13-man Meath survive Down resurgence

Meath Hurlers secured their Div 2 Status and earned a shot at promotion in Trim on Saturday

Meath 2-30

Down 4-21

Tom Gannon

13-man Meath survived a second-half revival from Down to just about hang on for victory in this NHL Div 2 clash on Saturday in Trim GAA.

The Royals were leading by 17 points at the break but a surge from the Ulster men in the second-half depleted that lead and Meath needed their keeper, Colm O'Riordan to come to their rescue, not once, but twice to seal the win.

The result means that Meath have secured Div 2 status for next year but it has also given them a chance to gain promotion to Div 1 should they manage to get a win against Kildare next week.

From the get-go, there was fantastic intensity in the contest and after only six minutes Meath led their opponents 0-5 to 0-3. Damien Healy set up Mikey Cole for the first goal of the game as Meath seized momentum. From here Meath dominated the rest of the opening half.

Free takers Jack Regan and Tom McGrattan traded numerous blows before three points in quick succession courtesy of Lorcan Byrne, James Toher and Nicky Potterton saw the royals widen their advantage to 1-12 to 0-6 at the end of the opening quarter.

Down were lacking attacking opportunities but when they did come their way,  McGrattan usually took advantage. However, on numerous occasions, Meath responded to a down score with two or three points on the hop.

Meath secured their second goal when Toher played a lovely hand-pass across to Damien Healy who did well to finish to the net to give Meath a 15-point lead two minutes before the break. Healy was returning to action after a lay-off for the Royals and was their star man in the opening 35 minutes.

Meath went in at half-time holding a 2-22 to 0-11 lead. Down came out with intent in the second-half and they outscored the Royals by 0-6 to 0-3 in the opening 10 minutes.

Regan pulled back a couple of points for the Royals before Down brought themselves right back into the game with two goals in a matter of 30 seconds, secured by McGrattan and Chris Egan.

Meath were reduced to 14 men when Mikey Cole was given his marching orders for a second-yellow card offence. Later on, they were hit with another similar blow when Darragh Kelly also received a second yellow card. Both men had inadvertently made high tackles and they were punished as a result.

A third Down goal scored by substitute Ben Taggart left only seven points between the sides with seven minutes remaining. Down were now firmly in control of momentum and a couple of more frees from McGrattan saw the Ulster side narrow the gap back to five.

Two minutes into injury time, McGrattan found the back of the net for a second time as Down looked to peg back what had appeared to be an unassailable Meath advantage at half-time.

The Royals did well to see out the game and they have their keeper, Colm O'Riordan to thank for pulling off two fantastic saves in the closing stages. A 74th minute free from Regan was the final hurrah as far as the scoreboard was concerned and Meath breathed a sigh of relief when Eamonn Furlong blew the final whistle.

Meath – Colm O’Riordan; Jarlath Ennis, Martin Healy, Domhnall Rogers; Sean Coloe (0-1), Darragh Kelly (0-1), Kris Gorman (0-1); Simon Ennis, Damien Healy (1-4); Nicky Potterton (0-3), Sean Quigley (0-2), Lorcan Byrne (0-3); Mikey Cole (1-5), Jack Regan (0-8, five frees, one 65’), James Toher (0-1). Subs – Sean Doyle (0-1) for Coloe 49m, Paddy Barnwell for D Healy 65m, Mark Horan for Quigley 67m, Mickey Burke for J Ennis 72m.

Down – Cahal Lavery; John McManus, Tom Murray, Gerard Hughes; Barry Trainor, Niall McFarland, Marc Fisher (0-1, one free); Liam Savage (0-1), Donal Hughes (0-2); Pearse Og McCrickard, Finn Turpin, Paul Sheehan (0-3); Tom McGrattan (2-12, ten frees, two 65’), Chris Egan (1-0), Daniel Toner (0-2). Subs – Michael Dorrian for Og McCrickard, Tim Prenter for Trainer both half-time, Jordan Murphy for G Hughes 43m, Ben Taggart (1-0) for Toner 59m, Owen McGreevey for Egan 61m, Owen McDermott for Sheehan (inj) 70m.

Referee – Eamonn Furlong (Wexford)