Jekyll and Hyde Meath complete a hat-trick

Laois1-15

Meath1-9

JEKYLL and Hyde Meath produced a bizarre performance on the way to a six-point All-Ireland Junior Camogie final defeat against Laois at St. Mary's, Leixlip on Sunday.

Dynamic Meath dominated the opening half and called the shots on the way to a 1-9 to 0-3 interval lead.

That was it. The tank emptied and Meath were running on fumes after the resumption as they capitulated and handed the initiative to a Laois side that had tasted defeat in the decider 12 months ago.

Not much consolation there for Meath, but they can take some solace from a hectic campaign although it brought defeats in the National League Div. 3 decider, the Leinster Junior final and Sunday's All-Ireland showpiece.

Looking for positives at the final whistle was difficult for the players as tears were visible, even amongst some of the supporters.

There were two sets of emotions to be interpreted. The initial disappointment at yet another defeat in a final, but what made it even more difficult to fathom was the contrasting performances in each half.

From a position of total dominance and with a nine-point lead, Meath conceded an unanswered 1-12 after the break when the Laois girls upped the tempo and made complete amends for what was obviously a below par opening half.

Laois were steamrolled by Meath in that opening half. But the problem for Meath was that they ran out of steam subsequently. They were as bad in the second-half as they were good in the first.

Everything went right for Meath in the opening half. Centre-back and captain Aileen Donnelly sent over five points, one in particular from midfield was the best of the half.

Christine O'Brien grabbed an early goal and was also denied another when Laois 'keeper Laura Dunne saved well.

Jane Dolan was a constant threat, but two points was poor return for the amount of energy she expended while Dearbhla O'Carroll contributed a point from centre-forward.

Anne Marie Dennehy worked hard in the full-forward position and was also denied a goal when she followed up on a loose ball which a grateful Laois defender cleared to safety.

Laura Flynn and Katie Mullen competed tigerishly at midfield, but they laboured in the second-half and that was a vital factor in the resurgence of Laois.

Sharon Raleigh was impressive at full-back while goalkeeper Emily Mangan handled superbly and cleared her lines well.

Louise Mahony converted three first-half frees for Laois who had absolutely no answer to Meath's flair and determination during the opening 30 minutes

All that changed in the second-half and Mahony added a further 10 points from frees with the vital goal arriving with 10 minutes remaining from Elaine Cuddy.

Eimear Delaney's initial shot was blocked, but Cuddy followed up and the net bulged. A minute earlier Dolan had Meath's best chance of an opening score of the half, but she sent a 40-metre free well wide.

By that stage Elaine Hackett had replaced Flynn and O'Carroll joined Mullen at midfield. However, O'Carroll was replaced by Lizzie Oakes soon after, but Meath were a beaten team at that stage.

Hugely disappointing for the players and officials and also for the large contingent of green and gold flag-waving supporters who were probably a bit surprised at the E15 admission fee. Fortunately, the sunshine eased the burden on their pockets.

Laois - L. Dunne; D. Quigley, E. Moynan, C. Downey; Laura mahony, C. Phelan, B. Cuddy; Louise Mahony (0-13), L. O'Callaghan; E. Mahony (0-1), A. O'Callaghan, E. Delaney; S. Moylan, T. Bennett, E. Cuddy (1-1). Subs - T. Cuddy for O'Callaghan, E. Downey for Quigley.

Meath - E. Mangan; E. Guy, S. Raleigh, M. Stephens; F. Lynch, A. Donnelly (0-5), L. Donoghue; L. Flynn, K. Mullen; E. Lynch, D. O'Carroll (0-1), S. Horan; C. O'Brien (1-1), A. M. Dennehy, J. Dolan (0-2). Subs - S. Hackett for Flynn, E. Oakes for O'Carroll, S. Ross for Dennehy.

Referee - Rosemary Hughes-Merry.