The countdown to Croker continues

After the ecstasy of defying the critics and producing the biggest shock in this year's All-Ireland SFC race with victory over Mayo it was quickly back down to earth for the Meath footballers on Thursday last when they returned to training in preparation for the All-Ireland semi-final with Kerry on Sunday, 30th August. There is some good news for manager Eamonn O'Brien ahead of the biggest game of his managerial career with Stephen Bray set to return to the starting line-up following suspension and there is also the possibility that Kevin Reilly could be available. "Kevin is on an intensive rehabilitation programme and there is the possibility that he could play some part against Kerry if required by Eamonn," confirmed team physiotherapist Frank Foley. "Everyone came out of the Mayo game with a clean bill of health. David Bray got a slight knock on his ankle, but he is fine and the injury won't rule him out of the Kerry game." Reilly's re-appearance on the scene is a major boost for O'Brien. Only two weeks ago he appeared to be ruled out for the rest of the year and there was talk that he needed major back surgery. However, a visit to renowned sports physiotherapist Gerard Hardiman in Limerick has yielded positive results and Reilly could yet feature in Meath's glorious run. Already Meath are being written off as no-hopers. There is no pressure on Meath to succeed against the Kingdom and with that type of approach Meath have already proved they can upset the odds. Very few outside of the camp believed Mayo could be beaten, but apart from the opening 17 minutes, Meath produced a masterclass in how to be effective in possession and devastating in approach. It was Meath's greater hunger and willingness to battle that shocked Mayo into submission and those attributes will be required to account for Kerry when the new favourites for the Sam Maguire stand between Meath and a first All-Ireland final place since 2001. The last time Meath faced Kerry in the championship it was for a place in that All-Ireland final. On that occasion Meath were given no chance against the defending champions. However, Sean Boylan's side enjoyed one of their best ever performances to score a 2-14 to 0-5 win. Meath have already taken on Kerry this year. The teams met in a challenge at Killarney prior to the Leinster SFC opener against Dublin and it was the hosts who scored a comfortable win in what turned out to be a fiesty game that saw plenty of hard hitting. There is no doubting that Kerry deserve to be favourites after their 17-point demolition of Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-finals, but they would have expected and maybe hoped for a Mayo win because of their past record against the Connacht side. The Kingdom's championship record against Meath is a decent one with four wins, including two All-Ireland finals, and just two losses, but it was that defeat in 2001 that could weigh heavy on the Kerry minds and they will certainly fear Meath a lot more than they would have feared Mayo. There are still rumours of discontent in the Kerry camp and the problems they endured throughout the qualifiers didn't just go away overnight. The performances against Longford, Sligo and Antrim were well below what supporters have come to expect from Kerry and those games made the showing against Dublin all the more unbelievable. There is a certain belief that Dublin just didn't turn up on the day. Kerry are not as good as they were that day and not as bad as they were in some of their other games. The fact is that they are somewhere in between. If Meath can contain the undoubted lightning start that Kerry are hoping for then they will have a chance. Meath have progressed nicely through the qualifiers and improved with each game to such an extent that they can firmly fancy their chances as major underdogs against the might of the Kingdom of Kerry.