Goals prove decisive as Meath lose

A nine-point defeat is very harsh on Meath because they more than matched Laois for long periods of their Leinster MHC encounter at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately goals proved crucial. It was bad enough that Meath conceded three first-half goals when playing against the wind, but the real hammer blow was the concession of a fourth goal 16 minutes from the end that undid all of the hosts excellent recovery and left the game out of reach. Laois were marginally deserving of their victory. They played the sharper, attacking hurling and looked very crisp with some fine movement both on and off the ball. However, Meath also played some decent hurling, but had to rely on scraps in attack. The visitors were a very physical side with most of their players much bigger than their Meath opponents. However, Meath were never intimidated and if they had been a little more secure at the back then the outcome might have been different. Neil Foyle was the tormentor-in-chief for Laois. The huge full-forward did ferocious damage and ran the Meath rearguard ragged. He finished with a personal tally of 3-5 and was an all-round torment for Sean Carroll. While Foyle did a lot of the good work for Laois the visitors also had plenty of attacking options with Darren King and Willie Dunphy also causing problems. The Meath rearguard were always hard pressed, but still had good displays from Stephen Morris and, despite being at fault for the second goal, Thomas Quinn made a couple of fine saves before being forced off injured in the opening half. Meath were always going to have to be at their best against Laois, but too many players failed to perform to the standards they are capable off. Laois dominated around midfield and when they rampaged forward the discipline at the back let Meath down. One player who didn"t let the Royals down was the outstanding Mark O"Sullivan. The Kiltale man, who also lines out for the Meath minor footballers, had an exceptional game and picked off some wonderful scores. Keith Keoghan and Damien McGee also worked hard, but Meath"s efforts were fruitless. McGee opened the scoring with a point after 12 seconds, but Laois responded by piling on the pressure and were rewarded with their first goal on four minutes when Foyle produced an excellent finish. O"Sullivan scored a superb point to close the deficit, but Quinn"s failure to deal with Gearoid Burke"s floated centre allowed Darragh Cushen bat the ball to an empty net. Tony Ryan added a point to leave Meath 0-2 to 2-1 adrift. Keith Keoghan had a stinging drive tipped over by Barry Wall and Ray Hatton converted a '65" to close the gap to 0-4 to 2-1. Quinn was sublime when denying King a goal, but it only delayed the inevitable. King chipped a brilliant sideline cut over the bar before Quinn did well again to deny Cushen. The Meath goalkeeper was beaten for a third time when he parried Robbie Foyle"s shot out to Neil Foyle and the full-forward finished well. Shane Brennan replied with an excellent point, but a mixture of poor defending, the concession of soft goals and hitting seven wides left Meath 0-5 to 3-2 behind at half-time. Points from Hatton (free) and O"Sullivan boosted Meath after the re-start, but Laois replied with three efforts from Neil Foyle to make it 3-5 to 0-7. O"Sullivan sustained Meath, but a free from Dale Bergin restored Laois"s seven-point cushion. Keoghan"s point from 60 metres lifted Meath and two minutes later the gap was down to 1-9 to 3-6 when O"Sullivan got the vital touch to Hatton"s centred free to deflected the ball to the net. Instead of capitalising on that boost Meath were pinned back. Dunphy pointed to settle Laois and then the issue was put beyond doubt when no one stopped the run of T J Lalor and he set up Neil Foyle for his third goal. Hatton replied with a free for Meath, but the fire was gone from their bellies. Two points each from King and Neil Foyle put an cruel look on the scoreboard as Laois advance to face Dublin, while Meath can look forward to the All-Ireland B MHC with plenty of optimism. SCORERS Laois - N Foyle 3-5, 0-2 frees, 0-1 '65"; D Cushen 1-0; D King 0-3, one sideline; T Ryan 0-1; D Bergin 0-1, free; W Dunphy 0-1. Meath - M O"Sullivan 1-4; R Hatton 0-3, two frees, one '65"; K Keoghan 0-2; S Brennan 0-1; D McGee 0-1. TEAMS Laois - B Wall; D Bergin, L Hegarty, P Flynn; W Campion, D Holohan, J Finnane; G Burke, T J Lalor; D Cushen, T Ryan, D King; W Dunphy, N Foyle, R Foyle. Subs - G Gaughan for R Foyle 39 mins, D Gilmartin for Cushen 42m, P Hardy for Lalor 57m, M Phelan for Bergin 60m. Meath - T Quinn; S Morris, S Carroll, S Moran; S Brennan, B Murray, T Raleigh; R Hatton, E Marsh; K Keoghan, D McGee, G Kelly; K Keena, C Flattery, M O"Sullivan. Subs - S O"Brien for Quinn 24 mins, W Harnan for Flattery 39m, C Foley for Moran 42, S Bagnall for Marsh 44m, A Healy for Keoghan 58m. REFEREE C McGrath (Dublin).