Deplorable state of Meath football evident in Derry

The English language is quickly running out of words to describe the deplorable state of Meath football at the moment. Last Sunday's second-half display against Derry in Celtic Park saw the prospect of relegation from NFL Div 2 loom even larger as the Royals capitulated in spectacular fashion. The defeat is hard enough to take, but it was the incoherent manner of the performance that is more worrying. Meath completely fell asunder in a second period that they should have lorded. It had looked promising at half-time as Seamus McEnaney's men took a 2-5 to 0-9 lead to the dressing rooms knowing that when they came back out they would have the substantial wind at their backs. However, what transpired in the subsequent 35 minutes made the displays against Antrim and Donegal look like ESPN classics. Despite the big wind behind them Meath failed to score a point from play after the break. Cian Ward lashed the ball to the net to give his side hope when he closed the gap to a point, 3-8 to 1-15, with three minutes remaining, but that was the only bit of cheer the small band of Meath supporters in the crowd of approximately 700 had to enjoy. In the closing minutes Derry tagged on three points as they continued the trend of the second-half that saw Meath beaten all ends up in every department and raises serious questions about the credentials of the defending Leinster champions ahead of the start of the provincial campaign. More urgently, it is difficult to see how Meath can avoid the humiliation of relegation. A buoyant Tyrone will come to Navan next Sunday in need of a win that may see them promoted, so they will be no pushovers. On this level of performance Meath will be cannon fodder for Tyrone. There were encouraging signs from Meath in the opening half. They played intelligently against the wind, took their goals well and caused countless problems for Derry. Much of Derry's downfall in the opening half was of their own doing. They gifted Meath possession on several occasions and lacked potency in attack, dropping three or four efforts short and kicking five wides. In contrast, Meath only had two wides in the first period and could have had another goal or two. During the opening 35 minutes Ward was outstanding as he helped out in defence and was a threat up front. Brian Meade was solid at midfield while Seamus Kenny, Cormac McGuinness and debutant Mark O'Sullivan held the rearguard together. However, what followed after the break was the stuff of nightmares. Paddy Bradley destroyed Cormac McGill, while Conleth Gilligan, Mark Lynch and Sean Leo McGoldrick also wreaked havoc. Nigel Crawford and Meade completely went out of the game at midfield and the forward division totally misfired, kicking seven wides and chasing lost causes. Derry lorded the second-half as Meath totally lost their shape. At times the Meath players resembled schoolboys, all chasing after the same ball and when they did gain possession they didn't have a clue what to do with it. Instead of using the wind to their advantage and pumping in long balls to Joe Sheridan and Shane O'Rourke, they passed the buck so often that eventually they coughed up possession and Derry punished them. One pointed free in the first 24 minutes of the second-half was Meath's miserly return with the wind. In that period Derry turned a 0-9 to 2-5 interval deficit into a 1-13 to 2-6 lead. Derry's goal had an edge of controversy. Referee Maurice Deegan booked O'Sullivan for a heavy challenge and before allowing the Moynalvey man resume his defensive duties the official permitted Derry take a quick free kick which ultimately ended with McGoldrick ghosting past McGill and planting the ball beyond Brendan Murphy. That was harsh on Meath, but there can be no excuses and the reality of the situation is that the visitors were not up to scratch. The players huffed and puffed, but lacked a biting edge and cohesion. Derry took full advantage and punished them. It had looked promising for Meath in the early stages. They thwarted a couple of early Derry attacks and following great work by Ward, Graham Reilly marked his return with a point. Gerard O'Kane responded from distance, but Meath were on the front foot and deserved to move 0-3 to 0-1 clear with converted frees from Ward. A bad pass by McGuinness led to a point for Michael Friel and seconds later O'Sullivan lost possession and Charlie Kielt pounced to pop the ball over the bar and restore parity. Bryan Menton failed to hold onto a short kick-out and Lynch took possession to edge Derry ahead for the first time, 0-4 to 0-3. Murphy did well under a couple of high balls and he kept out a dangerous effort from Lynch before Sheridan signalled his intentions with a rasping drive that sailed just wide. A minute later Sheridan had the ball in the net. Good play by O'Sullivan, Reilly and Shane O'Rourke set up the Seneschalstown man. This time he didn't strike the ball cleanly, but it still bobbled to the corner of the net to boost Meath to a 1-3 to 0-4 lead. Bradley responded with a free after he was fouled by McGill, but 14 minutes before the break Sheridan put Meath in the driving seat when he was picked out by Seamus Kenny and blasted to the net superbly. Ward stretched that lead to 2-4 to 0-5 from a free after Brian Farrell was fouled, off the ball, but Derry came back into contention as they hit four of the next five points with Reilly pointing in the middle of a brace each from Bradley and Gilligan. Despite allowing Derry back into the game in the last 10 minutes of the half, Meath were satisfied with their 2-5 to 0-9 interval lead, but few could have envisaged the total collapse and ineptitude that followed. Ward cancelled out Bradley's early score before Derry assumed complete control. McGoldrick, Bradley (free) and O'Kane edged the hosts into a 0-13 to 2-6 lead at the three quarters stage and then Sean Leo McGoldrick's goal knocked the stuffing out of Meath. Shane O'Rourke ended a 21-minute barren spell from a free after his cousin Paddy O'Rourke was fouled by Barry McGoldrick, but Derry continued to defy the wind with superb scores from Martin Donaghy and Bradley moving them 1-15 to 2-7 clear. Another free from Ward kept Meath in touch and when the Wolfe Tones man blasted through a crowd of players for Meath's third goal it looked as if they might recover. However, the goal was a false dawn as Derry closed with scores from Donaghy, Bradley (free) and Gilligan (free) to leave Meath firmly rooted to the foot of the table. SCORERS Derry - P Bradley 0-7, four frees; S L McGoldrick 1-1; C Gilligan 0-3, one free, one '45'; M Donaghy 0-2; G O'Kane 0-2; M Lynch 0-1; M Friel 0-1; C Kielt 0-1. Meath - C Ward 1-5, five frees; J Sheridan 2-0; G Reilly 0-2; S O'Rourke 0-1 free. THE TEAMS Derry - M Conlon; M Bateson, K McCloy, D McBride; G O'Kane, J O'Kane, C Kielt; P J McCloskey, M Friel; M Lynch, S L McGoldrick, B McGoldrick; C O'Boyle, P Bradley, C Gilligan. Subs - M Donaghy for O'Kane half-time, B Doyle for McCloskey 65m, C McGoldrick for Lynch 71m, L Moore for Gilligan 73m. Meath - B Murphy; G O'Brien, C McGill, C King; M O'Sullivan, B Menton, C McGuinness; B Meade, N Crawford; G Reilly, S O'Rourke, S Kenny; J Sheridan, B Farrell, C Ward. Subs - C O'Connor for McGuinness half-time, M Ward for Crawford 55 mins, P O'Rourke for Farrell 57m, P Gilsenan for King 58m, T Walsh for Reilly 65m. REFEREE Mauirce Deegan (Laois).