Singing in the rain!

There was plenty of reason for singing in the rain at Cusack Park, Mullingar on Saturday evening after Meath extended their unbeaten championship record over Westmeath to 22 games with an impressive All-Ireland SFC qualifier second round victory. It is remarkable that in over 100 years, Westmeath have never managed to get the better of their neighbours and they were never even at the races on Saturday evening.  Meath never trailed and were vastly superior in every sector despite the deplorable conditions. After suffering a humiliating 27-point drubbing by Dublin in the Leinster SFC semi-final many pundits expected Westmeath to come out with all guns blazing against Meath. However, Meath steamrolled them with a second-half display that warrants plenty of praise for Eamonn O"Brien"s side. As with any performance there were a few negatives. Meath struggled to come to terms with the driving wind and rain in the opening quarter and some of their misses were shocking and raised questions about their ability to complete the job. But Meath adapted to the conditions. Joe Sheridan moved to full-forward where he was joined by Jamie Queeney and both had excellent games with Sheridan enjoying one of his finest outing in a green and gold shirt. The Seneschalstown man was inspirational. Westmeath deployed different markers which included Kieran Galvin, Michael Ennis, John Keane and Donal O"Donoghue, but Sheridan destroyed them all with his strength, hunger and accuracy. Queeney provided some much-needed breaks in the forward line. He won primary possession, off-loaded well and set up many decent scoring opportunities which helped Meath to 1-10 from play, an excellent tally in the conditions. If Sheridan hadn"t been so sublime then Peadar Byrne could have had a rightful claim to the man-of-the-match accolade. The Ballinlough talisman caused Westmeath countless problems with his direct running style and his ability to get on the ball. Byrne was another player who exemplified the hunger, passion and determination that appears to have returned and that augurs well for the future. That new-found passion comes from lessons learned from the Dublin defeat, but one of the biggest changes for Meath since then has been their competitive nature around midfield where Nigel Crawford and Brian Meade were superb. Against Dublin, Meath were cleaned out in the middle, but at Cusack Park the Royals won over 85 per cent of the breaking ball and that gave them the platform to push on and secure an easier than expected win. Crawford once again proved why he has been one of Meath"s best players this year with a work-horse display that saw him spend most of his time as a defensive midfielder, sweeping up breaking balls and disrupting Westmeath attacks. Crawford helped steady ers worked admirably and were rewarded with good performances. Westmeath rarely got a sniff of the action. All they managed was six scores against a miserly Meath defence, they managed 11 against Dublin, but Meath were in no mood to concede with Anthony Moyles, Seamus Kenny and Eoghan Harrington excelling. It really was an excellent display from Meath and certainly the finest since O"Brien took over, but there is still plenty of work required. They kicked 12 wides, many from scoreable positions, and took wrong options on occasions. Those types of mistakes will be punished by better opposition, but Westmeath were no match for their neighbours despite featuring the returning Dessie Dolan and David O"Shaughnessy. The opening 15 minutes was forgettable with some of the worst football in years on show in terrible weather conditions. David Bray missed a 13-metre free, Cian Ward was penalised for taking too long over a free, poor defending by Byrne almost allowed John Connellan flick an opening goal and Ward was also wayward with a 25-metre free. It seemed as if it was going to be one of those evenings and it was predicted that seven or eight points might win the game. However, both sides settled and it was Meath who were the vastly superior side. Ward changed the point of attack to set up an easy point for Byrne on 15 minutes before Connellan replied for Westmeath after a decent sweeping move. Another mix-up in defence saw Chris O"Connor"s wayward free travel across the face of goal and almost leave Meath in trouble, but from the break downfield Brian Farrell should have netted. A rare mistake by Gary Connaughton allowed Ward restore Meath"s advantage from a '45" and a minute later Byrne set-up Bray for an excellent score. Paddy O"Rourke lost possession of Doran Harte"s Garryowen and David Duffy pointed when he should have goaled. Meath were let off the hook and then upped the tempo with Sheridan going close to netting twice before Ward made it 0-4 to 0-2 with another '45." Sheridan"s goal eventually arrived on 32 minutes when he got the slightest of touches to Stephen Bray"s hopeful centre. Derek Heavin responded for Westmeath, but Kenny concluded the half with an excellent point to leave Meath with a 1-5 to 0-3 interval lead. Westmeath were expected to provide Meath with a stiff test in the second-half, especially with the wind in their favour, but that never materialised. Sheridan was devastating as he added two points, hit the crossbar with a rasping effort and generally tormented Westmeath in the opening eight minutes of the second-half. Bray and Ward also added points to move Meath into a match-winning 1-9 to 0-3 lead. Ward added another free before Westmeath were handed a straw. Crawford was harshly penalised and Dolan lofted in the free which Martin Flanagan managed to get a fist to and deflect to the net. When Conor Lynam added a point to make it 1-4 to 1-10 with over 20 minutes left Westmeath threatened to make a game of it. However, that challenge never materialised as Sheridan forced Connaughton to tip his stinging soccer-style drive over the bar. Flanagan countered with '45" and that was Westmeath"s last score as Meath ran riot. Two points from Ward, one free, another from Sheridan and a touch of class from Byrne extended Meath"s advantage and ensured they were left singing in the rain. Westmeath trooped off with their tails between their legs and manager Tomas O Flaharta without a job. SCORERS Meath - J Sheridan 1-4; C Ward 0-6, three frees, two '45s"; S Bray 0-2, P Byrne 0-2; S Kenny 0-1. Westmeath - M Flanagan 1-1, one '45"; D Heavin 0-1, D Duffy 0-1, J Connellan 0-1, C Lynam 0-1. THE 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, Stephen Bray; David Bray, Brian Farrell, Cian Ward. Subs - Jamie Queeney for Farrell 29 mins, Barry Regan for McGuinness 63m, Michael Burke for Kenny 64m, Shane McAnarney for S Bray 67m, M Ward for Meade 69m. Westmeath - Gary Connaughton; Francis Boyle, Kieran Gavin, John Keane; Michael Ennis, Derek Heavin, Donal O"Donoghue; David O"Shaughnessy, David Duffy; Paul Sharry, Dessie Dolan, Doran Harte; John Connellan, Denis Glennon, Conor Lynam. Subs - Willie Murtagh for Gavin 33 mins, Martin Flanagan for Sharry 38m, John Smyth for Harte 42m, Fergal wWilson for Connellan 55m, Deis Coroon for Glennon 57m. REFEREE Martin Sludden (Tyrone).