Frustrating reversal

For many supporters, running potential All-Ireland contenders Dublin to just two points could be viewed as a moral victory, but Meath must feel a sense of disappointment following Sunday"s Leinster SFC quarter-final defeat at Croke Park. Not only did the loss signify another year without a Leinster final appearance, but it also showed that Meath weren"t capable of winning against a Dublin side that was there for the taking. The four-in-a-row Leinster champions kicked 17 wides and were exposed at times at the back, but too often Meath made poor choices and managed nine wides, which included a few from frees in decent positions. Of more concern was the amount of time and space many of the Dublin forwards were afforded, both on and off the ball. Dublin always had options and when they won the ball they had time and space to shoot. Meath were the opposite. Too often they were closed down so quickly they couldn"t get themselves into positions where they could punish Dublin. Passes went astray, shots were aimless and Dublin were able to break easily. Meath must rue this result as an opportunity lost. However, Dublin were worthy winners simply because they created the more clear-cut chances, dominated midfield and made life difficult for the Meath attack. For a brief spell late in the first-quarter Meath"s performance indicated that a shock might be on the cards. Against the wind they knitted some nice moves together and caused Dublin problems. During that brief spell of less than eight minutes Meath managed to turn a three-point deficit into a 0-5 to 0-3 lead and looked good in doing it. Dublin appeared nervous, but instead of panicking they steadied themselves, helped by some terrible Meath defending. When Meath did get in front they looked like they didn"t know what to do in that position. The tackling was gung-ho and the passing became sloppy. All this allowed Dublin settle back into their stride and without ever really looking impressive they were more than capable of pulling clear. There were a number of areas where Meath struggled and it took a while to rectify the problems. Alan Brogan enjoyed a field day for almost 50 minutes on Niall McKeigue. The Navan O"Mahonys man looked uncomfortable at centre-back and Brogan was switched there immediately to unsettle him further. That move had a positive effect for Dublin because Brogan pulled the strings while McKeigue chased shadows. Meath were also out-muscled at midfield where Ross McConnell and Darren Magee lorded the exchanges. They won 13 successive kick-outs towards the end of their dominant period in the first-half. When Meath did manage to gain possession around the middle much of it was pumped long and with no regard for retaining the ball. Mark Ward"s tackling was risky at best and he walked a tightrope for much of the game. Nigel Crawford did work hard and came more into the contest when Meath had the wind in the second-half. To say Meath 'enjoyed" the wind is a mis-representation. They were disappointing when they had that advantage and instead of using the ball-winning abilities of Stephen Bray and Farrell they allowed Dublin smother them by playing a short passing game. Meath had a great opportunity to put one over their great rivals, but they let it slip. However, there should be plenty of reasons for encouragement ahead of another trek through the backwaters of the All-Ireland qualifiers. Kevin Reilly and Cormac McGuinness were solid at the back and Crawford proved he still has plenty to offer. Farrell was a lively option and Cian Ward might be better suited as a centre-forward with Bray terrorising in the full-forward line. The malaise of poor marking was obvious inside a minute when Mark Ward failed to track back after Magee, but the Kilmacud Crokes man blazed wide. More poor defending allowed Dublin open the scoring when Conal Keaney got out in front of Anthony Moyles who fouled him. Keaney tapped over an easy free. Brogan was afforded acres of space to pick out Paddy Andrews with a fine pass and the St Brigid"s man doubled Dublin"s advantage. A silly off-the-ball foul by Eoghan Harrington on Bernard Brogan allowed Keaney make it 0-3 to 0-0 and Meath looked in big trouble. Instead of hanging their heads after such a poor start Meath responded positively with some of the best football they have played all year. Barry Cahill was forced to foul Farrell and Cian Ward pointed the free from 13 metres. Bray was very strong to point despite heavy pressure and then a passage of scrappy play saw Meath level through a decent Shane McAnarney point. When Mark Ward lofted over a great point after superb work by Seamus Kenny Meath had their noses front. They were in dreamland a minute later when Cian Ward executed a great turn before slotting over to make it 0-5 to 0-3. The Wolfe Tones man had a chance to make it a three-point advantage when he was fouled by McConnell, but his 20-metre free from a difficult angle dropped short and was cleared. Dublin went down the field and were rewarded with a free when Reilly fouled Mark Davoren and Keaney made no mistake. Upon such swings games are won and lost. Dublin closed the gap to one and then went on to dominate the remainder of the half with Bernard Brogan and Alan Brogan and Mark Davoran (two each) and Ger Brennan making it 0-11 to 0-5 at half-time. Meath needed a great start to the second-half, but they didn"t make any changes. They managed two wides inside 50 seconds with Farrell and Mark Ward off target, but by the 43rd minute the gap was down to two points. Caoimhin King, who looked unsure when presented with a scoring opportunity, started the Meath revival with Cian Ward ('45"), McAnarney and Farrell adding points to make it 0-9 to 0-11. Dublin were there for the taking again, but that was as close as Meath could get. They started to rush their passing and much of their play became ragged. McKeigue stood off Alan Brogan and allowed the St Oliver Plunkett"s man to point. Keaney and Cian Ward traded frees before a scrappy period of play yielded a blank on the scoreboard for eight minutes before Farrell scored Meath"s best point to close the deficit to 0-11 to 0-13. Another Keaney free pushed Dublin into the comfort zone and while Cian Ward missed a couple of difficult frees it was the introduction of Joe Sheridan that led to a point for the Seneschalstown man and caused Dublin a few nervy moments. When only two minutes of injury-time were announced, despite a lengthy stop for injury to Davoran, Meath were forced to go for goals instead of picking off a couple of points. Dublin"s defence never looked like breaking for a goal so Meath"s hopes died while Dublin"s bid for a five-in-a-row remains on course. SCORERS Dublin - C Keaney 0-5, frees; A Brogan 0-3; B Brogan 0-2, one free; M Davoren 0-2; P Andrews 0-1; G Brennan 0-1. Meath - C Ward 0-4, two frees, one '45"; B Farrell 0-2; S McAnarney 0-2; S Bray 0-1; M Ward 0-1; C King 0-1; J Sheridan 0-1. THE TEAMS Dublin - Stephen Cluxton; David Henry, Denis Bastick, Alan Hubbard; Paul Griffin, Ger Brennan, Barry Cahill; Ross McConnell, Darren Magee; Paul Flynn, Paddy Andrews, Bernard Brogan; Conal Keaney, Mark Davoren, Alan Brogan. Subs - Ciaran Whelan for McConnell 49 mins, Jason Sherlock for Bernard Brogan 49m, Pat Burke for Davoren 55m, Diarmuid Connolly for Andrews 59m, Blaine Kelly for Flynn 69m. Meath - Paddy O"Rourke; Anthony Moyles, Kevin Reilly, Eoghan Harrington; Seamus Kenny, Niall McKeigue, Cormac McGuinness; Mark Ward, Nigel Crawford; Shane McAnarney, Stephen Bray, Brian Meade; Cian Ward, Caoimhin King, Brian Farrell. Subs - Chris O"Connor for M Ward 42 mins, Brian Sheridan for McAnarney 46m, Barry Regan for McKeigue 51m, Peadar Byrne for Bray 56m, Joe Sheridan for Meade 66m. REFEREE Marty Duffy (Sligo).