Goals prove costly for Meath ladies

You can"t expect to give away so many soft goals and be in with a chance of victory. Meath found that to their cost at Pairc Tailteann when they were dumped out of the Ladies Leinster SFC by Dublin. Dublin came into the contest as hot favourites and with a fearsome reputation, but Meath made them look very ordinary and if the Royals had managed to defend better they could have sprung a surprise. However, there are too many ifs, buts and maybes arising from the game. The simple facts of the matter are that Meath gave away soft goals, defended in a fragile manner and squandered several decent chances. It is both hard and unfair to point the finger of blame at any single situation, incident or player, but instead the responsibility must lie with the team and their poor display. Dublin lacked any real bite and they were there for the taking, but Meath failed to capitalise and take advantage of the several areas of the field where they were superior. St Ultan"s Katie O"Brien was the best player on the field and was well supported in attack by Jenny Rispin, but while others like Elaine Duffy and Geraldine Doherty worked hard things didn"t go their way. Dublin looked to have the beating of the Meath defence when they knitted passes together. Shauna Bennett, Jane Burke and Claire Coffey tried hard to hold the danger trio of Sinead Aherne, Lyndsey Davey and Elaine Kelly, but Dublin were the more cohesive outfit and took advantage of many defensive mistakes. It was those mistakes that ultimately cost Meath. The bottom line is that a young inexperienced Meath weren"t good enough to overcome an experienced and battle-hardened Dublin outfit. Had Dublin taken all the chances that were afford to them it could have been a right hammering. Meath resorted to pumping in the type of long ball that might work against club sides, but won"t reach the standard necessary at this level. It looked ominous as early as the 36th second when Aherne found acres of space in behind Mary Sheridan and finished with ease beyond substitute goalkeeper Louise McKeever, who was deputising for the injured Irene Munnelly. After the early mistake Meath steadied the ship and while the last gasp defending was of the desperate variety they managed to hold Dublin at bay for a further 10 minutes, although McKeever was forced to deny Kim Flood with a fine save. Grainne Nulty opened Meath"s account from a free on nine minutes, but Dublin responded immediately when Meath failed to clear their lines despite winning initial possession and Lyndsey Peat netted their second goal. It really was horror defending from the Royal girls, but three minutes later they were right back in the game when Rispin"s quick thinking found Duffy in space and the St Ultan"s girl finished brilliantly to the top corner. Aherne followed by amazingly kicking a 13-metre free wide from in front of the post before Meath again failed to clear their lines and allowed Mary Nevin make it 2-1 to 1-1 with a simple point. Duffy converted a second free for Meath six minutes before the break after she was fouled, but Kelly replied for Dublin by marching through the middle for a simple score and while O"Brien kicked Meath"s best point, Dublin underlined their supremacy with their third goal. Another long ball into the forward line found the Meath defence marked absent as Niamh Hurley stole in for a great finish. Aedin Murray and Davey traded scores before the break, but Dublin were looking comfortable with their 3-3 to 1-4 interval lead. Meath needed goals after the break to get back into the contest, but they never looked like getting them. Instead it was Dublin who continued to look the more dangerous. Aherne and Doherty exchanged points inside the first three minutes of the second-half, but then followed a woeful 13 minute period which saw both sides miss 13-metre frees before Hurley put the game beyond doubt with her second goal to make it 4-4 to 1-5. Kelly won the kickout to stretch Dublin"s advantage, while O"Brien tried to resurrect Meath with a fine score. Dublin were still in charge when Hurley pointed unchallenged and despite losing Noelle Comyn to the sin-bin for a reckless throw of the arm towards Nulty they still managed a fifth goal when Nevin lobbed a speculative effort over replacement goalkeeper Munnelly. Meath finished with points from Fiona O"Neill and a Nulty free, but in truth those scores were merely a late gloss on an otherwise disappointing performance. SCORERS Dublin - N Hurley 2-1; M Nevin 1-1; S Aherne 1-0; L Peat 1-0; E Kelly 0-2; L Davey 0-1; S Aherne 0-1. Meath - E Duffy 1-1, one free; G Nulty 0-2, frees; K O"Brien 0-2; A Murray 0-1; G Doherty 0-1; F O"Neill 0-1. TEAMS Dublin - Cliodhna O"Connor; Avril Cluxton, Noelle Comyn, Maria Kavanagh; Colleen Barrett, Sorcha Furlong, Louise Kidd; Lyndsey Peat, Niamh McEvoy; Mary Nevin, Elaine Kelly, Kim Flood; Niamh Hurley, Sinead Aherne, Lyndsey Davey. Subs - Amy McGuinness for McEvoy half-time, Natalia Hyland for Davey 38mins, Ciara Murphy for Kelly 59m, Carrie O"Connor for Hurley 60m. Meath - Louise McKeever; Claire Coffey, Mary Sheridan, Maria Kealy; Shauna Bennett, Jane Burke, Aine Fagan; Grainne Nulty, Ciara Dempsey; Aedin Murray, Jenny Rispin, Katie O"Brien; Elaine Duffy, Philomena Sheridan, Geraldine Doherty. Subs - Ciara Daly for Fagan half-time, Orla Sheridan for P Sheridan 38m, Irene Munnelly for Dempsey 50m, Fiona O"Neill for Murray 54m, Aimee Bennett for Duffy 58m REFEREE Des McEnerney (Westmeath)