow cards means that his style might have to be curtailed. With Shane O"Rourke and Brian Farrell both still recovering from injury, Caoimhin King will likely start at full-forward. On paper, Meath still have a very potent attacking unit. Joe Sheridan, Stephen Bray, Cian Ward and David Bray are all class acts and when on form will pose problems for any defence. However, the supply of ball into the key attacking forwards must improve. Lumping the ball forward into the space isn"t the way forward. Meath must be more measured in their approach and when they do win possession the forwards have to be more clinical. At first glance Fermanagh"s 1-10 to 2-12 defeat by Monaghan might suggest they could be an easy touch, but the Erne men reached the Ulster final in 2008 and they will be no pushovers. Manager Malachy O"Rourke accepted that his side were second best against Seamus McEnaney"s side, but like Meath manager O"Brien he is sure that his players will learn from the experience and improve. 'Monaghan were strong around the middle third, broke forward, and got the scores that mattered. We can have no complaints,' said the Fermanagh coach. 'Although we"d take some positives from the game, overall Monaghan deserved to win. We have to put this behind us and learn what we can from it for the Meath game.' If Fermanagh had enjoyed better luck from penalties against Monaghan they might have stolen a win. Enda Ferris missed a first-half penalty while after the resumption Monaghan scored from a similar situation when Tommy Freeman converted. Travelling to Meath won"t daunt Fermanagh. Their record against Meath is very good and only a few weeks ago they took advantage of some Royal County hospitality when they spent a weekend in Trim where they trained at Knightsbrook Hotel and at the magnificent new Trim GAA centre before defeating Leitrim in a challenge. Victory is paramount for Meath. If they can win all their home games then the will be safe from the threat of relegation, but a massive improvement is required if they are to garner their first two points of the year on Saturday night.