Hungry Derry stun the Royals

Meath hurlers were warm favourites to get the better of the Ulster side but fell just short at Celtic Park

Derry 1-27

Meath 1-24

Tom Gannon

Meath suffered a shock defeat against a hungry Derry side on Saturday in the NHL Div 2 clash at Celtic Park. It wasn't a bad showing from the Royals, but the Ulster outfit wanted the result that bit more. It was an important win for Derry in their bid to maintain their status in the division.

There was a bit of confusion early on when Derry were given a penalty. The referee initially signalled for a free but then seemed to change his mind and award a penalty. He also showed Domhnall Rogers a black card for a cynical foul which led to the decision.

After a sluggish start, Mikey Cole's goal in the 20th minute got the Royals back to within a point. Derry responded well though and they built-up their lead to seven points before the half-time whistle.

Meath had a bright spell in the third quarter and outscored Derry 0-8 to 0-4 to get back to within three points. The highlight of this period was Jack Regan's incredible point which he swung at while facing completely away from the posts. The Kiltale star finished with a fine tally of 0-16.

Nicky Potterton was very unlucky, as he saw his bullet shot rattle off the crossbar in the 62nd minute. In the closing stages, Daire Shine was caught by the backswing of Shea Cassidy and suffered a nasty blow to the head. The Derry corner forward received a red card as a result.

There was a significant delay as Shine received attention for his injury, however, when the game resumed, the Royals failed to peg back Derry's lead and the Ulster men took the spoils.

Derry raced into an early 0-3 to 0-1 lead with Meath's first score secured by Shine. Shine's full-back line compatriot, Domhnall Rogers, was penalised for a cynical foul a few minutes later. After initially signalling for a free, the referee awarded Derry a penalty and Rogers a black card.

Christy McNaughton slotted the ball to the back of Colm O'Riordan's net to give Derry a five-point lead after only six minutes. Meath responded well and points from Darragh Kelly along with three frees from Regan left a goal between the sides as the first quarter drew to a close.

A point from Gerald Bradley put Derry up by four but in the very next play, a long ball found the palm of Mikey Cole who did well to take on his man and finish the ball to the back of the Derry net.

After that goal, Derry seized back momentum and over the next 15 minutes, outscored Meath by 0-10 to 0-4. The Meath scores during this period came courtesy of three dead balls from Regan and one from Potterton. Derry went in at the break with a lead of 1-16 to 1-9.

Meath started the second-half brightly and straight from the throw-in, they won a free which Regan expertly dispatched. Regan followed that score up with another free before his early second-half points were cancelled out by John Mullan and McNaughton.

Regan secured a fantastic point in the 45th minute when he swung while facing away from the posts. Half-time substitute, Sean Doyle rattled off two points either side of a Meehaul McGrath score.

Two more frees from Regan left only three points between the sides with 20 minutes remaining. Derry started to gain momentum once more and a mixture of scores from the two Mullans, McNaughton, Eamon Conway and Bradley put the northern side seven points clear.

On the 60th-minute marker, Simon Ennis split the posts with a long-range effort before Nicky Potterton rattled the crossbar with a bullet shot. Points from Regan and Doyle got Meath back closer on the scoreboard.

Regan and McNaughton traded scores as Derry led by four with five minutes remaining. In the last minute of normal time, Shine was caught by the backswing of Shea Cassidy and the impact on the Kilskyre Moylagh man's helmet caused a nasty blow to the head. Cassidy received a red card as a result.

After a bit of a delay, the game resumed and Potterton traded points with Ruairi O'Mianain. The last puck of the game was a successful free scored by Regan but it was Derry who came away from this clash with the spoils.

Derry - Sean Kelly; Paddy Kelly, James Friel, Patrick Turner; Ruairi O'Mianain (0-2), Richie Mullan (0-4, two frees, one 65'), Sean Cassidy; Meehaul McGrath (0-1), Tomas Brady; John Mullan (0-4), Eamon Conway (0-2), Gerald Bradley (0-3); Cahal Murray (0-2), Christy McNaughton (1-8, one penalty), Shea Cassidy (0-2). Ben Kearney for Brady 44m, Callum O'Kane for Bradley 65m, Mark Craig for Kelly 79m.

Meath - Colm O'Riordan; Jarlath Ennis, Daire Shine (0-1), Domhnall Rogers; James Reilly, Darragh Kelly (0-1), Kris Gorman; Simon Ennis (0-1), Darren O'Higgins; Nicky Potteron (0-2), Sean Quigley, Lorcan Byrne; Mikey Cole (1-0), Jack Regan (0-16, 0-12 frees, one 65'), Evan Fitzgerald. Subs - Sean Doyle (0-3) for Fitzgerald, James Toher for O'Higgins both half-time, Sean Corbett for Quigley 47m, Ben Holden for J Kelly 65m, Martin Healy for Shine 75m.

Referee - Kevin Parke (Antrim)