Big opportunity for camogie team

Meath will travel to Athleague on Saturday for a vital All-Ireland Premier Junior Camogie game against Roscommon, 2.30, with a prize of a semi-final ticket tantalisingly close. The forecast is quite clear, if Meath win they will advance to the last four as group winner and that will put them in a strong position to claim a precious final ticket. Fortune could be on Meath's side this year after they made a positive start to the campaign with a hard-earned 2-12 to 1-9 victory over Laois in the opening round of games in the three-team group at the beginning of July. Victory against Roscommon this Saturday will earn Meath top spot and a semi-final against the runner-up from group one, most likely to be Down, on Saturday 20th August. The make-up of group one will also be finalised on Saturday when Down host Dublin and the Mourne girls will be expected to win and advance to the last four. Waterford, the team that knocked Meath out at the semi-final stage 12 months ago at Dr Cullen Park, Carlow, have already topped the group and if Meath can handle the Roscommon challenge, the Munster side will face Laois at the penultimate hurdle. The formbook suggests that Meath have the ability to make it to the All-Ireland final on Sunday 11th September at Croke Park, but there is a lot of business to be handled before that. However, Meath have already beaten Roscommon this year on the way to the National Camogie League Div 3 title, a feat that has maintained the upward curve since the arrival of former Meath hurling manager John Davis four years ago. Meath accounted for Roscommon by 3-12 to 1-4 in a league game at Trim, but the Connacht girls have improved since that clash and will be battling for survival in the All-Ireland series after they lost narrowly (2-7 to 2-8) against Laois a fortnight ago. Defeat by Meath will eliminate Roscommon from the competition while a win would force a three-way play-off, a scenario that the Meath manager will certainly want to avoid. The fact that Laois just managed a one-point success indicates the level of improvement that Roscommon have achieved and Meath will not find it easy to leave Athleague with a victory, although a draw would also suffice. Davis will have the team ready for the game and with players of the calibre of Jane Dolan, Kristina Troy and Edel Guy likely to provide the inspiration, Meath should have enough in the tank to complete their task. They will also be boosted by the return of Aileen Donnelly and Elizabeth Lynch to the panel. Camogie in Meath is currently on a upward curve and Meath currently field a team in the Junior B competition, a title they won with what was their first team three years ago when they defeated Roscommon in the decider at Drumlane. Meath were in action in the 2011 B competition at Ashbourne on Sunday where they were beaetn by Kildare (0-6 to 2-3) while they also lost in the Leinster minor semi-final last week. That game was in Birr and Offaly won by 2-4 to 0-4, but there was consolation for the under-age team when they won the All-Ireland Minor C quarter-final tie against Kerry on Sunday by 4-16 to 0-3. Only five years ago, Meath would have struggled to field teams at county level and certainly wouldn't have won too many games. Next year Meath will pay the price for success. They will find the going much more challenging in the second tier of camogie, but they certainly deserve a place in a higher grade after a serious amount of development behind the scenes.