Meath hurlers earn Kehoe Cup final ticket

It was Jimmy Greaves who once said that football “was a funny old game.†The same could apply to hurling if events from Meath's opening two games in the Kehoe Cup is anything to go on. Against Roscommon, Cillian Farrell's side knocked in four goals and won with ease. Against GMIT at Trim on Saturday they didn't manage to get even one goal yet they still ended up with the same outcome – a victory and a ticket to the final. As the scoreline suggest this was a radically different encounter to the Roscommon game. This was a much more testing afternoon for Meath and it says a lot for the team's sharpness and steely resolve that they won out in the end with Nicky Horan helping himself to 0-11, with the vast bulk of the scores from placed balls. Those who paid the €10 entrance fee got some decent quality hurling for their money with the tension-filled finale adding to the entertainment. Only a handful of supporters showed up with some perhaps wrong-footed by the change of day from Sunday to Saturday. GMIT made the trip to Trim packed with some very talented hurlers from a variety of counties – Galway, Mayo, Tipperary and Offaly. They had Donagh Maher, who won an All-Ireland MHC medal in the blue and gold of Tipperary. They had Tiernan Martin, son of the former Offaly great Damien, they had Galway man Ger Mahon a fine hurler who did a lot to shore up his team's defence. They didn't have Wayne McNamara the talented Limerick man who is normally included in their line-up and it was just as well he wasn't at centre-back as the programme suggested. Meath found it difficult enough to find a way through the watertight GMIT defence and their goalkeeper Kieran Hannify hardly had a save to make. GMIT's organised defensive play meant that Meath were forced to take their scores from a variety of angles. Farrell's players are currently engaged in some heavy training yet they must also be sharpening their shooting skills as they frequently found the right range and distance to stay in front for most of the game. And it wasn't just Nicky Horan's (pictured) laser-like accuracy that kept Meath in the hunt. They also had a series of fine scores from play with Ger O'Neill, Joey Keena, Padraig Geoghegan and Peter Durnin all lofting over from distance. Despite the win it will surely be a source of some concern to the Meath management they didn't eke out any clear-cut goal chances, unlike their opponents. Twice GMIT looked odds on to get a goal before their full-forward Colin Egan finally found a chink in the home defence and managed to squeeze the ball past Shane McGann. That goal arrived on the stroke of full-time with Egan shooting through a forest of legs and sticks to make the net dance. The fact that GMIT did manage to beat McGann was a considerable feat. As is becoming the norm now, McGann produced some breathtaking saves in this encounter. His sharpness suggested he would end this game without conceding. GMIT's Aidan Lynch got in behind the Meath defence in the first-half and found a few precious yards of space to shoot goalwards from close range. He was denied by McGann's razor-sharp, reflex reaction. Late in the second-half James Liddy was left unmarked and looked poised to shoot home when he found himself with time and space in front of the goals. Again McGann did enough to get a touch and divert the sliotar away. McGann was left with no chance for Egan's goal which raised the spectre of extra-time as there was only a point between the sides at that stage. However, Meath resisted some late pressure to hold onto their victory thanks mainly to some stubborn work by the defence who refused to yield. Encouragingly for Meath, Stephen Clynch gave a display that suggests he is on his way back to the type of form that illuminated Kilmessan's SHC campaign in 2008. By his own high standards, Clynch was subdued at club and inter-county level, his overall performances hampered by niggling injuries. Like his Kilmessan colleagues Martin and Nicky Horan, Keena and O'Neill, Clynch is showing a sharpness and hunger for action Meath will need if the are to make an impact in the NHL. Keena proved to be effective against GMIT particularly when making runs from deep and his three points capped a good display. Of more concern is that the Meath full-forward line of Barry Slevin, Derek Muldoon and Durnin could only come up with a single point from play between them, the Kiltale man lofting over in the opening half. The home selectors tried Jimmy Boyle and O'Neill at midfield although the Lough Lene Gaels man didn't make an impact and was substituted before the interval. He could be among those competing for a place in the half-back-line. Geoghegan also had a spell in the central area. Meath will benefit from the competitive nature of Saturday's game with neither side managing to get the upper hand in the first-half which finished 0-9 apiece. With talented players all over the pitch, GMIT remained competitive throughout the second moiety although with Nicky Horan unerring from frees the home side extended their lead to four points going into the closing stages. Then GMIT grabbed their goal and for the final minute or two of added time it was a case of Meath holding out. The students had their chances, but Meath's defence passed the stress test and now Farrell and his men are in the final. Meath – S McGann; D Donoghue, P Fagan, W Mahady; M Horan, S Clynch, M Lynch; J Boyle, G O'Neill (0-3); J Keena (0-3), N Horan (0-11, seven frees, two '65s'), P Geoghean (0-1); B Slevin, D Muldoon, P Durnin (0-1). Subs – M Cole for Boyle 31 mins, D Kirby for Muldoon 58m. GMIT – K Hannify; T Martin, C Flannery, G O'Halloran; D Maher (0-1), G Mahon (0-3), C Duggan; S Hynes, N Mannion (0-1); K Feeney (0-2, frees), C Egan (1-1), A Lynch (0-2); L Hands (0-2), C O'Brien, R Madden (0-3, one free, one '65'). Subs – J Liddy for O'Brien 41mins, D Loughnane for Hands 50 m, B Hunt for Mannion 53m, R Badger for Feeney 62m, C Hands for Martin 62m. Referee – Pat Murphy (Carlow).