Meath face tough All-Ireland semi against Sligo

Meath against Sligo in an All-Ireland MFC semi-final is certainly a novel pairing and it’s a tie that could produce lots of exciting football at Breffni Park in Cavan this Saturday afternoon, 12.45pm.

The Royal County will go into this tie burdened with the tag of favouritism and it's a tag they certainly deserve.

Beating Dublin in a Leinster MFC final speaks volumes about Meath's pedigree, about the quality of the team that is backboned by players from the 2020 Leinster MFC final-winning team.

That team went on to lose an All-Ireland semi-final last June against Derry at Pairc Esler in Newr, but that experience could be vital as Meath now look to go a step further in the 2021 series and earn an All-Ireland final ticket against Cork or Tyrone.

However, there won't be anything easy about the challenge that the Meath players will face against a Sligo side that has come in under the radar.

Meath manager Cathal O Bric was impressed by what he witnessed at Hyde Park last week when Sligo scored 0-19 to 1-11 win against the defending champions Roscommon in difficult conditions.

"This is a potential banana skin for us, going into the semi-final against a Sligo side that caused a shock in Connacht," said the Meath manager.

"We will be expected to win this game, but Sligo will be a tough challenge.

"I was at the Connacht final last week in Hyde Park and they scored 19 points in very difficult conditions, they beat the favourites so facing Meath won't be anything different from that perspective.

"This a very well organised Sligo team, they have a good kick-out strategy, a good defensive shape and two inside forwards that are as good as you would get anywhere.

"It's Sligo and at the moment Sligo football would be at a low ebb, but this team might just be the one to give the county a boost, we are not going to underestimate them in any way," he added.

Looking at that Connacht final, Sligo were well in control and Roscommon came back at them, but they stood strong and prevailed.

"I was impressed with the way they handled the Roscommon revival, it showed they have character, but we have to look after our own game," suggested the Meath manager.

"I have no doubt that if we play to our best that we are more than capable of beating Sligo.

"That's the vital part of the equation for us, if we don't perform to our best then we could be in a spot of bother.

"We have gone close to making an All-Ireland final in the last few years and at this stage I think it's time to take that next step now.

"We have the benefit of the experience of five players from last year's minor team with us and that could be vital, especially in the closing stages next Saturday.

"We have no real injury concerns and hopefully we can keep the winning run going on Saturday," he concluded.

Sligo manager Paul Henry is looking forward to the semi-final and suggested that it will be a good test for his team and for football in the Yeats County to play a quality team like Meath.

"The biggest challenge is to get the players focused on the task they face against Meath," he told the Meath Chronicle.

"There was a great welcome for the players when they returned to Sligo on the Friday night after the win against Roscommon.

“The win ended a 53-year quest for a Connacht title.

"However, that history has nothing much to do with this team, that's just the history of the Connacht minor championship.

"It's up to us now to go out and create our own piece of history, but we all realise the pedigree of Meath football and the fact that they have enjoyed a period of dominance at this level in the last few years.

"The fact that Meath lost an All-Ireland MFC semi-final last June in the 2020 competition will also drive them on with a liitle bit extra incentive to make amends this time around.

"We are going into this game as the underdog and rightly so, Meath are entitled to the tag of favouritism, but it's an opportunity for us to give Sligo football a much-needed boost if we can get over the line on Saturday.

"We are all looking forward to it and I'm anticipating an open and fast-paced game of football, we will find out exactly where we are over the hour with Meath," he concluded.

MEATH CONNECTION

There is also a Meath connection to the Sligo team.

The Sligo corner back Robert O'Kelly-Lynch is a cousin of former Meath minor player Eanna O'Kelly-Lynch and a nephew of former Meath hurler and Wolfe Tones clubman Robert O'Kelly-Lynch.

The Meath Robert O'Kelly-Lynch, a Gawlay native, won an All-Ireland SHC B medal with Meath in 1993 . His brother Bill settled in Sligo.

The Sligo O'Kelly-Lynch crew has featured prominently in the rise of hurling in the Yeats County with Christy Ring Cup status achieved and maintained in recent years.

The Sligo Robert O'Kelly-Lynch is the only one from his family to feature for the footballers.

He certainly made strong claims for inclusion in this weekend's starting 15 after he was drafted into the defence as a replacement for Ross Chambers who sustained a shoulder injury in the semi-final win against Leitrim and may not feature on Saturday.

RESULTS

Leinster semi-final - Meath 1-15, Louth 1-11.

Connacht semi-final - Sligo 2-18, Leitrim 2-9

Leinster final- Meath 3-8, Dublin 1-3.

Connacht final - Sligo 0-19 Roscommon 1-11.

FINAL TEAMS

The Meath team that beat Dublin in the Leinster final was - Oisin McDermott; Conor Ennis, Liam Kelly, Sean O'Hare; Shaun Leonard, Tomas Corbett, Killian Smyth; Paul Wilson, Jack Kinlough; John O'Regan, Sean Emmanuel, Conor McWeeney; Christian Finlay, Oisin O Murchu, Hughie Corcoran. Subs used - Brian O'Halloran, Andrew Moore, Tadhg Martyn, Danny Ehichoya, John Mannion.

The Sligo team that beat Roscommon in the Connacht final was - Kyle Davey, Ronan O’Hehir, Conor Johnston, Robert O’Kelly Lynch, Dillon Walsh, Dylan McLoughlin, James Donlon, Ross Doherty, Conor Sheridan, Mark McDaniel, Ronan Niland, Stephen Rogan, Luke Marren, Joshua Flynn, Brian Duffy. Subs used–Jack McGovern, Stephen Donoghue, Conor McMorrow

FINAL SCORERS

Meath (v Dublin) - Hughie Corcoran 1-5 five frees; Oisin O Murchu 1-2; Sean Emmanuel 1-0; Shaun Leonard 0-1.

Sligo (v Roscommon)– Luke Marren 0-10 seven frees, Brian Duffy 0-3, Jack McGovern 0-2, Joshua Flynn 0-1, James Donlon 0-1, Kyle Davey0-1 '45', Conor McMorrow 0-1 free.