Minors stay on track

Meath footballers advanced to the All-Ireland MFC semi-final with a hard-earned victory over Tipperary at O"Moore Park, Portlaoise on Saturday. Victory was no more than this Meath team deserved, but once again they failed to show any sort of killer instinct and appeared to be content to grind out a result. That trait may not be such a bad thing and now with only two more obstacles to be negotiated, the small band of Royal County supporters can look forward to, at least, another day out at Croke Park. There is plenty to admire in this Meath team, but it would be wrong to underestimate their achievement on Saturday by just dismissing it as a predictable win over a county more noted for hurling. Tipperary made Meath work extremely hard for a place in the last four despite conceding a goal after only 50 seconds. Lesser teams might have capitulated completely after such a disastrous start. And it got worse when "keeper Jack English had to pick the ball out of the net for a second time nine minutes from half-time, but it still didn"t deter the Premier County. They were adrift by 0-4 to 2-4 at the interval, but such was the amount of character they displayed, that they were still in contention as the second-half ticked into injury-time and Meath were forced to defend tenaciously. Arguably, based on the evidence of previous games in both the Leinster Championship and the Ulster MFL, Meath had more in the tank and the real Royal County has yet to be seen. And it"s not as if the team displays any evidence of over-confidence at any stage, instead, they just go about the task at hand on any given day. They raced out of the traps on Saturday and had that goal in the bank inside the opening minute. Tipperary were caught completely off guard when Andrew Tormey lofted a huge sideline into the square. Michael Newman, who dipped in and out of the full-forward role throughout the hour, fielded spectacularly and was duly hauled to the ground by Tipperary"s Robert Kiely. Thankfully, Leitrim referee Eamonn O"Grady was also tuned-in and promptly signalled a penalty. Newman converted although he was fortunate to beat English who made a valiant effort to turn the shot to his right around the post. Jake Regan added a point soon after, but the anticipated rout failed to materialise and by the end of the opening quarter, Tipperary were back in contention with pointed frees from Conor Sweeney and Michael O"Dwyer and one from play by Rockwell Rovers midfielder Alan Moloney. Meath had four wides to their credit at that stage, but Tipperary dissent gave Mark Battersby a simpler task and his point was just the tonic for Pat Coyle"s men. The score-of-the-match materialised in the 21st minute and produced Meath" s second goal. Darragh Smyth gained possession from Jamie Owens and swept an ambitious cross-field pass to Mark Collins who centred. English looked odds-on to win the race for possession, but Tormey"s fist shaded the verdict and the ball flashed into the far corner. Morale-boosting stuff from the Royals, but Tipperary still refused to lie down although they were fortunate when Smyth"s fisted effort rebounded off the crossbar. Damien Carroll claimed Meath"s next point and its execution adequately demonstrated the difference between the teams. Alertness was the key. Carroll raced forward unmarked and took a pass from Regan"s free before splitting the posts. There was a real touch of class about the next score also. Newman used a tactic rarely seen on a GAA pitch when he let a clearance beat him and then raced after the ball. It was sufficient to draw Tipperary"s Shane Russell into a yellow-card tackle and Newman sent over the resultant free. However, Tipperary kept trying and out of four late first-half chances managed only one Sweeney point which left them six points adrift at the break. Only 40 seconds had elapsed in the second-half before Smyth was on the mark. By the end of the third-quarter Meath were in command by 2-8 to 0-6 and the Bective player was also denied a goal when English produced a smart save. Worringly, Meath didn"t score in the fourth-quarter and it was only when Oldcastle"s Paddy Gilsenan sent over the bar in second-half injury-time that they ended a barren spell. SCORERS Meath - M Newman 1-2, penalty goal, one free; A Tormey 1-0; D Smyth 0-2; M Battersby 0-2, one free; H Silke 0-1; P Gilsenan 0-1, D Carroll 0-1. Tipperary - C Sweeney 0-4, three frees; M O"Dwyer 0-2, frees; D Lowry 0-2; A Moloney 0-1, G Mulhare 0-1. THE TEAMS Meath - Padraig Curran (Dunboyne); Stephen O"Brien (Ratoath), Ciaran Lenehan (Skryne), Sean Curran (Donaghmore / Ashbourne); Enda Nulty (Round Towers), Tommy Johnson (St Martin"s), Donncha Tobin (Blackhall Gaels); Jamie Owens (Nobber), Damien Carroll (Ballinabrackey); Darragh Smyth (Bective), Michael Newman (Round Towers), Mark Collins (Duleek / Bellewstown); Jake Regan (Navan O"Mahonys), Andrew Tormey (Donaghmore / Ashbourne), Mark Battersby (St Vincent"s / Curraha). Subs - Paddy Gilsenan (Oldcastle) for Regan 45 mins, Sean Dalton (Summerhill) for Collins 52m, Brian McGrane (Walterstown) for O"Brien 53m, David Ryan (Skryne) for Carroll 59m. Tipperary - J English; E Fitzpatrick, K O"Riordan, S Russell; L Treacy, R Kiely, C Walsh; E Hendrick, A Moloney; D Lowry, G Ryan, D McGrath; T Hanley, C Sweeney, M O"Dwyer. Subs - P McEvoy for Treacy (half-time), P Horan for Hendrick (half-time), G Mulhare for Ryan 45 mins, D Heffernan for Russell 45m, B O"Hara for McGrath 53m. REFEREE Eamonn O"Grady (Leitrim)