Impressive Leinster final victory for Royal County

Another Leinster VEC inter-county SFC title for Meath and the scoreline suggests that it was easy. It was, in fact it was very easy. The ease of the success surprised many people, including Meath manager Kit Henry, who was most definitely not getting carried away with a third successive provincial title. 'We have three Leinster titles in-a-row, but we haven"t won an All-Ireland yet and that"s the one we want, the one we need,' he told the Meath Chronicle as the wind howled over the artificial grass at Dunganny on Saturday afternoon. Take nothing away from the Meath players, they were worthy winners against a Kildare team that had beaten Dublin in the semi-final a fortnight ago and had handled Wicklow in the opening round in mid-January. Kildare came into this game with plenty of confidence, especially full-forward Michael Fahey who scored eight points against Dublin, but on this occasion had to settle for a brace as he squandered many chances and helped Kildare to a tally of 11 wides. Last week Kildare would have enjoyed home advantage, but the weather forced the cancellation of the game and playing on the artificial surface at Dunganny may have helped the Royal County, but they still won by an impressive 15 points. Add in the fact that Meath scarcely had a competitive game, they beat Longford in the quarter-final at Ballymahon by 1-11 to 1-3, and had to settle for training sessions in between as they received a walkover into the decider from Carlow. Not the best of preparations for a provincial decider. Based on the evidence of this game alone, there is a huge bank of talented players at under-age level in the county and the question must be posed - why are they not making it through to the senior team? Pick any four or five of Saturday"s starting 15 at random and you certainly wouldn"t end up with a group of sticks! The midfield pairing of Bryan Menton and Conor Devereux is an easy place to begin. Both players scored, both contributed enormously to the victory and each one worked hard for the hour. Devereux would fit nicely into the advertisement for the 'Duracell Bunny" - he never stops, he started running when referee Pat Moran threw-in the ball and he stopped reluctantly when he was substituted with a few minutes remaining. And I would be of the opinion that a player has to be fitter to play on the artificial surface than on grass - it just looks much more demanding. David Coyle reverted to a defensive position as Thomas Rahill was deployed at full-back in place of the injured Darren O"Sullivan which gave Matthew Carroll a starting place in the half-forwards. The trio were comfortable throughout. Movement on and off-the-ball was excellent although 10 wides could be a cause for concern, but that"s for the next day. Kildare created three chances in the opening half, the first was a glorious first minute goal opportunity which Craig Gilligan blazed wide. It was the only time Padraig Curran"s heart might have skipped a beat. Points after 15 and 22 minutes from Fahey and Patrick Nolan completed their first-half tally against the wind as they trailed by 0-2 to 2-9 at the interval. At times it was difficult to keep up with the Meath scores and it was probably appropriate that Devereux should claim the first goal when he finished a move which he also started, midway through the half. Niall Farrell claimed the other goal, close to the interval, and a point while the remaining scores arrived from Andrew Tormey (four), Devereux (two), Liam Tolan and Carroll. With a substantial 13-point interval margin to haul back, it was always going to difficult for Kildare and they rarely threatened, apart from a brief flourish after the resumption when Colin Mitchell sent over a brace. They failed to hit the target again until almost the last kick of the game. Meath substitute Shane Rock fisted an opportunistic goal with his first touch, but even that was irrelevant as there was never any doubt about the outcome from early in the second-half. Assuming Meath improve from this game, which they should, they must have a realistic chance of negotiating either Galway or Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final on Saturday, 21st February. SCORERS Meath - C Devereux 1-2; N Farrell 1-2, one free; A Tormey 0-4, one free; S Rock 1-0; M Carroll 0-1; L Tolan 0-1; B Menton 0-1. Kildare - M Fahy 0-2, one free; C Mitchell 0-2; P Nolan 0-1, free. THE TEAMS Meath - Padraig Curran (St Peter"s, Dunboyne); Sean Lynch (Kells CS), Thomas Rahill (St Oliver"s PP, Oldcastle), Anthony Owens (O"Carolan College, Nobber); David Coyle (Dunshaughlin CC), Stephen Kavanagh (Ashbourne CS), Phelim Dowling (Ashbourne CS); Bryan Menton (Ashbourne CS), Conor Devereux (Dunshaughlin CC); Matthew Carroll (O"Carolan College, Nobber), Andrew Tormey (Ashbourne CS), Eoin Hegarty (Dunshaughlin CC); Eamonn Bowe (Dunshaughlin CC), Liam Tolan (Ashbourne CS), Niall Farrell (O"Carolan College, Nobber). Subs - John Daly (Athboy CS) for Carroll 40 mins; Shane Rock (Ashbourne CS) for Tormey 45m; Bob Maguire (O"Carolan College, Nobber) for Bowe, Dermot Brennan (Ashbourne CS) for Lynch, both 58m; Matthew Devine for Devereux 59m. Kildare - S Whitson; A Grehan, M Grace, P Carton; D Dunning, P Cullen, D Sheehan; J Byrne, E McNutt; B Kiernan, P Nolan, C Mitchell; C Gilligan, M Fahey, D Ivers. Subs - W Kelly for Gilligan 33mins; C O"Brien for Ivers 40m; B Kilduff for Mitchell 47m; E Judge for Nolan, A Gaughan for Kiernan, both 55m. REFEREE Pat Moran (Laois)