Wounded Meath can negotiate first hurdle at Navan

AS the Meath players sat stunned and silenced in the narrow dressing rooms at the back of the terrace at Pearse Park just over three years the sound of Shotgun by George Ezra blared from the jubilant Longford changing area.

For the first time in 36 years Meath had lost to Longford in the Leinster SFC and worse was to come as the All-Ireland SFC qualifier loss to Tyrone meant that for the first time since 2000 Meath had failed to win a championship game in a single season.

One of the lyrics of the George Ezra song stuck in the mind, "time flies by for the yellow and green", and this week that line has particular resonance as the 'yellow and green' finally have a chance to avenge that turbulent May day.

Once again Meath will go into this Leinster SFC clash with Longford wearing the favourites tag, but this time around the Midlanders won't be such huge underdogs as they face into the quarter-final off the back of an impressive scoring return in their victory over Carlow.

In contrast, Meath are in limbo.

Off the back of a year in NFL Div 1 in 2020 and reaching the semi-finals of NFL Div 2, it might be considered that Meath are in good shape, but closer reflection of the last two campaigns hints that progress has stalled.

Despite the encouraging Div 1 campaign in 2020 Meath lost six of their seven games and finished with a scoring difference of minus 25 points.

However, one of those defeats was a freak 10-point loss to Donegal, so if you take the minus 15 scoring difference over the other five games an average loss of three points against Tyrone, Dublin, Kerry, Mayo and Galway suggests Meath were there or thereabouts.

Fast-forward to the 2020 championship and again the bare facts cover a multitude of cracks. The 28-point win over Wicklow side was boosted by a seven-goal haul, while the nine-point Leinster SFC semi-final victory over Kildare required another goal explosion to overcome a significant half-time deficit.

Those cracks were cruelly exposed by Dublin in the Leinster SFC final as the All-Ireland champions inflicted the Royals heaviest ever championship defeat.

This year the NFL Div 2 draw was favourable as it pitted Meath against Westmeath and Down, neither exactly riding high over the last few years, and Mayo.

The expected wins in the first two games led to the semi-final place against Kildare and a one-off game to secure promotion - but the wheels came off again.

As well as enduring no luck at all in that promotion play-off in Newbridge, Meath were also very poor.

They lacked a hunger, drive and inventiveness to trouble what is widely regarded as a limited Kildare side.

The effort was there, no doubt about that, but the spark was missing and that is something that is very difficult to ignite from one match to the next.

It is that lack of consistency that has frustrated fans, players and management.

It is widely expected that this year's Leinster SFC is already predetermined with Dublin expected to march to their 11th successive provincial crown.

Meath's 'game of the year' was the clash with Kildare and they failed to find the spark necessary.

Can they find the spark next Sunday against Longford?

The answer is simple - they have to!

Nothing less than full-blooded effort and ravenous hunger is expected from this Meath team, that level of commitment is the minimum standard set by the great players who have worn the yellow (gold) and green before.

The silence coming from the Meath camp since the loss to Kildare is deafening.

Many of the players featured for their clubs in the midweek after that league semi-final loss and most appear to have come through unscathed, but it was the injuries and red cards that were picked up in that game added to the already pre-existing injuries that have added to Meath's woes.

Brian Conlon and Conor McGill are suspended for Sunday's game, Shane Walsh and Ronan Jones were due to have check-ups on their respective broken knee cap and broken arm, Donal Keogan isn't expected to recover from his shoulder injury while Bryan Menton remains a doubt following his ankle injury.

So, not only did Meath fail to secure their main objective of a swift return to Div 1 when they lost to Kildare they also suffered extreme collateral damage that could have major repercussions next Sunday.

Longford are buzzing after last Sunday's impressive demolition of Carlow, but they will also be wary that they failed to win any of their NFL Div 3 North games this year, losing to Derry by 16 points and Cavan by six, while only drawing with Fermanagh.

Their upturn in form from the Fermanagh game continued with a seven-point win over Munster champions Tipperary to preserve their Div 3 status and then to kick 25 points in their Leinster SFC win over Carlow suggests Longford are hitting form.

Robbie Smyth and Rian Brady were the scorers-in-chief for Longford kicking 10 points between them and in Darren Gallagher they also have an accurate freetaker who will punish Meath disciplinary indiscretions.

Ten of the players that featured last Sunday for Longford also played in that shock 2018 win over Meath, and while it is almost impossible to predict the Meath line up it is likely that only six of the side that started that fateful day will play a part next Sunday.

While nothing much is expected in terms of an extended run in the All-Ireland this year, Meath need to bounce back from their disappointing NFL Div 2 loss to Kildare.

Longford will provide stiff opposition, but Meath's pride should produce an improved performance that will get them over the line.