Abysmal Meath flop against gutsy Wicklow

Meath slumped to a disappointing NHL Div 3A defeat against Wicklow at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday which effectively eliminates them from the promotion race. The closeness of the scoreline fails to adequately reflect how bad Meath were in this game as the men from the Garden County avenged the Kehoe Cup final defeat at Arklow a fortnight ago. To put the display in a clearer perspective, Meath took until the fifth minute of first-half injury time to score and that reduced the interval deficit to nine points, 0-1 to 1-7. There was absolutely nothing to admire about Meath's first-half display, but to the credit of the players, they restored some pride after the resumption and won the second-half convincingly by 0-10 to 0-4, but it wasn't enough and the Royals can look forward to another year roaming the backwaters of the hurling world. Four yellow cards in eight minutes, equally divided, two missed goal chances and a brace of Wicklow points provided the early entertainment for the paltry attendance. Meath wasted chances on the way to a 0-0 to 0-3 first-quarter deficit as Derek Doran fluffed two gilt-edged goal chances. Wind-assisted Wicklow made the most of fairly limited opportunities, but were helped by Meath's ability to show dissent which forced referee Tommy Ryan to move the sliotar forward on three occasions. Meath displayed that trait again in the second-half and it paved the way for another Wicklow pointed free. All three first-half frees resulted in scores for Jonathan O'Neill who finished the half with four points to his credit from placed balls. Substitute Enan Glynn also pointed when he claimed possession from O'Neill's lengthy free while Don Hyland opened Wicklow's account from play in the third minute. Meath's day went from bad to worse in the 30th minute when goalie Shane McGann fumbled O'Neill's lofted centre and Glynn pounced on the sliotar for a goal. Hyland added another point from a free four minutes into first-half injury-time and in the 40th minute, David Kirby got Meath off the mark to a derisory cheer from the home crowd. Manager Cillian Farrell introduced Mike Cole for Noel Kirby at half-time and moved Stephen Clynch to centre-forward. The impact was immediate. Points from Clynch (four), Joey Keena, Cole and Kirby got Meath motoring, but O'Neill converted a brace of frees and Hyland also hit the target which kept Wicklow in front by 1-10 to 0-8 at the end of the third-quarter. Meath upped the tempo in the closing stages and a well-taken Keena pointed reduced the deficit to four points before Clynch had a goal-bound shot saved by impressive Wickow custodian Wayne O'Gorman. O'Neill converted another free for Wicklow with 10 minutes remainin and it was enough to secure victory as Meath could only muster another brace of Clynch points, one which was made easier when the sliotar was moved forward for dissent. With London and Derry both winning at the expense of Armagh and Kildare, Meath's next outing on Sunday 6th March away to Derry will be crucial in terms of avoiding a relegation tussle. SCORERS Wicklow - J O'Neill 0-8 seven frees; E Glynn 1-1; D Hyland 0-2. Meath - S Clynch 0-6 three frees; D Kirby 0-2; J Keena 0-2; M Cole 0-1. THE TEAMS Wicklow – W Gorman; J Connors, G Keogh, W Collins; G Bermingham, L Kennedy, B Cuddihy; E Kearns, T Doyle; R Keddy, J O'Neill, E Glynn; A O'Brien, D Hyland, A Driver. Subs – L Browne for O'Brien 14 mins; E Dunne for Kennedy 35m; N Driver for A Driver 62m; J Murphy for Glynn 70m. Meath – S McGann; D Donoghue, P Fagan, W Mahady; M Horan, S Clynch, M Foley; G O'Neill, P Keogh; P Durnin, N Kirby, P Geoghegan; D Kirby, J Keena, D Doran. Subs – E Fitzgerald for Keogh 32 mins; M Cole for N Kirby half-time; D Raleigh for Durnin 45m. REFEREE Tommy Ryan (Tipperary).