No changes for Meath

As has been the norm in the majority of team announcements throughout this league campaign Meath manager Andy McEntee has named the same 15 that started the previous match for the subsequent game, which today happens to be the NFL Div 2 final against Donegal in Croke Park, 5pm.

And who can blame him?

Much of Meath's new found high levels of consistency can be attributed to the manager knowing his best 15 and sticking with it. On some occasions his hand has been forced by injury which has necessitated change, but for the most part as a late great former club PRO used to say 'sure you'd nearly name the team yourself'.

Predictably McEntee goes with the same side that started the win over Fermanagh that secured top flight football for 2020.

There were two changes in personnel before throw-in against Fermanagh with Ben Brennan coming in for Ethan Devine and Barry Dardis replacing Darragh Campion.

Both Brennan and Dardis are listed to start today, while the two changes to the panel from last week are also retained with Sean Reilly and Thomas McGovern joining the matchday squad.

The team listed to start against Donegal is Andrew Colgan; Seamus Lavin, Conor McGill, Shane Gallagher; James McEntee, Donal Keogan, Ronan Ryan; Bryan Menton, Shane McEntee; Cillian O’Sullivan, Ben Brennan, Bryan McMahon; Barry Dardis Barra Dairdis, Michael Newman, Thomas O’Reilly. Subs - Marcus Brennan, Michael Burke, Adam Flanagan, Gavin McCoy, Graham Reilly, Seán Reilly, Darragh Campion, Ethan Devine, James Conlon, Thomas McGovern, Padraic Harnan.

 

MATCH PREVIEW

'Bonus territory' is an overused cliche in the sporting world, but rarely is it more appropriate ahead of Meath’s NFL Div 2 final clash with Donegal this evening, 5pm.
There is almost a ’laissez faire’ attitude around the county ahead of what will be Meath’s first appearance in Croke Park since the 10-point loss to Dublin in the 2016 Leinster SFC semi-final.
With promotion to Div 1 in the bag, Meath supporters can enjoy their trip to Croke Park on Saturday knowing the pressure is off, but Meath manager Andy McEntee and his players certainly won’t be taking that attitude.
After a near perfect NFL campaign, Meath will be determined to make amends for the only blot on their copybook - a second round loss to Donegal in Ballybofey.
That reversal still stings and when Meath reflect on their hugely successful and encouraging spring of 2019 they will want to be able to say they gained sweet revenge on the big stage in Croke Park.
Add in the extra sweetener of a piece of silverware and Meath will travel to Croke Park on Saturday with plenty to play for.

Meath manager Andy McEntee with his niece Helen (left), son Shane and daughter Aisling.

For all those reasons and more Andy McEntee is looking forward to the game against Donegal, which will be his first in Croke Park as Meath senior manager.
Gaining valuable experience on the hallowed turf on Jones’s Road is also an added bonus for the manager.
“The real relevance of next week’s game is that I’d like lads to get experience of playing in Croke Park,” the Meath boss told the Meath Chronicle.
“We hope to progress in the Leinster Championship which would mean we would end up playing in Croke Park and it would be a lot more beneficial for a number of players if there first game in Croke Park wasn’t a championship game. So to get a little bit of experience next week would be of big benefit to lads.”
Looking ahead to the test against Donegal Andy McEntee believes the Ulster men will be a lot stronger than when his side faced them back in February.
However, he also insists Meath have improved too.
“That was a good performance for 62 or 63 minutes against Donegal earlier in the league. We got knocked out of our stride with the concession of a goal, but the reaction to the defeat has been fantastic,” said the manager.
“We have won five games in-a-row since then and within that the reaction of Andy Colgan, to the error he openly admitted to that day, has been exceptional.
“He has got better and better every week to the extent that last week down in Clare he was one of the leaders in the dressing room at half-time, that’s very pleasing to see.
“Next week’s game is certainly a game to look forward to. Playing in a final, in Croke Park, it’s definitely a game to look forward to. We need to prepare properly.
“With the Gweedore contingent back and Michael Murphy back involved you could argue that Donegal are a lot stronger now than when we played them, but that is the challenge for us.
“We are going to be playing them next year in Div 1 of the league so let’s get an early shot at them,” he concluded.
At Monday’s media event to promote the NFL Div 1 and 2 finals Shane McEntee was also bullish about Meath’s prospects and he was excited about playing in Croke Park again.
“Preparing for a final is a completely different dynamic. Every league game you play is intertwined with your other games before and after and with what other teams are doing and you are sitting down and doing the maths, but now we just have a stand-alone fixture with a trophy at the end of it,” Shane McEntee told the Meath Chronicle.
“At the beginning of the league your target isn’t to win the Div 2 final. Naturally we were all saying we wanted to get promotion, but now that we are here against a really quality team like Donegal it would be a massive feat to come away with a trophy.
“At the end of the day there aren’t many lads there that have many trophies to celebrate with Meath so far.
“So any competition at any level that you have a chance of winning is really worth going after and we will very much be doing that this week.
“We went into the first game against Donegal a bit more under the radar, but they have now seen some of the good traits we can bring, so it is going to be a massive challenge given the quality of players they have brought back into their panel.
“Having Michael Murphy, who is one of the best players in the country, and the Gweedore lads, whose confidence must be through the roof given the year they have had, back is huge for them.
“They have brought back not just quality players, but real experience. we played a very young Donegal team that night, so it is going to be a different challenge.
“All the lads they had on the pitch that night were full of quality, but they are a different animal now.
“A lot of those lads, especially the experienced lads, they have won out in Croke Park on a number of occasions, so that mystery is gone for them.
“It is really exciting for us. I consider Donegal to be a complete Div 1 team and that is where we will be competing next year, so this is a brilliant game for us to get,” concluded Shane McEntee.
So while the Meath supporters will enjoy their return to Croke Park safe in the knowledge that Div 1 football is secure for 2020, the players and management are going all out for victory.