ALL-IRELAND SFC FINAL REVIEW 'You'd never be worried with this bunch and I mean that'

REACTION Murray unfazed by team's rocky start

The President of the LGFA Micheal Naughton put it succinctly just before he presented the Brendan Martin Cup to Meath captain Shauna Ennis.

"To win one All-Ireland is one thing, to win it a second time takes a special team," he said, or words to that effect.

Not that Meath made the best of starts on Sunday. They had sought in vain to find their true form throughout the campaign and in the opening minutes against the Kingdom they looked like a group of lost adventurers struggling to make it through a quagmire.

After just seven minutes Kerry raced into a 1-2 to 0-0 lead. The Munster side looked, the sharper, the hungrier, the more assertive.

Was manager Eamonn Murray concerned during those nervy, early stages? Concerned that his team might lose their way completely? Was he hell.

"No, no, no you'd never be worried with this bunch and I mean that, not for a second, no," he said in the post-match press briefing underneath the Hogan Stand. Murray sat at a table surrounded by reporters and relived another golden day for him and the players.

His words hinted at one of the cornerstones of this team's success - the absolute trust between the management and players. His total belief his troops would turn things around.

That trust works both ways. It's clear also the players have total faith in the management team and the way they go about their business.

The manager had no doubt his players would dig themselves out of the early spell of lethargy and push on to win - and how right he was.

"The response was brilliant, three different players scoring goals Bridgetta Lynch came off the bench and she was magic she had the best game of her life, Orla Byrne came on, all our subs did very well today," he added with a sense of pride.

Then there was the little aside, the gentle cut, at those who might have doubted Meath in any way. "We were told during the week that we didn't have subs but we proved today that we have."

Murray sensed his team were reaching their peak in the lead up to the final and he wasn't slow in saying so - and his faith was justified there as well. How it was justified. Meath conjured up their best performance of the year - or as the manager put it - "we saved the best until last."

That word 'last' carried a certain resonance on Sunday because with Vikki Wall and Orlagh Lally moving to Australia to take up professional contracts there is a real fear they might not feature for Meath again - at least not in the near future. Some members of the management also look set to join Colm O'Rourke's backroom line-up working with the senior men's team.

When the subject of the unit, the sisterhood, fracturing was mentioned, emotion started to be heard in Murray's voice. His group of players - who must feel like an extended family to him now - is being broken up and there isn't a whole lot he can do about it. He paused for a moment before continuing.

"It won't be easy," he said referring to the fact that players were moving Down Under adding that "they have two All-Irelands in their pockets they can go with pride, their heads up. We wish them luck and look forward to them coming back. They will be back I know they will and they’ll win again."

There was also the sense that Murray feels this team is only starting to really find its stride and now some of its best players are to be taken away. "They're probably good enough to win three or four in a row but we'll worry about that next week."

Murray also referred to another huge factor in Meath's victory, a sixteenth player if you like - the vociferous supporters. From early in the day carloads and busloads of fans, flags jutting from the windows, made their way up the M3. They roared their approval every time Meath players did anything positive, creating a tsunami of sound.

"That crowd, you would have to win for that crowd, the lift they gave us was just unbelievable, that lift they gave the team when the players executed a turnover, scored a point, or a wide for them, it was just magic. There were probably as many supporters there (from Meath) as the other five teams put together."

The synergy between the players and supporters proved to be a winning formula on Sunday with Murray, as always, eager to praise the character of the girls in green and gold.

"It takes a special bunch to do something like that, to win a two-in-row. We started the year off quietly, we won the league, we started the championship then. We got better and better and kept the last until today," he added.

Those were the same sentiments expressed by Mr Naughton just before he presented the Brendan Martin Cup to Shauna Ennis for the second successive year. De ja vu all over again.