Supporters have a role to play for Meath against Antrim

There are plenty of reasons for the Meath players to adopt a confident demeanour ahead of this Saturday's inaugural outing against Antrim in the new-look Tier 2 Hurling Championship for the Joe McDonagh Cup.

Antrim make the trip to Navan with a string of defeats to their credit - results that saw them relegated from NHL Div 1B following a play-off reversal by the team that is currently touted as the most likely winner of the Joe McDonagh Cup - Laois.

A disappointing campaign saw Antrim lose to Galway, Dublin, Laois and Limerick, but they negotiated Offaly in the final round by 2-21 to 2-18.
The Ulster men had an opportunity to preserve their NHL Div 1B status in that relegation play-off against Laois.

However, despite the benefit of home advantage at Dunloy, they lost by two points (0-17 to 1-16) as Laois secured Div 1B status for 2019 with a 

hard-fought victory in mid-March.

And travelling to Navan this weekend on the back of that tough league campaign, Antrim joint-managers Terence McNaughton and Dominic McKinley and the players will have some extra motivation, possibly, to rectify what they will see as an anomaly in recent results against Meath.

Antrim tackled Meath in the first round of the 2018 Walsh Cup at Trim last December and included nine of the players who were involved in that play-off against Laois in that opening fixture.

Meath edged that contest as Neil Heffernan popped up with the winning point (1-17 to 0-19) in the third minute of added time only seconds after Antrim's Neil McManus had levelled for the 10th time in an absorbing contest.

There was the added boost of James Toher's return to the team at midfield, but the Trim man is now on the long-term injured list and his absence is certainly a setback for Meath's prospects.

The Meath players showed commendable battling qualities as they twice recovered from first-half deficits to go in on level terms at the break (1-9 to 0-12) with the crucial goal arriving in the 25th minute from team captain James Kelly.

Kelly is looking forward to the challenge that the new competition will present for Meath and he feels the team is ready for the test.

“Antrim will be aiming to make a winning start and they will be aware that we will not be easy opposition so we should get a good spectacle,” the Kiltale man told the Meath Chronicle at the media evening in Dunganny. (See full interview on page 42).

“What will help Antrim, and we are aware of this, is that they have been playing the likes of Gaway, Limerick and Dublin and will have benefited from that,” he added.

That day in Trim last December was a disappointing one for Antrim, especially as they had lost to Carlow in the 2017 Christy Ring Cup final after losing to Meath in that epic 2016 decider.

Conor McKinley, son of joint-manager Dominic, got a taste of Meath's battling qualities in that Walsh Cup game and he will be hoping that Antrim can put a disappointing series of results so far in 2018 behind them by winning the Joe McDonagh Cup.

“We have to put the league behind us and get down to business in the Joe McDonagh Cup,” he commented.

“The Joe McDonagh Cup provides us with a pathway to redemption and it's important that we make the most of our chance.

“These are all sides just outside the top bracket and they will be very keen to make an impact, just like ourselves.

“We would like to show what we are really capable of in the championship.

“Obviously the higher level you are playing at in the championship the more media exposure you are going to receive and it's important that Antrim is shown in a good light,” he added ahead of the trip to Navan this Saturday.

McKinley's reference to playing at a higher level is very relevant and is not lost on Meath manager Nick Fitzgerald who is well aware that Meath will have to raise their game to survive in the Tier 2 HC.

Meath would be considered the lowest ranked team in the competition based on results so far this year, but the big question is - have the Meath players found enough improvement to make a serious bid for a final ticket?

“There are no margins for error, from the opening game it's effectively a brand of knock-out hurling and our focus is totally on this Saturday's game against Antrim,” Fitzgerald told the Meath Chronicle at the media evening in Dunganny last week.(See full interview on pages 40 and 41).

“We have to try to make a winning start, but our primary objective is to stay in the competition.

“Assessing where we are from our form in the NHL Div 2A this year, we would be very disappointed with the Kerry result (Kerry 3-19, Meath 1-9).

“We were expected to win against Kildare and London and we achieved that, but Kerry was the real disappointing game. Against Westmeath and Carlow, you could also see that we lacked that little bit of experience of playing at the higher level,” he added.

Bridging that gap, adapting to a faster pace, that will be the initial goal for Meath.

It would be reasonable to expect that the players have benefited from outings against Westmeath, Kerry and Carlow in the NHL Div 2A along with the Walsh Cup against Antrim and Dublin.

Just how much improvement that has produced will be evident after 70 minutes of Joe McDonagh Cup first round action against Antrim.

Meath supporters have a big role to play in this also.

By turning up in large numbers at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday they can revive memories of the tremendous backing they provided in the Christy Ring Cup final replay victory against Antrim at Croke Park in June 2016.

A combination of both - a step up from the players and some substantial support - could help Meath to make a winning start in their inaugural outing in the Joe McDonagh Cup.

 

MEATH PANEL

Blackhall Gaels - Steven Morris.
Boardsmill - Niall Weir
Clann na nGael - Eamon O Donnachada.
Donaghmore / Ashbourne - Colm O Mealoid.
Dunboyne - Michael O’Grady, Sean Quigley.
Kildalkey - David Conneely, Paul Fagan, Patrick Conneely
Killyon - Adam Gannon, Mikey Mullen, Brian O'Reilly, Keith Keoghan.
Kilmessan - Shane Brennan, Kevin Keena, Eoin Marsh, Joey Keena .
Kiltale - James Kelly, Shane McGann, Padraig Kelly, Mark O’Sullivan, Cathal McCabe, Jack Regan.
Longwood - Chris Lynch, Damien Healey.
Moylagh/Kilskyre - Sean Geraghty.
Ratoath - Gavin McGowan, Darragh Kelly. 
Trim - Michael Cullen, Charlie Ennis, Alan Douglas, Neil Heffernan, James Toher.