Spirited Meath win well

Meath recorded a sensational All-Ireland camogie championship victory over Antrim at Kiltale on Saturday which sets the team up for a place in the last four of the competition. The two-point winning margin might suggest that this was a tight contest, but it was only in the closing stages that the girls from Antrim managed to stage a late rally which left the home supporters looking for the final whistle. Meath went into this game as the rank outsiders following their inaugural campaign in the new-look National Camogie League Div 3 during which they only won twice with victories over Dublin and Armagh. Hardly the type of form that would suggest a shock was on the cards against a Div 2 team that made it all the way to the decider against Wexford. Meath manager John Davis appears to have the knack of getting the best out of teams, remember he guided Meath hurlers to a place in the NHL Div 1 only eight years ago. Davis certainly had Meath firing on all cylinders at Kiltale on Saturday and from the throw-in there was only one team in the ascendancy. Meath were ahead by 1-4 to 0-2 at the end of the first-quarter and 1-7 to 0-4 at the interval. By the three-quarter stage that advantage was 2-10 to 0-5, but the final 10 minutes was real backs-to-the-wall stuff as Antrim finished with a flourish. Meath survived, and fully deserved to survive, and if they can beat Laois in their next game in the group, they will be guaranteed a semi-final ticket. Even if they lose to Laois, it will not put them out of the running, but they would then require Laois to beat Antrim on Saturday, 25th July. Saturday"s victory leaves Meath in charge of their own fate and with Jane Dolan still to come back into the team, manager Davis still has an ace or two up his sleeve. Dolan is the team captain, but missed the league campaign through injury and had to sit out Saturday"s showdown against Antrim until she was introduced as a late substitute with three minutes remaining. The Blackhall Gaels player confirmed to the Meath Chronicle at last week"s launch of the camogie championships at Croke Park that she was well down the road to recovery. However, the 15 girls who started on Saturday will be anxious to keep their places and based on the overall team performance, the selectors will have a few headaches before they finalise the team for the trip to Laois. Aileen Donnelly had Meath on the scoreboard from a pointed free inside 60 seconds and a minute later a free from the Kilmessan player was finished to the net by the impressive Elizabeth Lynch. Antrim countered with a Rhona Tormey point from play in the fifth minute and they also managed a brace of points from Emma McMullan '65s" and a Grace McMullan point from play in the opening half. Meath"s tenacious tackling thwarted Antrim frequently during that opening half with Donnelly particularly effective in curtailing the threat of Charlene Hamill at centre-forward. The full-back line of Holly Geraghty, Lorna Donegan and Emma McNally was solid in the opening 30 minutes with wing-backs Aoife Thompson and Louise Donoghue also to the fore while Ann Marie Fagan and Edel Guy were tireless at midfield. All that effort contributed to an abundant supply of possession for the Meath forwards and the points flowed with two each from Kristina Troy and Elizabeth Lynch and one apiece for Sinead Hackett and Frances Lynch. Frances Lynch was the pivot of the attack at centre-forward and she sprayed the sliotar around to the detriment of an Antrim rearguard which appeared surprised by the potency of the Meath attack. One of Troy"s points could easily have been a goal as the sliotar ran across the top of the crossbar before falling over for a score. Emily Mangan was also full of confidence between the posts and made some excellent saves which were followed by lengthy clearances. Her ability to clear well instantly put Antrim on the back foot. Frances Lynch joined Guy at midfield for the second-half with Laura Flynn and Lizzie Oakes moving into the full-forward line. Hackett, Troy and Fagan formed a new half-forward line. Antrim upped the tempo and had an early point from Hamill before Mangan made a couple of good saves. Stephanie Horan replaced Fagan and Meath got going again through a well-taken Hackett point. Then Troy and Flynn combined to set up Elizabeth Lynch for her second goal and the pacy forward added two more points before Oakes closed Meath"s account in the 20th minute. Emma McMullan managed a point for Antrim before Clare Laverty finished to the net with three minutes remaining. That left Meath with a substantial 2-11 to 1-6 lead, but Laverty found the net again from a long free and Grace McMullan"s goal in the second minute of added-time left Meath looking for the final whistle. Kildare referee Alan Lagrue added another minute during which Meath survived as Flynn embarked on a long soccer-style run with the sliotar which lifted the siege. SCORERS Meath - E Lynch (2-4); K Troy (0-2); S Hackett (0-2); F Lynch (0-1); E Oakes (0-1); A Donnelly (0-1, free). Antrim - C Laverty (2-0); G McMullen (1-1); E McMullen (0-3, two '65s"); R Tormey (0-1); C Hamill (0-1). THE TEAMS Meath - Emily Mangan; Holly Geraghty, Lorna Donegan, Emma Mcnally; Aoife Thompson, Aileen Donnelly, Louise Donoghue; Ann Marie Fagan, Edel Guy; Laura Flynn, Frances Lynch, Elizabeth Oakes; Elizabeth Lynch, Kristina Troy; Sinead Hackett. Subs - Stephanie Horan for fagan 40 mins; Jane Dolan for Oakes 57m; Maura Keogh for McNally 59m. Antrim - C Doherty; k Maybin, M Graham, B McKinley; S McNicholl, S Laverty, E Connolly; C Laverty, R Tormey; M Convery, C Hamill, A McCaul; E McMullan, G McMullan, M McGourty; Subs - T Adams for McNicholl 50 mins; M Quinn for McGourty 57m. THE REFEREE Alan Lagrue (Kildare).