Smooth start to rocky road

Even the harshest critics would be hard pressed to find fault with Meath following their All-Ireland SFC qualifiers demolition of Waterford at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday evening. There are those that will say that such a result was expected and that if Meath hadn"t won by such a margin and in such emphatic fashion then it would have been a shock and heads would have had to roll. However, only two weeks ago those same people were writing Meath off as being finished and being at the bottom of the ladder when it came to judging the football hierarchy of the country. The simple fact of the matter is that Meath were on a hiding to nothing last Saturday and those who want to criticise will say that they came away with nothing. However, those more objective supporters can be pleased with a result that was backed up by a decent performance. The quality of the opposition must be taken into account and Waterford were very poor. But Meath could only beat who were put in front of them and they did so with the minimum of fuss and without ever being seriously stretched. Waterford asked very few questions of the Meath players and when they did Eamonn O"Brien"s men had all the right answers. Everyone knew that Waterford would be fit and determined, that they would make life as difficult as possible and for as long as they could, but Meath refused to panic, took their scores well and knitted together some excellent passages of play. The errors that were made during the disappointing Leinster SFC loss to Dublin were corrected. Players were played in their more natural positions and the benefits of that were obvious, although corner-back Chris O"Connor produced a very creditable audition for a forward role by contributing three points. It was a thoroughly professional job by Meath, done with the minimum of fuss. There was a simplicity in the effort that made the performance just as enjoyable as the result and while the opposition were so poor Meath can take heart going forward in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. There were a few disappointing passages when possession was surrendered too easily and on occasions the work rate and intensity dropped the further Meath pulled away. But those problems are all part and parcel of a game that was over before half-time. Meath were always in control and while they let Waterford tag on six second-half points the issue was never in doubt. Even without injured duo Kevin Reilly and Stephen Bray Meath were vastly superior to a Waterford side that relied heavily on the excellence of the O"Gorman brothers, Tomas and Maurice, in the full-back line and the lively attacking threat of Liam O Lionnain. O"Connor"s attacking contribution was as a direct result of Waterford operating Stephen Cunningham in his own half-back line and with Cormac McGuinness getting forward at every opportunity Meath created many scoring chances. Eight of the starting team scored with substitute Jamie Queeney rounding off the win with a superb second-half goal. Only six of Meath"s points came from frees and all that without the afterburners needing to be switched on. Meath were never defensively overworked, but when Waterford did threaten to break forward they were met with stubborn resistance from Nigel Crawford and Brian Meade in midfield as well as excellent defending from Eoghan Harrington, Seamus Kenny and Caoimhin King. Joe Sheridan justified his selection with an all-action display that typified the Seneschalstown man. He kicked some magnificent points, almost put the Waterford goalkeeper through the net with a fierce drive, picked off some wonderful passes, but also blazed a couple of wides. As was expected Waterford packed their defence and made life difficult for Meath in the early stages. McGuinness opened the scoring after six minutes when he finished an excellent move that was started superbly by Sheridan. However, Waterford were creating chances of their own. Wayne Hennessy restored parity with a point before Patrick Hurney stole in behind the defence and almost volleyed to the net, but his effort sailed over to give the visitors an unlikely lead. That advantage lasted less than 30 seconds as Meath won the subsequent kickout and Sheridan pointed. The Seneschalstown man followed that by blasting a goal chance straight at Tom Wall and winding the diminutive goalkeeper. Three minutes later Meath were ahead through a fine O"Connor score and they never looked back. In the following 20 minutes points from Ward (two frees), Peadar Byrne (two), David Bray, O"Connor and Sheridan gave Meath a 0-10 to 0-2 cushion. Brian Phelan had a goal chance for Waterford, but Paddy O"Rourke dealt with it comfortably and in first-half injury-time Sheridan and McGuinness secured a 0-12 to 0-2 interval lead with two magnificent scores. It was all over bar the shouting for the second-half. Ward stretched Meath"s lead within two minutes of the resumption before Waterford"s best spell yielded points from Conor McGrath, Hennessy and O Lionnain, whose goal chance clipped the top of the crossbar. O"Connor and Brian Farrell traded scores with O Lionnain and Brian Wall (free), but Farrell made it 0-16 to 0-7 as the game entered the final quarter. By that stage Waterford were out on their feet. Meath closed out the contest with points from McAnarney, Ward (free) and Bray (two frees) before Queeney finished a great move involving Bray, Sheridan and Ward to put the icing on Meath"s celebratory cake. SCORERS Meath - C Ward 0-4, four frees; J Queeney 1-0; D Bray 0-3, two frees; J Sheridan 0-3; C O"Connor 0-3; P Byrne 0-2; C McGuinness 0-2; B Farrell 0-2; S McAnarney 0-1; Waterford - W Hennessy 0-2, one free; L O Lionnain 0-2; P Hurney 0-1; C McGrath 0-1; B Wall 0-1, free; T Grey 0-1. TEAMS Meath - Paddy O"Rourke; Chris O"Connor, Anthony Moyles, Eoghan Harrington; Seamus Kenny, Cormac McGuinness, Caoimhin King; Nigel Crawford, Brian Meade; Peadar Byrne, Joe Sheridan, Shane McAnarney; David Bray, Brian Farrell, Cian Ward. Subs - Michael Burke for Byrne half-time, Barry Regan for McGuinness 55mins, Stephen Sheridan for Moyles 60m, Jamie Queeney for Kenny 62m, Mark Ward for Crawford 64m. Waterford - Tom Wall; Shane Briggs. Tomas O"Gorman, Maurice O"Gorman; Edmond Rockett, Liam Lawlor, Tony Grey; Sean O"Hare, Brian Phelan; Wayne Hennessy, Brian Wall, Liam O Lionnain; Stephen Cunningham, Ger Power, Patrick Hurney. Subs - Conor McGrath for Power 4mins, Eamonn Walsh for O"Hare half-time, Michael O"Gorman for Cunningham 53m, John Phelan for McGrath 64m. REFEREE Tomas Quigley (Dublin).