"It is a little bit strange" O'Bric on fixture congestion for Meath 20's

Cathal O'Bric has expressed his views on the hectic schedule that his u-20 side has faced over the last few weeks.

Tom Gannon

The Meath u-20's got the better of Wexford on Wednesday night in the Leinster quarter-final played in Ashbourne. The Royals had to dig deep to get the better of a tenacious Wexford but eventually saw off the Yellowbellies on a scoreline of 0-20 to 2-10.

Speaking to the Meath Chronicle in advance of that victory, Meath u-20 manager Cathal O'Bric spoke about he found it strange that the organisers of the competition have allowed such a hectic schedule for some, and not for others.

"It is a little bit strange that Louth, who were in a group of three, got a three-week break until a semi-final. We were in a group of four, we played every week and if we manage to keep going we will have six games in five and a half weeks. I think the way it has played out this year has cast a little bit of a shadow on the competition. On the plus side, it has been an opportunity to test the depth in our squad and we have come through it fairly well."

Despite the heavy schedule, holders Meath have found themselves back in a Leinster semi-final which will be played on Tuesday against Kildare. O'Bric says that the key to any success that his side can have over the coming weeks will be reliant on his side's ability to stay grounded and focus on the objectives.

"We have to be honest with ourselves, there is things that we are doing well at the moment and there are areas where we feel there is room for improvement. If we all come with that humble mind approach to the table, hopefully, it will carry us to success," said O'Bric

"Every game kind of takes on its own life. For example against Dublin in our opener, they made a better start in both halves and we reeled them in. You are never going to have momentum for the full 60 minutes but it's very important to reduce the damage done when you are not dominating. We have spoken to the lads about trying to keep the scoreboard ticking over against the run of play a minimising the scores that the opposition gets. We know during games that even if we are in a little bit of a lull, we have the capabilities to wrestle back momentum as the game progresses."