Meath footballers open with a win

Meath opened their Ulster MFL campaign on a winning note against Cavan at Breffni Park on Friday night when team manager Pat Coyle unveiled his new-look panel. Under GAA guidelines, Meath were restricted to fielding only 24 players although, at the moment, the panel comprises 30 and half-a-dozen teenagers were left disappointed. However, Cavan did not appear to be afflicted by similar regulations and the Ulster side had 29 players listed on the teamsheet. Twelve months ago, Meath opened their campaign against Cavan with a narrow victory in difficult conditions at Kingscourt. This time around, the playing conditions were much better and the winning margin was more substantial, but Meath had to work harder for the spoils after they trailed by a point, 0-4 to 0-5, at the interval. The selectors were able to include a number of players from last year"s Leinster title-winning panel, but there is still a lot of work to completed in the refinery department before any prospects of a repeat Leinster title can even be considered. The Royal County will open the defence of their crown against Offaly at Pairc Tailteann in a little over four weeks, so there is no room for complacency in the planning department. And with the local MFC and MFL finals and subsidiary deciders looming next month also, there will be loads of demands on the county players. Understandably, both teams were a little ring-rusty in the early stages of a low-key opening half. Points from Michael Brady, Barry Reilly, Sean Hanley, Emmet Fitzsimons and Jack Brady kept Cavan in the ascendancy. Meath stayed in touch through a brace of David Larkin points and one each from Damien Carroll and blood substitute Conor Devereux who made the most of a five-minute stint on the pitch. Devereux made a big impact while Carroll received attention and the Dunshaughlin player was introduced again close to the interval when he took over from Sean Tobin. Cavan were quick in their efforts to counter the threat of Devereux after the resumption when the Meath player was blatantly struck in the face as he set up a move which produced a vital goal from Shane Gillespie within three minutes of the resumption. Monaghan referee Damien Helferty certainly failed in his responsibilities to provide protection for players when he brandished the black book as Devereux received attention. The match official had two choices, either to take no action because he did not see what happened, or to issue a red card for striking. He did not consult with his linesmen or his umpires, and to his credit he allowed play to continue which produced a Meath goal. How he interpreted the action of the Cavan player as a tick is impossible to understand and is a prime example of the lack of consistency which exists in the application of GAA playing rules. The only yellow card was produced for Meath"s Ciaran Lenehan and while it was probably warranted, the Skryne man was guilty of clumsy tackling and certainly didn"t strike anyone. So what sort of a message does that send out to young players? Near the end, the referee also allowed a blatant late challenge on Meath goalkeeper Conor McHugh to go unpunished. That standard is simply not acceptable at inter-county level. Gillespie"s goal gave Meath a 1-6 to 0-5 advantage and by the end of the third-quarter they were ahead by 2-8 to 0-7 after Emmet Boyle found the net from a superb Harrison Silke centre. From that position, Meath should have closed out the game, but Cavan showed commendable character as they were inspired by Reilly at midfield and clawed their way back into contention with four unanswered points in a 10-minute spell during which Meath were all over the place. Meath substitute Declan Morley made a crucial block which prevented a goal with only three minutes remaining. Had that gone in it would have tied the scores and paved the way for a Cavan victory. Then McHugh fielded superbly in the square, despite the late tackle. Meath countered swiftly and Silke finished to the net from Boyle"s pass to secure a hard-earned victory. Silke was in and out of the team last year as he struggled with injury, but he appears to be fully recovered now and will surely develop into a key player over the next couple of months. The forwards is not an area where Meath apear to have any great problems. However, it"s a different story when you look at the defence. Of the six outfield Meath defenders, only Declan Lyons and Mark McCormack displayed their true potential, but this was only the first competitive game. The evidence suggests that Meath have the raw material for another good minor team. Cavan also look a lot more promising than 12 months ago and four of their seven second-half points came from substitutes. SCORERS Meath - H Silke 1-2; S Gillespie 1-1; E Boyle 1-1; D Larkin 0-2; C Devereux 0-1; D Carroll 0-1; Cavan - B Reilly 0-4; E O"Reilly 0-3; M Brady 0-1; S Hanley 0-1; E Fitzsimons 0-1; J Brady 0-1; D Smith 0-1. THE TEAMS Meath - Conor McHugh (Oldcastle); Declan Lyons (Summerhill), Ciaran Lenehan (Skryne), Thomas Rahill (Oldcastle); Kevin Mallon (St Vincent"s / Curraha), Gavin Kennedy (Donaghmore / Ashbourne), Mark McCormack (Walterstown); Bryan Menton (Donaghmore / Ashbourne), Ailbe Mahon (Na Fianna); Sean Tobin (Simonstown Gaels), Damien Carroll (Ballinabrackey), Emmet Boyle (Ratoath); Shane Gillespie (Navan O"Mahonys), Harrison Silke (Na Fianna), David Larkin (Summerhill). Subs used - Conor Devereux (Dunshaughlin) for Tobin 28 mins; Eamonn Bowe (Dunshaughlin) for Larkin 39m; Declan Morley (Skryne) for Rahill 55m; Stephen Cavanagh (Donaghmore / Ashbourne) for Menton 59m; Francis Coyne (Ratoath) for Gillespie 60m; not used - Anthony Dowling (St Vincent"s / Curraha), Padraig McKeever (Simonstown Gaels), Liam Tolan (Skryne), Fiachra Ross (Killary Emmetts). Cavan - S Briody; A Moran, K Brady, T Rogers; P McEvoy, C Tierney, M Brady; B Reilly, S Hanley; P Leddy, E Fitzsimons, F Flanagan; J Brady, K Tierney, R Lynch. Subs - S Tierney for Hanley (half-time); E O"Reilly for Fitzsimons 41 mins; D Smith for Flanagan 44m; D Sexton for M Brady 49m. THE REFEREE Damien Helferty (Monaghan)