Impressed O'Bric reflects on Dublin victory

The Meath u-20's defeated Dublin in Donaghmore Ashbourne GAA on Wedensday evening

Tom Gannon

Meath manager, Cathal O'Bric was very proud of his side's performance as they got the better Dublin in the opening round of the u-20 Leinster Championship on Wednesday.

Be sure to listen to next week's episode of TALK A GOOD GAME to hear Cathal O'Bric's full interview.

Reflecting on the fantastic win O'Bric said that he knew if his side could keep within touching distance of the Dubs, they would have a great chance of coming away with the win.

"I'm very proud of the lads. They put in huge work over the last six months to prepare for this challenge. When the Dubs come to town, you are going to get quality in every area of the field. I thought our lads matched them. At certain times there, Dublin looked to get a slight edge on us but I felt before the game that if we could keep it tight heading into that final stretch, we might be able to gain an advantage and sew some seeds of doubt in the Dublins player's minds. That's what we did and we capitalised on it."

Meath kicked several important two-pointers in the contest including three from Jamie Murphy and one each for John Harkin and Michael McIvor. O'Bric said that Dublin underestimated Meath's ability to kick long-range scores.

"The two-pointers are such a huge part of the game now. Even if you are four points behind, within two kicks of the ball you're back there again. We know we have the kickers to get them. Michael (McIvor), Jamie (Murphy), Rian (Stafford), John (Harkin) and Cian (Commons) are all fantastic two-point kickers when they get a bit of room. I think Dublin underestimated that as part of our locker.

Meath finished with an impressive tally of 1-22 but the Seneschalstown native said that he saw the potential that the Royals had in the scoring department during friendlies over the past few weeks.

"1-22 on any day is an impressive total. The lads have been threatening that. We've seen glimpses of that in some of the friendly games and there have been other times where we were shut down a bit more. The potential for putting up a big score like that was there."

O'Bric was impressed with Meath's ability to overturn momentum and hit back at Dublin when it looked like they were getting the upper hand.

I was impressed with our lads' ability not to let the game slip away. We talk about momentum in a game and sometimes you can very quickly find yourself, four, seven, nine points behind and then it's gone. Our lads were able to wrestle back the game when it looked like Dublin might open up a gap that we wouldn't be able to peg back so I was impressed with our lad's ability to break that momentum numerous times." said O'Bric

"Our defence are masters at getting in a flick tackle. The forward thinks he's gone and our lads still get a hand in to knock the ball away. It gives such a lift to the team when you see a snaffle like that. Then after that, we also base a lot of our game on those lighting quick attacks, getting them first few passes forward and then you are bearing down on the opposition."

Next up for the Royals is a trip to neighbours Westmeath on Wednesday, April 2nd. O'Bric says that The Lake County present an unknown challenge for his Royals and that he won't be taking anything for granted.

"To be honest, Westmeath are a total blank canvas. I said it to the lads in the huddle after, that this week's game wouldn't be worth a whole pile if we went down to Kinnegad and got our arses handed to us. It's all about recovery now, the bodies and the minds. I think it's important to refocus our minds on the challenge ahead. We are going down to Westmeath's home patch, they are a very proud county and we won't be taking anything for granted."