Narrow defeat as Meath minor hurlers bow out

When can a defeat be regarded as something of a victory? The scoreboard stated at the end of this All-Ireland B MHC semi-final on Saturday that Meath had clearly lost by two points. Yet there was a feeling at the final whistle that the Royal County achieved a moral victory of sorts and that appeared to be recognised by their supporters at Pairc Tailteann who cheered the players off the pitch. Considering that back in April this Meath team were trounced, 0-4 to 2-16, by more or less the same Westmeath side this was, indeed, progress. And with a little more composure in the closing stages they could have sneaked a victory or forced the game into extra-time. Instead Meath snatched at chances in the tense closing minutes, spurned a couple of good opportunities from frees and were sent tumbling out of the competition. Another low point of what was a pleasant afternoon, perfect for hurling, was the dismissal of William Harnan in injury-time after he picked up two yellow cards, both for off-the-ball incidents. The manner of Meath's display was alluded to afterwards by Westmeath manager Pat O'Brien who spoke about the "heart" displayed by the home team. He said his players were lucky to leave Pairc Tailteann with a victory. Meath certainly showed plenty of heart and determination. However, at no point they did lead and Westmeath had an edge when it came to sharpness and some of the finer points of the game. They also looked physically stronger - marginally, yet enough to see them over the line. At times Westmeath looked like they might pull away and win with considerable ease only for the spirited Meath side to respond with a score or two and haul themselves back into contention. At half-time Westmeath were in front by only 1-7 to 0-7 and there was the feeling that if Meath could display a more ruthless streak in front of goals they could cause an upset. During that opening half Damien McGee swept over four points from frees for Meath with Aaron Ennis tagging on two from play and Willie McGrath also splitting the posts. McGrath looked like he could cause damage every time he won possession. The problem for him, and for Meath, was that they couldn't get the ball into the forward line as frequently or with the same precision as was required. For a 13-minute spell in the opening half Meath failed to trouble the scorekeeper. Westmeath's opening half account was made up of three points from full-forward Niall O'Brien, David Gavin (two) and one each Aaron Craig and David Higgins Then there was their goal which arrived in the 21st minute when Shane Fagan sent in a long ball from the right to Aonghus Clarke who showed real predatory instincts by shooting to the net from about 12 metres. It was Clarke who racked up a big score in the game between the sides a few months ago. It looked like he might cut loose again however, the Meath defence were much firmer this time around. Westmeath claimed the opening point of the second-half when Enda Kincaid strode forward to shoot between the posts. That spurred Meath into action and they put together one of their best spells of the game with McGee firing over from long range. As the tempo picked up Ennis almost broke through for a goal, but his low shot went narrowly wide when it could easily have ended in the net. Then the breakthrough was made. With just over 40 minutes on the clock McGee played a quick free to Shane Brennan. He pumped the ball into the square from near half-way. The Westmeath defence hesitated and McGrath looked to have got a touch. The outcome was that the ball ended up in the net. That left the sides level on 1-8 apiece. Could Meath do it and push on for a great victory? The play flowed from one end to the other with Westmeath more clinical. Paddy Conneely lofted over a fine point for Meath while James Toher also registered a point. However, scores from Flynn, O'Brien, Clarke and Neal Kirby ensured Westmeath led by two points going into the last few minutes. It was tense, it was close yet Meath just couldn't get the goal they needed with McGee and Toher going close to getting points from frees. It wasn't to be. There are a number of Meath players who can look back on this game with real pride. Gaeil Colmcille's Conor Murray was assured between the posts, Niall Weir impressed at full-back while Conor Foley, Thomas Raleigh, James Kelly and McGrath were others that stood out. For Meath there was disappointment although some of their supporters were more than happy with the performance. Meath - Conor Murray (Gaeil Colmcille); Stephen Morris (Blackhall Gaels), Niall Weir (Boardsmill), Conor Foley (Killyon); Thomas Raleigh (Killyon), James Kelly (Kiltale), Ryan Andrews (Trim); Ciaran Fitzsimons (Clann na nGael), Shane Brennan (Kilmessan); Paddy Conneely (Kildalkey 0-1), Aaron Ennis (Clann na nGael 0-2), Damien McGee (Trim 0-5); Adam Gannon (Killyon), Willie McGrath (Moylagh 1-1), James Toher (Trim 0-1). Subs - William Harnan (Kiltale) for Ennis 35 mins; Michael Hennssy (Kiltale) for Gannon 39m; Stephen Cooper (Ratoath) for McGee 58m; Fionn Ferguson (Gaeil Colmcille) for Gannon 59m. Westmeath - N Kelly; D Garvin, T Doyle, T Gallagher; K Reilly, G Flynn, S Fagan; P Laide, D Higgins (0-1); A Craig (0-2), D Gavin (0-2), E Kincaid (0-1); A Clarke (1-1), N O'Brien (0-4 two frees), N Kirby (0-1). Subs - J Boyle for Flynn half-time; P Reilly for Kirby 53 mins. Referee - Ray Mathews (Antrim).