O"Brien off to a great start

As good starts go new Meath senior football manager Eamonn O"Brien couldn"t have asked for a better beginning than the one his troops provided with a comfortable 1-17 to 0-7 O"Byrne Cup win over Westmeath at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday. Almost 170 days since Meath exited the All-Ireland race at the hands of Limerick, the chance to wipe that performance from the memory finally arrived and O"Brien"s new look side took a giant leap forward. The quality of the opposition must be taken into context. Westmeath were no where near full strength and many of their players could only be considered as third string members and so it was no surprise their challenge faded quickly after a bright start. While Eamonn O"Brien did experiment, most of the players have featured for Meath in the recent past. Goalkeeper Paddy O"Rourke and centre-back Barry Regan made their first competitive starts, while Dunboyne"s Stephen McKenna, Summerhill"s Maurice Kennedy, St Michael"s Derek Flood and last year"s minor captain Tommy Johnson from Dunshaughlin added to the debutants as substitutes. It was a worthwhile experience for O"Brien as he saw the mettle of his players tested by the unrecognisable Westmeath team in the opening 14 minutes. Meath were slow out of the blocks and trailed by 0-0 to 0-5, but they bounced back. Cian Ward settled the nerves with a goal, but Westmeath maintained their superiority and by the 20th minute they were 0-7 to 1-2 ahead. However, they failed to score again as Meath grew in confidence and looked very fit. The levels of fitness were surprisingly high considering the fact that the players have been banned from training collectively for November and December and have been left to their own devices. Training programmes were formulated for the individual players by Colm Brady and the new manager was pleased with the reaction from his panel as all appear to have applied themselves to the cause with great commitment. O"Brien can now look forward to another serious competitive outing before the NFL gets underway with a trip to Cork on 1st February when he will field another experimental team against Kildare, who were victorious against Wexford in the opening round. The Meath panel for last Sunday"s game was strong and key players such as Brendan Murphy, Kevin Reilly, Anthony Moyles, Caoimhin King, Brian Meade, Alan Nestor, Peadar Byrne, Brian Farrell, Nigel Crawford, Shane O"Rourke, Niall McKeigue, Cormac McGill and Chris O"Connor have all to return to the fold. There is no doubting, as 2007 proved, that the quality is there for Meath to make a significant impression this year, but a lot depends on attitude. Last Sunday several fringe players proved that if the regulars are not committed to the cause then they are more than capable of filling their boots. For all the positives surrounding Meath"s win, the jury is still out on the new disciplinary rules that resulted in Shane McAnarney being yellow carded for a high challenge on Joe Clarke a minute before half-time. Too often in the modern game referees get the blame and are criticised for their performance, but Wexford official Tom Quigley should be praised for his display. The referee refused to rush to his pocket to produce cards and he was sensible in his approach. His cause was helped by the tame nature of Sunday"s contest and in a more high-tempo game with more at stake the outcome might have been much different. O"Brien didn"t argue with McAnarney"s infraction, but he did issue some concern about the consistency needed with the application of the new rules. Some referees just love dishing out yellow cards! Next Sunday"s game away to Kildare will provide another test for O"Brien, his players and the new rules. Kieren McGeeney"s side will provide a greater test, but with a good start under his belt the Meath manager can look forward with plenty of optimism, not just to the O"Byrne Cup, but also to the league campaign.