Dublin march to convincing victory

They fought and they battled but Meath were unable to stop Dublin from clocking up a comprehensive 4-18 to 1-6 victory in the Leinster MHC at Pairc Tailteann this evening.

For a brief spell in the opening half Meath edged in front but it was all so brief as Dublin quickly regained composure and control before powering on to another level - and to victory.

Following their attention-catching victory over Westmeath in the previous round one question was hanging over this fixture. Could they do it again? Could Meath cause another upset and ambush far more fancied opponents?

Unfortunately for manager David Gaughan and his young guns the answer was an emphatic 'no' - but neither did they have to endure sustained heavy pounding; the proverbial humiliation.

The scoreline suggests a very one-sided affair, as one-sided as a shipwreck, but that wasn't the case - at least not until the last 20 minutes or so when Dublin simply moved up to a different stratosphere and turned the screws.

The brief spell in ascendancy enjoyed by Meath was in the opening minutes of the game and produced an incident rarely seen in hurling.

Two Dublin players got into a terrible mix in trying to clear the ball from their own square.

A little episode of comical misunderstanding ended with a needless foul on Meath's Liam Coogan . The referee indicated a penalty.

Up stepped Meath marksman Joe Ennis. His shot was brilliantly saved by Dublin goalkeeper Fionn Boyd who dived, cat-like, to his right.

The Dublin fans in the decent-sized crowd roared in approval but the match official wasn't happy. He ordered to have the penalty taken again apparently because the 'keeper had moved too far off his line.

Ennis held his nerve and at the second-attempt fired the ball to the net from the penalty shot. He arrowed the sliotar low and hard to the corner. Boyd had no chance. That put Meath 1-1 to 0-2 in front. This time it was the Meath supporters who were celebrating.

However the lead was short-lived as Dublin gradually, inexorably, took control.

At the interval the Sky Blues led 1-9 to 1-2 and they steadily pulled away from their hosts as the game went on with the their top marksman Dennis McSweeney finishing with 2-8.

Callum Walsh and Conor Brennan also found the net for the fancied visitors. Unusually two of the Dublin goals were scored after the ball hit the upright with McSweeney taking one of those chances presented to him and Brennan the other.

There was an element of luck to those goals but clinical opportunism too. The Dublin players reacted quickly to the chances presented and took full advantage. They were characteristic traits of the team too.

Dublin played at times at a tempo that Meath found difficult to handle. Players in blue were often first to breaking ball and emerged from rucks with sliotar in hand.

At times Meath looked nervous and uncertain but they produced some memorable moments too with the impressive Tom Shine conjuring up a super point from under the stand while Denis Darby and Ronan Conheady slotted over fine scores.

However there was simply no stopping Dublin who marched to a deserved victory.

SCORERS

Dublin - Dennis McSweeney 2-8; Callum Walsh 1-0; Conor Brennan 1-0; Diarmuid O Dullaing 0-3; Eoin Keys 0-2; Con Rock 0-2; Diarmuid O Dullaing 0-4; Conal O Riain 0-1; Leon Kennedy 0-1; Conal O Riain 0-1; Neil Horgan 0-1.

Meath - Joe Ennis 1-2 penalty, two frees; Tom Shine 0-2; Denis Darby 0-1; Ronan Conheady 0-1.

TEAMS

Meath - Ben Mather; Eugene O'Reilly, Daire Shine, Kian Douglas; Daire Rohan, Peter Connolly, Paddy Barnwall; Domhnall Rogers, Daragh Horan; Sean Corbett, Tom Shine, Denis Darby; Ronan Conheady, Liam Coogan, Joe Ennis. Subs - Liam Corbett for Douglas 25 mins, James Connolly for Horan, Lorcan Byrne for Conheady both half-time, Craig Gilsenan for Connolly 45m, Tomas Gaughan for Darby 57m.

Dublin - Fionn Boyd; Rossa Daly, Barry McGuire, Sean McDonald; Jack Behan, Conor Dolan, Eoin Keys; Ben Gaughran, Liam Garrigan; Con Rock, Conal O Riain, Dennis McSweeney; Diarmuid O Dullaing, Callum Walsh, Leon Kennedy. Subs - Conor Brennan for Walsh 34 mins, Neil Horgan for O Riain 38m, Joey Kinnane for Gaughran 56m, Oisin Johnston for Daly, Jim Kennedy for McSweeney 59m.

Referee - Kevin Brady (Louth).