Meath set for All-Ireland MFC quarter on Saturday
Meath supporters will travel to the Athletic Grounds in Armagh on Saturday in a confident mood as the Royal County embark on the All-Ireland MFC campaign.
The supporters who travelled to O'Connor Park, Tullamore last Saturday will be aware of the potential that the Meath team has and will also be aware that tackling beaten Ulster MFC finalists Derry will be a big challenge.
Derry played the majority of their Ulster MFC games at the Athletic Grounds, with the exception of the opening round win against Monaghan at Celtic Park and the second round defeat by Cavan that was played at Kingscourt.
The Derry boys lost the Ulster final by 0-9 to 1-9 against a Seamus McEnaney-managed Monaghan side in what was a low-scoring encounter.
A 52nd minute Monaghan penalty was the decisive score, but it's also noteworthy that five of Derry's nine points were from frees.
Meath boast a disciplined defence and a pacy attack that can pick off scores from distance, both those factors could be crucial if Meath hope to progress to the last four.
Against Monaghan the Derry boys scored the last three points of a very close first-half to edge ahead by the minimum at half-time (0-6 to 0-5).
Enda Downey with five points was Derry's top scorer while wing-forward Eunan McElhennon could also be a major threat to the Meath defence.
However, Meath should have enough in the tank to register another victory and move one step closer to the All-Ireland decider.
MINOR FACTFILE
LEINSTER MFC
First round - Meath 2-20, Westmeath 2-7.
Second round - Meath 1-13, Dublin 2-8.
Third round - Meath 4-14, Louth 0-12.
Fourth round - Meath 1-13, Offaly 1-12.
Fifth round Meath 1-8, Wicklow 1-10.
Semi-final - Meath 5-18, Laois 0-8.
Final - Meath 1-15, Kildare 1-7.
ULSTER MFC
First round - Derry 2-14, Monaghan 2-13.
Second round - Cavan 0-18, Derry 1-14.
Third round - Derry 3-14, Armagh 1-5.
Fourth round - Derry 2-11, Fermanagh 0-5.
Semi-final - Derry 2-10,Tyrone 1-8.
Final - Monaghan 1-9, Derry 0-9.
SEE VIDEO CLIP FROM LEINSTER MFC PRESENTATION AT O'CONNOR PARK TULLAMORE