Revenge is sweet

There was a shortage of finger nails by the end of Saturday's All-Ireland SFC fourth round qualifier as Meath held on for dear life to score a narrow victory over a plucky Limerick outfit at Portlaoise. The margin of victory doesn't do justice to the quality of Meath's performance yet as full time approached they were fortunate not to be taken to extra-time as Stephen Lucey was halted in his tracks by referee Padraig Hughes for over-carrying. The decision was marginal and one of a number of strange calls by the Armagh official that infuriated both camps. He also harshly issued a straight red card to Meath captain Stephen Bray following an off the ball confrontation with Mark O'Riordan and failed to spot a square ball for Limerick's second goal. Bray's sending off was a major blot on an otherwise near-perfect copybook and the O'Mahonys man now seems certain to miss next Sunday's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Mayo. Prior to the captain's dismissal he had been exceptional, kicking four points and displaying the form that earned him an Allstar in 2007. His link up play was brilliant and he tormented the ragged Limerick defence. Just as in the game against Roscommon Meath failed to fully emphasis their superiority and that almost came back to haunt them as Limerick's late revival threatened to repeat their surprise victory over the Royals last year. Since their Leinster SFC exit at the hands of Dublin, Meath have grown in confidence and on Saturday they looked to be a very potent outfit against a side that many pundits had tipped to beat them and had ran Cork close in the Munster SFC final. The Limerick midfield was much vaunted prior to the contest, but Nigel Crawford and Brian Meade rarely gave them a sniff and with the support of Seamus Kenny, Caoimhin King and Cormac McGuinness they cleaned up possession. The movement in attack was also equally impressive with Bray brothers linking up magnificently and Peadar Byrne getting through a mountain of work. Brian Farrell and Joe Sheridan also won valuable ball and put it to good use. Defensively Meath were shaky. Some of the handing was very poor and too often Anthony Moyles and Eoghan Harrington were caught out by long ball over the top which Stephen Kelly exploited. However, Limerick were limited in their effectiveness. There was none of the fireworks from Ian Ryan that saw him notch 3-7 against Meath last year and the impact of Padraig Browne and Cormac Joyce-Power was negligible. Only Seanie Buckley's probing runs and the late impact of John Mullane added to Kelly's pressure and despite a couple of nervous moment the Meath defence coped admirably. There was a great unity in the Meath performance. They played brilliantly as a team and worked hard in every sector. It is their hunger and determination that has driven them on in this championship run. The wins over Waterford, Westmeath and Roscommon never tested Meath's character, but when they were asked questions on Saturday all the players stood up and were counted. None more so than the outstanding Chris O'Connor who gave an exhibition as a corner-back who was dragged out to midfield by Ger Collins. O'Connor once again chipped in with a couple of points and Limerick obviously didn't learn anything from watching Meath in this championship because O'Connor has done that several times this year. O'Connor claimed the RTE man-of-the-match accolade and deservedly so, but several other players were in with a strong shout as Meade had an exceptional outing. The entire half-back line got through Trojan work and with Stephen Bray contributing four points and pulling the strings it was a pity his day ended with a red card. Meath had looked the stronger team throughout and it was Limerick's goals that kept them in contention and ensured a nervous finish, but anything other than a Meath victory would have been an injustice. As expected Limerick came haring at Meath from the off, but they struggled to make inroads with Ryan's free after two minutes following a foul on Buckley their only score in the opening 11 minutes. Meath were also failing to hit the target with the frequency they would have expected. Cian Ward levelled matters from a 28-metre free after Stephen Lavin fouled Brian Farrell. Byrne should have had a goal two minutes later, but he was denied by an excellent save from Sean Kiely. Ward converted the subsequent '45' before a foul by Harrington on Joyce-Power allowed Collins restore parity, 0-2 each. That parity didn't last long as McGuinness fed Ward with a brilliant ball and despite the close attentions of Johnny McCarthy the Wolfe Tones man dropped the ball to his feet and steered it to the net with a finish that Fernando Torres would have been proud of. Inside five minutes Stephen Bray added two magnificent scores to stretched Meath's advantage to five-points and at that stage it seemed certain that Meath would run away with the game. However, as has been the failings in some games this year Meath failed to finish off their opponents when they had them floundering on the ropes. All-Ireland League winning rugby star with Shannon, Kelly closed the gap for Limerick and John Galvin could have netted after a brilliant run when he shrugged off the attentions of Crawford and Sheridan before he blazed wide across the face of the goals. Kelly did convert a 30-metre free after Byrne fouled Buckley, but Stephen Bray settled Meath with a fisted point and David Bray added to the tally following great work by his brother. Kelly again responded in first-half injury-time to close the gap to 0-5 to 1-6 at the break and at that stage Meath still looked to be by far the better side. Despite playing against the wind in the second-half Meath started brightly with Farrell restoring their five-point lead inside 90 seconds, but again Limerick would not go away and Ryan responded with a fine score. Byrne blasted a great goal opportunity over the bar before Collins pointed from a dubious free after it appeared Buckely had fallen too easily under pressure from McGuinness. O'Connor made his first scoring contribuition to make it 1-9 to 0-7 and when Byrne was at the end of an superb incisive move involving Paddy O'Rourke, Sheridan, Meade and Farrell to put six points between the teams it appeared all over bar the shouting. However, Limerick still had some fight left in them. Buckley drop-kicked to the net from close range despite the presence of six Meath players surrounding him, but O'Connor responded perfectly for Meath with a fine point. Stephen Bray made it 1-12 to 1-7 with 16 minutes left before Limerick were dragged back into the game when O'Rourke and Meade made a mess of Kelly's '45' and Jim O'Donovan got the slightest of touches to ensure the ball dropped to the net. The goal stood despite the Limerick man's obvious square ball infringment. When Kelly got in behind Harrington to fist over a point Meath looked nervous. King emulated Kelly's score, but there was further disaster for Meath when Stephen Bray was sent-off. Down the other end Ryan converted a free after Collins had clearly dived to close the gap to a point and set up a tense finale. David Bray had an effort blocked out for a '45' and Ward steered the subsequent kick wide. Limerick surged forward looking for an equaliser. Lucey looked to get himself into a good position, but Hughes penalised him for over-carrying and Meath were let off the hook as the final whistle blew to spark wild celebrations. However, they were well aware that a big improvement will be necessary if they are to repeat the heroics of 2007 and reach an All-Ireland SFC semi-final when they face Connacht champions next Sunday. SCORERS Meath - C Ward 1-2, one free, one '45'; S Bray 0-4; P Byrne 0-2; C O'Connor 0-2; C King 0-1; D Bray 0-1; B Farrell 0-1. Limerick - S Kelly 0-4, one free; I Ryan 0-3, two frees; J O'Donovan 1-0; S Buckley 1-0; G Collins 0-2, frees. 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 - Michael Burke for Byrne 58m, Barry Regan for Farrell 66m. Limerick - Sean Kiely; Johnny McCarthy, Shane Gallagher, Mark O'Riordan; Stephen Lavin, Stephen Lucey, Pa Ranaghan; Jason Stokes, John Galvin; Padraig Browne, Cormac Joyce-Power, Seanie Buckley; Ger Collins, Stephen Kelly, Ian Ryan. Subs - John Mullane for Browne 53 mins, Bobby O'Brien for Joyce-Power 61m, Eoin Hogan for Buckley 66m. REFEREE Padraig Hughes (Armagh).