Three in a row as Meath slump again

The alarm bells were blaring around Páirc Táilteann on Sunday afternoon as Meath slumped to their third successive NFL Div 2 defeat and now face the prospect of a relegation battle following this setback against Derry. Having opened the campaign with impressive wins over Monaghan and Westmeath and looking like genuine promotion contenders and possible Leinster SFC contenders this latest defeat gives an indication that Meath are as far off competing for honours than they have ever been and unless the slide is arrested then the prospect of Div 3 football for 2013 is looming large. Over the last few years Meath have slumped to many disappointing defeats, but rarely have they looked so flat, disjointed, rudderless and clueless at home than they did against a Derry side that came to Navan with just one win from their opening three games. For the second week in a row only one of Meath's starting six forwards scored from play. This time it was Stephen Bray who was on target while Meath's other most potent attacker, Graham Reilly, was deployed in a wing-back role in an effort to get on the ball more. Six of Meath's 10 points came from frees and the return of just four points from play and 15 wides indicates that Meath's attacking options are in need of a radical overhaul. The make up of the forward division was baffling with the three of the starting attackers more noted as half-backs. Seamus Kenny, Donncha Tobin and Shane McAnarney all funnelled back into defence from their attacking positions and with Bray also dropping deep in an effort to secure possession that left Cian Ward and Paddy Gilsenan isolated up front. Derry swarmed the two Meath front men and at times Cian Ward had three Derry players shadowing his every move. When Meath did manage to break from defence the options were limited and too often many of their attacks broke down because of over-elaboration or ended with poor shot seletion and an inevitable wide. Securing primary possession at midfield was also a major problem. In the early stages Meath did well around the middle as their plethora of half-backs swept up many breaks and secured plenty of ball. However, as the game wore on the Meath midfield faded badly as Derry assumed control and built their platform for success around a solid outing from Michael Friel and P J McCloskey. With Friel and McCloskey winning the midfield battle, Meath quickly started to lose the war. Paddy Bradley tormented Mickey Burke in the first-half as he kicked four points, two from frees, and was a general menace as he created openings and showed glimpses of his obvious brilliance. Burke improved immeasurably in the second-half to keep the Glenullin man scoreless for the second period and with Bryan Menton and Kevin Reilly also doing well Meath can be relatively pleased with their defensive performance. Conceding 13 points wasn't the major problem. Such has been Meath's scoring prowess that their tallies in their four earlier outings would have been enough to win this game, but they failed so badly to create opportinities that the loss was inevitable. Meath conceded just seven scores from play and only allowed Derry in for one goal chance, which David Gallagher did excellently to deny, but in was in other departments where they failed and unless their is a significant improvement relegation is very much on the cards. The opening five minutes suggested the small crowd were in for a thriller. Paddy Bradley opened the scoring inside 30 seconds and two minutes later he converted a free to double the visitors advantage. Superb play from McAnarney and Bray set up Graham Reilly for a brilliant point and seconds later Bray restored parity after Gilsenan's persistence secured possession. McAnarney bizarrely fisted wide after gathering Bray's effort which had rebounded off the upright, but by the 13th minute Meath had their noses in front for the first time when Bray converted a 35 metre free after Mark Ward had been fouled. That lead didn't last long as Paddy Bradley and Enda Lynn capitalised on some poor defending to point and end the first-quarter with Derry 0-4 to 0-3 ahead. However, Meath responded well with Bray levelling the tie before Cian Ward tapped over a simple free after Gilsenan had been fouled to give the hosts the lead for the second time. Paddy Bradley brought his tally to four points with another free, but again Meath edged ahead when Cian Ward converted a free after Gilsenan had again been hauled down. That lead was wiped out in the final couple of minutes of the half. Friel was denied a goal by Gallagher's legs, but two minutes later Brian McCallion galloped forward to point and then Blaine Gormley converted a '45' to ensure the Derry men led by 0-7 to 0-6 at the break. Bray quickly restored parity after the interval with a pointed free after Cian Ward was fouled, but then the game swung in Derry's favour as a spell of indiscipline gifted two frees to Conleth Gilligan and another '45' to Gormley to allow Derry go 0-10 to 0-7 clear with 22 minutes remaining. Bray kept Meath in touch with another successful free, but Derry were lording proceedings at midfield and restored their three-point cushion with Patsy Bradley on target. After a 10 minute barren spell during which Meath kicked four wides, Derry eventually moved into a 0-12 to 0-8 lead with Lynn on target. Kenny went close to grabbing the goal Meath needed with four minutes remaining, but his drive flew over the bar and two minutes remaining Charlie Kielt secured the win for the visitors with a fine score. Meath went in search of a late goal to give themselves hope and substitute Brian Farrell went close, but his effort flashed across the face of the goals. The Nobber man did convert a free with the last kick of the game as the final whistle signalled another defeat and the end of a dismal afternoon for Meath football. SCORERS Derry - Paddy Bradley 0-4 two frees; E Lynn 0-2; B Gormley 0-2 '45s'; C Gilligan 0-2 frees; B McCallion 0-1; Patsy Bradley 0-1; C Kielt 0-1. Meath - S Bray 0-5 three frees; C Ward 0-2 frees; G Reilly 0-1; B Farrell 0-1 free. THE TEAMS Derry - B Gillis; B McCallion, C McKaigue, A McAlynn; M Craig, C Kielt, S L McGoldrick; M Friel, P J McCloskey; Patsy Bradley, C Gilligan, B Gormley; C O'Boyle, Paddy Bradley, E Lynn. Subs - E Scullion for McCallion 60 mins, N Forester for Gilligan 65m, E Browne for Friel 70m, Meath - David Gallagher; Mickey Burke, Kevin Reilly, Chris O'Connor; Graham Reilly, Bryan Menton, Caoimhin King; Tom Walsh, Mark Ward; Seamus Kenny, Stephen Bray, Donncha Tobin; Paddy Gilsenan, Cian Ward, Shane McAnarney. Subs - Gary O'Brien for O'Connor 18 mins, Alan Forde for King 50m, Conor Gillespie for Gilsenan 60m, Brian Farrell for C Ward 67m. REFEREE Padraig Hughes (Armagh).