Victory was the only objective against Westmeath

QUOTES Another win this weekend the next target

There was no escaping the obvious for Andy McEntee after Sunday's NFL Div 2 North victory over Westmeath.

When his side were in trouble, and they were in big trouble with 15 minutes to go and four points down, the Meath manager had to turn to his bench for inspiration and that faith in his reserves paid dividends.

Maybe it was a conscious decision to keep players like Bryan McMahon, Eamon Wallace, James Conlon, Jason Scully and Fionn Reilly in reserve until the closing stages, until Westmeath ran out of energy and started to make mistakes.

Whether it was by design or by accident, it certainly worked and McEntee was pleased with the impact his seven substitutes had on the outcome.

"They (the subs) certainty added something to the game,” stated the Meath manager.

“We seemed to lack a little bit of pace and a little bit of intent, so you would have to say Scully and Fionn Reilly brought that.

“That was Fionn's first taste of inter-county football and it was a pretty decent one I thought.

"The guys came in and added a bit of pace when maybe legs were getting a little bit tired.

“That is what they do and that is what they are supposed to do, fair play to them.

"Fionn Reilly came in and injected pace and got into dangerous areas as did Scully as well.

“We did things that we hadn't been doing up until then," he added.

Another crucial factor in the game was the black card picked up by Westmeath's Sam Duncan.

While the big midfielder can have no complaints about the decision it did inflict a lasting effect on his side.

Westmeath had to work so hard in that 10-minute spell that their energy was draining in the closing minutes and Meath capitalised.

"We finished much stronger, you would have to say that the black card made a difference,” added McEntee.

“We got a bit of momentum at that stage and Westmeathstruggled.

"You would have to say up until then they looked like a better side all round.

"They were picking their scores off a lot easier.

“They were hitting us on the break and were kicking some good scores from distance.

“It didn't look good for us with 10 or 15 minutes of the game to go," he admitted.

However, McEntee is well aware that all that mattered last Sunday was picking up the win.

It didn't matter too much how that objective was achieved.

While he is clearly not a fan of the mini-league format he is well aware of the importance of Sunday's win in term of maintaining the Div 2 status and all that that entails in terms of championship football in 2022.

"With this league, mini league, tournament or whatever you want to call it, if you win your first game then you are in a good position,” he stated.

"If you lose your first game then you are under pressure straight away.

“So how important was it for us to win the game? It was huge.

"If you lose your first game then you are under real pressure.

“We will go into the Down game next Sunday with a great prize at the end of it.

"With a win we will be safe for a start if we manage to get the win it and that is they way we are approaching it.

"I think it is all a little bit different this year.

“The way the potential structure for championship next year or the year after is you have to make sure you are not in playing Div 3.

“Avoiding that scenario is the priority straight away and then we can start thinking about the other end."

Like the majority of other managers and inter-county teams, the last few months have been very frustrating because of the uncertainty of just where teams are at when play did eventually return last week.

However, McEntee was delighted to be back playing football.

While there was hint of sarcasm in his comments when he spoke about looking forward to playing Down.

Meath will be travelling to Armagh, through Newry, to play Down at what is classified as a neutral venue

The reason for that is due to the Ulster side's training restriction infraction from which they had to forfeit home advantage in a league game.

Regardless of that issue, the Meath manager is excited to be playing games again.

"The last few months have been frustrating,” claimed McEntee.

“You get concerned because you come into a game like this and you have no idea where you are at.

"You wake up this morning and wonder what sort of shape are Westmeath in?

“What sort of shape are we in?

“Internal games and lads training on their own is all very fine, but there is no replacing actual training time together.

"Going up to Armagh, through Newry will be a better way of putting it, is always going to be difficult.

“We try and see what the bodies are like, get back this week and get ready for another game.

"Don't get me wrong it is great to be playing, but three games in 14 days is heavy going for guys who haven't been playing, so we just hope that we come through it without too many injuries."

Speaking of injuries McEntee confirmed that Shane Walsh and Ronan Jones will both miss the remainder of the league campaign.

The Na Fianna man picked up a knee injury that will keep him on the sideline.

Ronan Jones broke his arm in a challenge match against Armagh.

McEntee also revealed the decision behind naming a new captain for 2021 with his son Shane taking over the duties from joint-captains Bryan Menton and Donal Keogan.

"The two lads, Bryan and Donal, felt it was time for a change and we went through the normal process and that was the outcome.

"It wasn't an issue at all, at the end of last year the two lads felt they had done their stint.

They just wanted to concentrate on their own game a little bit more, that meant a new man was needed," concluded McEntee.