Meath's Famous Five

Meath maintained an impressive five-year unbeaten reign for manager Kit Henry in the Leinster Inter-County VEC senior football championship at Roundwood on Saturday. The long trip to the Garden County was a worthwhile journey for the sizeable band of vocal Royal County supporters who packed into the compact stand at the Wicklow venue. With the home county also well supported, there was a great atmosphere as the young gladiators served up a thrilling Leinster decider in difficult conditions. Wicklow, who lost heavily to Meath in the provincial decider at Dublin's Parnell Park 12 months ago, were eager to make amends for that reversal and were within touching distance of victory for long periods in an absorbing second-half. That Wicklow didn't win was of immense disappointment to their players, mentors and supporters, but they can have absolutely no complaints about the outcome. Wicklow kicked a dozen wides, many of them when they had Meath on the ropes in the second-half. Two in particular were at time when there was only the minimum in it as the clock ticked into two minutes of injury-time which Offaly referee Damien Brazil quite rightly added. The groans which greeted those efforts were eclipsed subsequently by the cheers from the Meath supporters which greeted a massive Bryan Davis point from play from almost 50 metres. It was the penultimate action of the game and a perfect antidote for the beleaguered Meath defence who had spent most of that second-half on the backfoot as they tried to build on an opening half performance in which they were second in most departments. That Meath went in on level terms (0-5 apiece) at the break, was a credit to the determination of the team as a unit. They lived off scraps, they enjoyed some good fortune, but they also displayed plenty of guts, grit and no small amount of skill as the plot developed. Oldcastle's Robert Farrelly was superb and finished the opening half with a brace of points to his credit as did Brian McMahon while Davis also split the posts. Meath's problems stemmed from a nervous start during which Cathal Finn struggled in the right corner back position. He gifted possession to Wicklow in the fifth minute, but his blushes were spared when Colm O'Riordan blocked Jimmy Kelly's goalbound effort. That seemed to strengthen Finn's resolve and he settled into the game after that and emerged with an enhanced reputation which could be vital for the next assignment. Wicklow's Theo Smith was a constant threat at centre-forward and finished the half with three (two frees) points to his credit while Paddy Crowley added a brace. Henry introduced Gareth Deery and Adam Gannon for the second-half at the expense of David Murtagh and Paul Lynch, but Wicklow remained in the ascendancy. Crowley looked certain to score a goal inside 60 seconds, but somehow, full-back Conor McGill blocked the ball. Finn made a similar block later in the half and O'Riordan produced another fine save near the end also. That determination was crucial in thwarting a Wicklow team that was equally focused, but Meath's ability to take limited chances ultimately paved the way to the podium. David Donnellan got the Royals moving again from a free four minutes into the second-half and Aaron Ennis sent over from play. Smith's pointed free for Wicklow left the minimum in it again (0-7 to 0-6) by the end of the third-quarter. Davis converted a free and Smith replied as the tempo increased and then Shane McEntee split the posts, but Smith countered again. The momentum was with Wicklow, but Meath refused to buckle and when Davis picked up a loose ball outside the Wicklow 45-metre line a score looked unlikely. However, the Dunshaughlin student sent a booming effort over the black spot and that broke Wicklow's resolve. Meath's next challenge will be a showdown against the Ulster champions on Saturday 19th February. Last year, Meath were eclipsed in the All-Ireland semi-final by a strong Cork team at Templemore and will be eager to rectify that statistic. Meath – Colm O'Riordan (Ratoath); Cathal Finn (Dunboyne), Conor McGill (Dunshaughlin), David Murtagh (Ashbourne); Jason Welby (Ashbourne), Shane Melia (Ashbourne), Paddy Haslam (Ratoath); Niall Shorthall (Ashbourne), Shane McEntee (Dunboyne 0-1); David Donnellan (Dunshaughlin 0-1 free), Aaron Ennis (Athboy 0-1), Robert Farrelly (Oldcastle 0-2); Paul Lynch (St Ciaran's), Bryan Davis (Dunshaughlin 0-3 one free), Brian McMahon (Ratoath 0-2). Subs – Gareth Deery (Ashbourne) for Murtagh, Adam Gannon (Longwood) for Lynch both half-time, Pearse McGrath (Ashbourne) for Ennis 51 mins, Jimmy Farrelly (Nobber) Haslam 58m. Wicklow – P Miley; M O'Brien, J Manly, J Snell; J O'Brien, K Manahan, P Geoghegan; J Henderson, C McGaynor; J Kelly, T Smith (0-6 four frees), S Olohan; S Magee, P Crowley (0-2), C McKenna. Subs – A Conway for Olohan, S Duffy for Snell both half-time, D Gammell for Henderson 42 mins, D Keane for Magee 47m, J Doyle for Mckenna 56m Referee – Damien Brazil (Offaly).