No room for complaints as Ward goals sink the Wee County

There can be no dispute this time as Meath fired five goals past Louth to book their place in the second round of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers with an easy win at Breffni Park on Saturday evening. With all the clinical efficiency of a sniper Cian Ward shot down the Louth challenge and finally laid to rest any arguments the Wee County could muster following last year's Leinster SFC final. Meath were the better team. There can be no argument now as Ward fired four goals and Paddy Gilsenan added a late fifth to ensure Meath's supremacy was reflected on the scoreboard. As well as eradicating any doubts about who was the superior side, Ward's quartet of goals also prompted the question as to why the Wolfe Tones man was overlooked for the Leinster SFC quarter-final against Kildare. Ward's answer was emphatic as he gave a near flawless display of outstanding finishing to secure Meath's passage to the second round of the qualifiers, a route well worn by the Royals. Any concerns about the lack of a plan B were addressed at Breffni Park on Saturday as Meath mixed and matched their football superbly. The long ball direct into Paddy O'Rourke reaped rewards for Ward while the swift counter-attacking style also resulted in plenty of positive football. The most dramatic improvement in Meath's approach was the intensity and hunger they displayed. Against Kildare, Meath looked overawed and were over-powered, but on Saturday night they displayed the necessary passion and conviction to stun a sorry looking Louth. Louth's approach reflected a side who felt they had a deserved right to claim the spoils, but Meath were in no mood to surrender and apart from a slow start when they afforded Louth a three-point head start, Meath were always in control. Ward's goal-scoring heroics will take all the headlines, but the foundation for this win was built around a rousing defensive display that restricted Louth to just 1-1 from play. Meath defended in packs, like ravenous hounds they surrounded their prey in possession and forced them into errors. The few times Louth did find a way through, Meath piled back and cut out goal-scoring chances with intelligent fouling and incessant pressure. When Kevin Reilly was ruled out with a back injury there were concerns amongst the huge Meath following, but Caoimhin King filled in at full-back and was near flawless. The outstanding Shane McAnarney deputised for broken wrist victim Bryan Menton and he was as much an inspiration for this win as Ward was. The Clann na nGael man defended with no care for his own safety. He closed down Louth with everything he had and on the counter-attack he added a new dimension which bamboozled Louth all evening. Each side of McAnarney, both Jamie Queeney and Ciaran Lenehan were starting just their second games as wing-backs and both looked like veterans. Lenehan's distribution was vital while Queeney was also a threat going forward. The Meath half-back line had a huge impact against a Louth side that lacked ideas and hunger. They rarely looked capable of upsetting the odds, but Meath left them with no room to manoeuvre. After the slow start Meath came to grips at midfield as Shane O'Rourke made little of Paddy Keenan's Allstar award with a solid performance which also yielded three points. The Meath forwards worked ferociously hard and battled for every ball. Joe Sheridan and Seamus Kenny won a lot of breaking ball and picked out some wonderful passes. Gilsenan worked tirelessly and showed for possession well, while Paddy O'Rourke proved his value as his aerial threat hurt Louth as did his ability to improvise in tight situations. However, it was the prowess of Ward that impressed most. After forcing his way back into the team with outstanding club performances for Wolfe Tones, Ward once again proved his predatory instinct and punished Louth. It was a vastly improved display from Meath, but the result shouldn't gloss over some errors and the worth of a very poor Louth side that only had two scorers and saw Darren Clarke grab 1-8, with seven points from frees. The other scorer was Keenan from a penalty. Meath kicked 15 wides and squandered two or three other goal-scoring chances. Only two forwards pointed from play and both were in the first-half. There were a few nerves entering the final five minutes that despite being the dominant side Meath were only five points clear. However, the game was over from as early as the 53rd minute when Ward grabbed his hat-trick goal. The rest was academic as Meath eased up, made four substitutions and lost their flow. Louth hit back with 1-3 in a nine-minute spell near the end, but it was all cosmetic, the race was well won by that stage. Sloppy defending in the opening seven minutes allowed Clarke convert two frees and kick his only point from play as Louth raced into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead. Ward shows signs of his impending devastation when he left Dessie Finnegan trailing in his slip stream before blasting an effort off the bar. Thirty seconds later another goal chance was wasted when Gilsenan's pass to Paddy O'Rourke was intercepted by Adrian Reid and Louth cleared. It took Meath until the 12th minute to finally find their range. An excellent passing moved ended with Graham Reilly opening the scoring and four minutes later another superb move involving Brian Meade, Kenny and Gilsenan ended with Ward rifling his first goal. Poor defending by Gary O'Brien forced Kenny to foul Reid and Clarke restored parity at the start of the second quarter, but Shane O'Rourke edged Meath ahead again with a great score from the left. Ward had another decent goal chance parried by Sean Connor before Joe Sheridan's point gave Meath a 1-3 to 0-4 lead. Clarke took advantage of a mis-field by King to give Louth hope with a scrambled goal, but three minutes later Ward grabbed his second goal when he sold Eamonn McAuley a dummy and finished superbly. More exciting forward movement set-up Shane O'Rourke for his second point to give Meath a 2-4 to 1-4 interval cushion and the advantage of the wind still to come after the break. For the entire second-half Meath suffocated Louth. A Clarke free was all Louth could muster in the opening 24 minutes of the half and in that period Ward's third and fourth goals and three pointed frees moved Meath into an unassailable 4-7 to 1-5 lead. Each was Ward's goals were better than the next. Two were scored with his right foot and two with his left, Louth had no answer. Their brightest spell yielded three Clarke frees and a penalty for Keenan to close the gap to 2-8 to 4-7. The penalty was harshly awarded when Chris O'Connor was adjudged to have fouled Derek Maguire. Meath awoke from their final quarter slumber to finish with a flourish when Shane O'Rourke capped a fine performance with his third point and Gilsenan put the icing on the cake with a brilliantly executed fifth goal. Meath shouldn't get carried away with this win. Just over a year ago they fired five goals past Dublin before struggling for the remainder of the year. However, with a steady rate of progression and bit more luck the summer could yet be long and fruitful. SCORERS Meath - C Ward 4-3, three frees; S O'Rourke 0-3; P Gilsenan 1-0; G Reilly 0-1; J Sheridan 0-1. Louth - D Clarke 1-8, seven frees; P Keenan 1-0, penalty. THE TEAMS Meath - B Murphy; G O'Brien, C King, C O'Connor; C Lenehan, S McAnarney, J Queeney; S O'Rourke, B Meade; S Kenny, J Sheridan, G Reilly; P Gilsenan, P O'Rourke, C Ward. Subs - P Byrne for Queeney 44 mins, E Reilly for G Reilly 57m, A Moyles for Kenny 62m, M Ward for Meade 64m, N Crawford for C Ward 69m. Louth - S Connor; J O'Brien, A Hoey, D Finnegan; R Finnegan, M Fanning, D Crilly; P Keenan, B Donnelly; A McDonnell, R Carroll, A Reid; D Clarke, S Lennon, JP Rooney. Subs - E McAuley for O'Brien 14 mins, D Byrne for McAuley 31m, D Maguire for Rooney half-time, S Fitzpatrick for Carroll 54m, D Reid for Lennon 62m. REFEREE Maurice Deegan (Laois).