Hurling crisis

While there was no shortage of sunshine last Saturday it turned out to be a bleak day for the Meath minor footballers and hurlers as they succumbed to heavy defeats provoking talk of a crisis at under-age level. Early on Saturday the footballers were trounced 0-11 to 5-11 by Dublin in the Ulster MFL tie while in the afternoon it was the hurlers turn to receive a pasting as they lost 0-4 to 2-16 against Westmeath in the Leinster MHC at Mullingar. The defeats came in the same week when an information forum called 'Getting Meath GAA back on track' is due to be held at Knightsbrook Hotel on Wednesday night. The event is organised by Minor Committee chairman Brendan Dempsey. It was the manner in which the hurlers succumbed to a rampant Westmeath side that provoked talk of the small-ball game in the county passing through a deep depression. While the Meath players worked hard they found it impossible to contain a well-drilled Westmeath side who won pulling up. As the game petered out in a predictable fashion in the second-half the talk in the pressbox was more about who was likely to win the Grand National rather than events on the pitch. Meath hurling manager Paul Reilly said that Saturday was the first time his team had played together with preparation for the game restricted partly because the Meath MHC was played off early this year. He also said that attempts to set up a challenge with Dublin last week proved impossible as there was no pitch available at Dunganny with even the all-weather surface deemed out of bounds. "I accept that we were beaten by a far better side today but that was the first time this team played together," he added. Reilly also criticised the fixing of Meath u-21 club games on Sunday, 24 hours after the game with Westmeath, and imposing unfair demands on some of the players. "How can a player go out to play a game and be mentally ready to play the likes of Westmeath here today knowing that they are playing a semi-final of a u-21 HC, which is an important championship in any player's career?" he added. "I think there is a crisis, this is not a one-off, there was a crisis last year," he said adding that since the Hurling Board was abolished those seeking to promote the game in the county have found it more difficult to get themselves heard. Another indication of the crisis in Meath hurling was evident in the way Dunboyne were granted a walk-over by Blackhall Gaels in the u-21 HC semi-final on Sunday while in the u-21 B HC quarter-finals both Moylagh/Kilskrye and Drumree got walkovers from Na Fianna and Rathmolyon respectively.