Late point earns draw

There can be no questioning Meath"s hunger, desire or commitment ahead of the Leinster SFC tilt with Dublin next June following Sunday"s impressive recovery against promotion-chasing Kildare which secured a draw at Pairc Tailteann. The series of results that unfolded in the penultimate round of NFL Div 2 games ensured that Meath"s final match against Kildare would be of no significance to Eamonn O"Brien"s men, but it was important for Kildare. The Lilywhites came to Navan knowing they needed to win to have any chance of securing a place in the final, but instead the left the field with just 13 players following late red cards for Dermot Earley and Ronan Sweeney. Defeat would have been harsh on Meath had Cian Ward"s mammoth 60-metre free not sailed over the bar a minute into injury-time and ended Kildare"s promotion hopes. When these sides met in the O"Byrne Cup quarter-final in January Kildare were more convincing than their 1-10 to 1-8 margin suggested, but on Sunday Meath showed a significant level of improvement and got what they deserved. Kildare will rue kicking nine first-half wides when they had the wind to their advantage, but credit to Meath because they defended stoutly with Eoghan Harrington, Cormac McGuinness and Seamus Kenny to the fore. Kevin Reilly had some tricky moments against Ken Donnelly and Anthony Moyles had his hands full against Sweeney. That duo, along with the excellence of John Doyle, ensured Kildare were ahead for most of the match, but Meath never gave up. Mark Ward and particularly Nigel Crawford enjoyed another fine outing around midfield and with Kenny and Shane McAnarney winning a lot of breaking ball Meath were able to set-up decent scoring chances, but failed to capitalise. Jamie Queeney enjoyed a lively outing and caused problems while Cian Ward clearly revels in the centre-forward role. O"Brien welcomed back Brian Farrell to and while the Nobber man finished with three points he was obviously still ring rusty. Farrell showed plenty of hunger and endeavour to get on the ball as did Stephen Bray, but the radar was a little off with some poor shooting that sometimes fell wide or dropped short into goalkeeper Tom Corley"s hands. Meath manager O"Brien was clearly happy with the draw and the recovery his side produced, but he was also aware that Kildare could have been out of sight by half-time. 'I"m happy that we came back to get the draw, Kildare played very well in the first-half and probably should have been ahead because they kicked nine wides and a lot of them should have been points,' O"Brien told the Meath Chronicle. 'We were fortunate to be in touch at the break. I wouldn"t say we had clear-cut goal chances in the first-half, there were certainly point chances and we should have taken them. 'I"m pleased that we stayed with Kildare in the second-half. They hit a purple patch and went ahead, we could have given in at that stage, but the lads dug in and stayed with Kildare and we got the draw. 'I didn"t think we had blown it when Kildare went ahead and then we kicked a few wides. All we can do is keep playing well and creating chances and hope that it will come right for us,' said O"Brien. The game started in whirlwind fashion and it appeared we were in for a classic when Michael Conway fisted in a simple second minute goal after Kevin Reilly failed to deal with Eamonn Callaghan"s sideline. A minute later Farrell forced Corley into a great save at the other end, but the ball broke and Queeney tapped in the equaliser. Six minutes elapsed before a bad pass from Brian Meade forced Seamus Kenny to foul Doyle and from the resultant free the Allenwood ace pointed Kildare ahead. A foul on Bray was followed by Kildare dissent and Cian Ward tapped over a 13-metre free to restore parity. Despite playing with the wind Kildare struggled to find their range. Doyle pointed his second free to make it 1-2 to 1-1 and 11 minutes before the break Sweeney hit the post and Donnelly"s follow-up was blocked by Reilly. Meath responded with a Farrell point and a Cian Ward free before Doyle made it 1-3 each from a 49-metre free after Brian Flanagan was fouled. Bray was denied a goal by another fine save to ensure parity remained at the break. After the resumption Donnelly fisted over easily before superb scores from Farrell and Bray propelled Meath into a 1-5 to 1-4 lead. More poor defending followed when Meath failed to cope with another long ball and Sweeney was allowed to blast Kildare"s second goal, but Cian Ward responded from a 45-metre free. A Kildare purple patch ensued with Alan Smith, Doyle and Donnelly making it 2-7 to 1-6 near the end of the third-quarter, but Meath responded positively with Crawford making amends for a terrible wide with a fine point and Farrell and Bray following up with super scores to make it 1-8 to 2-7. Kenny departed for a yellow card foul on Padraig O"Neill and following a disputed '45" Kildare worked a fine score with Mick Foley pointing. When Robert Kelly made it 2-9 to 1-9 with eight minutes remaining it looked like defeat for Meath. However, Crawford inspired the comeback with an excellent point before Cian Ward left the minimum in it from a '45." Earley received a straight red card in the 70th minute following an altercation with Crawford. From the resultant free Cian Ward launched the magnificent equalising point, but there was still more time for late drama when Sweeney also saw straight red following a clash with Moyles. SCORERS Meath - C Ward 0-5, four frees, one '45"; J Queeney 1-0; B Farrell 0-3; S Bray 0-2; N Crawford 0-2. Kildare - J Doyle 0-4, three frees; M Conway 1-0; R Sweeney 1-0; K Donnelly 0-2; A Smith 0-1; M Foley 0-1; R Kelly 0-1. THE TEAMS Meath - Paddy O"Rourke; Cormac McGill, Kevin Reilly, Eoghan Harrington; Seamus Kenny, Anthony Moyles, Cormac McGuinness; Mark Ward, Nigel Crawford; Shane McAnarney, Cian Ward, Brian Meade; Stephen Bray, Jamie Queeney, Brian Farrell. Subs - Shane McKeigue for Meade 52 mins, Joe Sheridan for Farrell 56m, Chris O"Connor for Kenny (yellow card) 61m, Damien Sheridan for M Ward 65m, Peadar Byrne for McGuinness 66m. Kildare - T Corley; M O"Flaherty, D Brennan, H McGrillen; M Scanlon, B Flanagan, M Conway; R Kelly, D Earley; E Callaghan, P O"Neill, R Sweeney; A Smith, K Donnelly, J Doyle. Subs - M Foley for Callaghan 54mins, E O"Flaherty for O"Neill 68m. THE REFEREE Joe McQuillan (Cavan)