Mullingar turnstiles under pressure

The enjoyment of Meath"s superb 1-15 to 1-5 All-Ireland SFC qualifier victory over Westmeath on Saturday was spoiled by chaos at the turnstiles and in the stand at Cusack Park and also by a spate of thefts from cars parked close to the ground. It has been alleged that only two turnstiles were open at the terrace side of the stadium. Supporters were ushered to one end of the ground where turnstiles were closed and that led to a rush to get to the only open turnstiles. In normal circumstances, a decision to delay the match by 15 minutes would have been taken, but due to fading light and the possibility of extra-time, the game started on time and the Gardai ordered that the gates should be opened with many supporters gaining free entry. Some supporters who had purchased tickets for the stand were met with 'stand full" signs when they arrived and were directed to the terrace. 'I"m disgusted with the organisation of Saturday"s game. We had tickets for the stand and when we arrived at the ground 30 minutes before the start we were told the stand was full and we couldn"t get in,' fumed one irate supporter. Westmeath Co Committee secretary Pat Lynagh denied there was chaos and insisted that internet claims of 'chaotic scenes" were untrue. 'Because it was a bad evening there was a major rush for the turnstiles just before the start,' said Lynagh. 'We made a decision to open one of the gates and we let in about 150 people in a two-minute period. 'Claims that we let 500 in free are untrue, everyone got in safely and that was the most important thing.' He also dismissed reports that the stand was overcrowded. 'There were tickets for sale during the week for the stand, but these did not sell out. What we did then was operated a cash and ticket system. We knew how many tickets were sold so we knew how many people we could allow in. That all ran smoothly and the stand was full before the start of the match,' claimed Lynagh. When some Meath supporters returned to their cars after the game they discovered the vehicles had been broken into with personal property robbed during the course of the game including sat-navs, mobile phones and golf clubs. Meath"s win sets up an appealing third round tie in Navan on Saturday, 25th July against either Wexford or Roscommon. Meath have something to prove against Wexford after surrendering a 10-point advantage with 20 minutes to go against the Slaneysiders in last year"s Leinster SFC. A comfortbale 0-10 to 0-7 NFL Div 2 win at Wexford Park in March is another indicator that Meath should have enough for Jason Ryan"s men. If Roscommon emerge victorious from the replay then Meath only have to look back at the second round of qualifiers in 2006 to assess their chances when Meath won by 1-19 to 0-9 in Navan. The win over Westmeath will give the Meath players plenty of confidence. 'This game was a great chance for Westmeath to redeem themselves after the Dublin game, but I"m proud of our lads because we really rolled up our sleeves and dug it out,' Stephen Bray told the Meath Chronicle. Bray knows that his side are capable of more improvement and after a disappointing end to a Leinster campaign that suggested a short summer, Meath supporters can look forward to another day out, at least.