Braying Hill silenced by goal blitz

The longer the famine the better the feast. Meath ended nine years in the provincial wilderness with an exceptional victory over hapless Dublin in Sunday's Leinster SFC semi-final at Croke Park. Not since the victory over Dublin in 2001 have Meath managed a Leinster final appearance or even a win over the auld enemy, but on Sunday, with clinical finishing and outstanding hunger and desire that drought came to an end. The signs were there for the last few weeks - the draw with Laois was a blip. Dublin were ragged against Wexford and allowed Meath have the belief that a first championship victory in five attempts was on the cards. There were times when Dublin threatened to open up and explode on Meath. Their midfield enjoyed the better of the exchanges for the majority of the game, but with the Meath rearguard is such dominant form, it laid the platform for a memorable victory. With the Meath defence enjoying a superb afternoon, it gave the confidence for key attacking players to return to form and blitz Dublin with five of the best goals that will be scored all season in the championship. Dublin will regret missed chances. They kicked just five points from play in comparison to 5-6 for Meath. When trailing by just three points, 10 minutes into the second-half, Paul Flynn hit the post and his shot went across the face of the goals and wide. Eight minutes later and trailing by six points, Bernard Brogan rifled the ball beyond Brendan Murphy, but referee Padraig Hughes had awarded Dublin a free and they had to settle for a Tomas Quinn point. At the other end, Meath enjoyed a bit of luck. Graham Reilly could have been penalised prior to setting up Stephen Bray for his second goal which went in off the post. It was nothing more than Meath deserved. After a winter of discontent and an early summer slump, 2007 Allstar Stephen Bray burst back into top form with a blistering two-goal salvo that wouldn't have been out of place at the World Cup. The Navan O'Mahonys man displayed all the hard work, energy and commitment that he typically shows, but on Sunday he added a sharpness to his game that a plethora of Dublin defenders couldn't handle. Bray's return to form coincided with Meath's best performance for years. He provided the inspiration for those around him with Cian Ward, Shane O'Rourke and Sheridan once again ripping opponents to shreds. The one cause for concern was at midfield. Meath won very little primary possession and even most of the breaking ball seemed to go Dublin's way. Brian Meade had to be focused more on his defensive duties while Mark Ward conceded a lot of frees, but also set up some great scores. It was a mixed bag from the Meath midfield. The return of Nigel Crawford in the second-half to steady the ship contributed to Meath pulling clear. Gary O'Brien kept close tabs on Alan Brogan, Kevin Reilly gave Bernard Brogan no space and Chris O'Connor and Eoghan Harrington were superb. With that platform, Meath kicked on in the second-half and their margin of victory was by no means flattering. The outcome may have hinged on those crucial goal chances midway through the second-half, but Meath were the more competent side. Even when Dublin threatened to run riot in the opening 10 minutes, Meath refused to panic. Conal Keaney opened the scoring after a minute, but four minutes later Shane O'Rourke settled Meath from a free. It took Dublin until the eighth minute to match the tally it took 53 minutes to get against Wexford after Quinn ('45') and Bryan Cullen pointed. Meath held their nerve. Barry Cahill hopped the ball twice and from Shane O'Rourke's quickly taken free Bray set off on a run and produced an explosive finish to give Meath the lead for the first time, 1-1 to 0-3. Dublin upped the tempo again and hit four of the next five points with Bernard Brogan and Quinn on target twice each in response to O'Rourke's second score to lead at the end of the first quarter by 0-7 to 1-2. However, that was Dublin's best spell. They managed just one more point, a Quinn free, before half-time and registered just twice in the third-quarter as Meath took control. Despite Quinn's point, Meath responded through Bray and Cian Ward (two, one free) for parity, 1-5 to 0-8, at the break. After the resumption O'Rourke traded points with Quinn (free), but then Meath took a decisive step towards victory when a great tackle by Mark Ward set up a counter attack which ended with Cian Ward netting a brilliant goal to make it 2-6 to 0-9. A huge 47-metre free from Cian Ward stretched Meath's lead to four points, but Dublin still looked dangerous as Harrington, Kevin Reilly and O'Connor had to be at their best. A simple free from Quinn was followed by Flynn rattling the woodwork and three minutes later a brilliant run by Graham Reilly ended with Bray grabbing his second goal. Brian Farrell produced a deft finish beyond Stephen Cluxton with his first touch to spark wild celebrations amongst the loyal Meath supporters. Dublin struck the upright twice, but they were out on their feet. Quinn's pointed free after Bernard Brogan's goal had been ruled out gave them a brief glimmer of hope, but seconds later Sheridan had the ball in the net in front of Hill 16 to leave Meath with a comfortable 4-7 to 0-11 lead with only 17 minutes remaining. Cian Ward from a 50-metre free and a fisted a score from Graham Reilly stretched the Royal advantage. Dublin could do nothing right. Eoghan O'Gara struck the upright and Kevin McManamon was denied by a Harrington block. Bernard Brogan (free) and McManamon closed the gap to eight points, but the icing was put on the cake when Brian Farrell produced a deft finish beyond Stephen Cluxton with his first touch to spark wild celebrations amongst the loyal Meath supporters. There was still time for defensive heroics from Brendan Murphy and O'Connor, but Meath won in a canter. SCORERS Meath - S Bray 2-1; C Ward 1-4, three frees; S O'Rourke 0-3; J Sheridan 1-0; B Farrell 1-0; G Reilly 0-1. Dublin - T Quinn 0-7, five frees, one '45'; B Brogan 0-3, one free; C Keaney 0-1, free; B Cullen 0-1; K McManamon 0-1. THE TEAMS Meath - B Murphy; C O'Connor, K Reilly, E Harrington; A Moyles, G O'Brien, C King; B Meade, M Ward; S Kenny, J Sheridan, G Reilly; C Ward, S O'Rourke, S Bray. Subs - N Crawford for M Ward 46 mins, C Gillespie for Meade 56m, C McGuinness for G Reilly 61m, J Queeney for King 63m, B Farrell for Moyles 65m. Dublin - S Cluxton; M Fitzsimons, R O'Carroll, P McMahon; B Cahill, B Cullen, G Brennan; E Fennell, R McConnell; N Corkery, A Brogan, P Flynn; C Keaney, B Brogan, T Quinn. Subs - E O'Gara for Keaney 43 mins, M D McAuley for McConnell 48m, K Nolan for McMahon 55m, K McManamon for Quinn 58m, D Henry for Corkery 60m. REFEREE Padraig Hughes (Armagh).