End of the road in Ring Cup

Wicklow 3-17, Meath 2-12 Looking like they were going to get a mother and a father of a beating at one stage in Saturday's Christy Ring Cup semi-final at Arklow, Meath hauled themselves back into contention only to ship a couple of uppercuts in the second-half that eventually sent them tumbling out of the competition. However, Wicklow were simply the better team. They led all the way gaining an early momentum that Meath found too hot to handle on a day when the temperatures soared. The nearest Meath got to them over the afternoon was three points. Meath played the second-half with 14 men after Stephen Donoghue saw red just three minutes into first-half injury-time. The Kiltale man was just on the field a five minutes when he was penalised for a tackle that was more awkward than malicious. It warranted a yellow card, hardly a red. It was a harsh decision that left more than just the player bewildered and bemused. At the time Meath trailed by three points and had wrestled the initiative from the hosts. However, Donoghue's dismissal was not the only reason why Meath lost. They took a long time to find their stride as Wicklow's fleet-footed forwards bobbed and weaved through the Royal County's cumbersome defence. Unable get a foothold in the early stages Meath found themselves 0-0 to 1-6 behind after 15 minutes. Wicklow's opening goal was scored on six minutes through Wayne O'Gorman. Meath's defence particularly struggled with the pace and skill of Wicklow's corner forward Andy O'Brien, who scored 1-5 and full-forward Jonathan O'Neill who managed nine points. They teased and tormented the Meath backline which had to be re-constructed during the course of the afternoon with Damien Healy moving to full back and Paul Fagan stepping in as centre-back. Both did well and their work went a long way to shoring up what looked like a very vulnerable defence in the turbulent early stages. For the first 10 minutes or so Meath just couldn't get going and it wasn't until Stephen Clynch pointed from a free on 14 minutes that they registered their opening point. Clynch contributed 1-4 to Meath's tally. Noel Kirby, Peter Durnin and Nicky Horan also pointed. Derek Doran, who had come on as a substitute against Kildare the previous week, got the nod from the start for this encounter as did Sean Heavey, who was back from suspension. Doran tallied 1-3 although he had to live off scraps in the second-half and his 30th minute kicked goal resurrected his team's flagging cause. Meath's second goal came just before the interval. Clynch took a free from his own 65-metre line, the sliotar fell short and Wicklow goalkeeper Joe Murphy let it slip through his fingers. A minute later however, Donoghue was sent off and Meath trailed by 2-6 to 2-10 at the interval. Meath remained in touch throughout the third-quarter, but the score that really demolished their hopes arrived on 54 minutes. Wicklow's Christy Moorehouse won the ball 25 metres with a number of Meath players around him. Somehow he managed to slip through and slot the ball past a helpless Shane McGann. It was a real blow to Meath's ambitions. Meath also chalked up 10 wides compared to just four for Wicklow. Well before the end it was clear that there was only going to be one winner. Wicklow - J Murphy; J Connors, G Keogh, B Cuddihy; J Henderson, S Kelly, G Bermingham; E Kearns, R Keddy; T Doyle (0-1), W O'Gorman (1-0), E Dunne; E Glynn (0-1), J O'Neill (0-9 five frees, one '65'), A O'Brien (1-5). Subs - C Moorehouse (1-1) for Dunne half-time; J Connors for Doyle 66m; A Murphy for O'Brien 70m. Meath - S McGann; C Reilly, E Fitzgerald, W Mahady; J Toher, D Healy, E Keogh; S Morris, S Clynch (1-4 two frees, one '65'); C O Mealoid, S Heavey, J Kelly; D Doran (1-3), N Kirby (0-2 frees), P Durnin (0-2). Subs - N Horan (0-1) for Kelly 28mins; S Donoghue for Morris 28m; P Fagan for Fitzgerald half-time; P Conneely for Durnin 45m; D Raleigh for O Mealoid 53m. Referee - Tony Carroll (Offaly).