Ring of fire burns Meath

As bad days at the office go, this Christy Ring Cup defeat on Saturday was right up there, certainly as far as Meath hurling is concerned. Pairc Tailteann was bathed in pleasant early summer sunshine throughout the game, but for the home side this was as bleak a performance as any team from the Royal County has produced in recent times. While the home team wilted in the sunshine, the Lilywhites bloomed, especially in the second-half when they steadily piled on the points - and the pain. Apart from a brief spell in the opening half, this was a lacklustre, sub-standard display by the home side. Instead of harbouring any hopes of making significant progress in the competition, the fear now for Meath is that, based on this display, they will be relegated to the third tier. At half-time on Saturday, when Meath trailed by 0-7 to 0-9, there was real hope that the home side might produce an upset. They had shown considerable verve and enterprise in the opening half, enough to suggest that with the considerable breeze at their backs they could make it difficult for the Lilywhites in the second-half. Instead of pushing on to achieve what would have been a surprise, if not a shock victory, Meath collapsed at the wicket. Whatever Martin Comerford said to his charges at the break, Kildare came out a much more focused, much more determined team and simply blew their opponents away. The second-half was at times painful to watch if you had any involvement in Meath hurling. Painful and embarrassing as Kildare, on at least four occasions, scored with alarming ease. Included in that sad litany for Meath were the goals Kildare bagged from David Harney after 61 minutes and John Houlihan on 67 minutes. Both were of the 'soft' variety from a defensive perspective. Harney pounced on a failure to clear properly while Houlihan ran 30 metres before firing home. Mark Moloney and Martin Fitzgerald were others who inflicted considerable pain on the home defence. And to complete a terrible afternoon for Meath hurling, David Donoghue picked up a second yellow card in the closing minutes and made the lonely march to the dug-out. On reflection, the ominous signs were there for the home team in the last 10 minutes of the opening half when Kildare reeled off four points without reply as they made hay from a growing tendency to win the ball from the Meath puck-outs. Another ominous sign for TJ Reilly's side was an injury to their talisman Stephen Clynch. He damaged a finger and had to be replaced by Joey Keena. Then Clynch went back on again just before the interval only to be replaced by Keena again during the break. Losing Clynch appeared to drain the last drops of confidence out of the team and the men in white were not slow in taking full advantage. It says a lot that in the second-half not one Meath forward managed to get on the scoresheet with two points from Paul Fagan, and another from David Kirby making up the home team's meagre tally. Fagan also did a good job when he saved a penalty shot from Richie Hoban just after the interval. The performance of Kiltale's Peter Durnin mirrored his team's overall display. The Kiltale youngster was in flying form in the first-half, making pacy runs and he fired over two excellent efforts from play. He also split the posts from a free. Then after the break he hardly got a look in mainly because the ball just didn't come his way as Kildare took a firm stranglehold on proceedings. Starved of possession, he was edged out to the margins and eventually substituted. Others suffered in a similar manner with Noel Kirby, Barry Slevin and Mark Mullally also in the thick of things in the opening half. They too were reduced to virtual spectators as most of the action unfolded at the other end of the pitch. And the highlights of Meath's performance? Durnin, Mullally and Slevin fired over excellent efforts from play. Fagan and Kirby showed spirited resistance at times. There was also Meath's goal in the dying seconds. Keena despatched a long delivery and Noel Kirby appeared to get a touch to help the ball to the net. It could hardly even be described as a consolation in what was a dire day for Meath hurling. Meath will play Derry in the next round on Saturday and failure to win that game will plunge them into a relegation play-off against the loser of the game between Mayo and Down. SCORERS Kildare - D Harney 1-3; M Fitzgerald 0-5, two frees; M Moloney 0-4; J Houlihan 1-0; T Murphy 0-2; M Divilly 0-1; D Kennedy 0-1; D Carter 0-1; C Kenny 0-1. Meath - N Kirby 1-1; P Durnin 0-3, one free; P Fagan 0-2, one free; D Kirby 0-1; S Clynch 0-1; B Slevin 0-1; M Mullally 0-1. THE TEAMS Kildare - D Byrne; P Reidy, J Doran, P Keegan; M Divilly, D Kennedy, R Hoban; N O Muineachain, D Carter; M Moloney, T Murphy, C Kenny; M Fitzgerald, D Harney, C Bonus. Subs - J Houlihan for Bonus 34 mins; D Byrne for Carter 61m; K Divilly for Kenny 65m; N Doolan for Reidy 67m; D Moloney for Kennedy 68m. Meath - C Kane; M Foley, E Fitzgerald, D Donoghue; J Boyle, P Fagan, D Kirby; S Donoghue, P Farrell; P Durnin, N Kirby, S Clynch; B Slevin, M Mullally, K Fagan. Subs - J Keena for Clynch, half-time; E Keogh for Boyle 44 mins; N Hackett for Durnin 54m; P Keogh for Slevin 60m; P Garvey for Fagan 65m. REFEREE Owen Elliott (Antrim).