Babble of noise said a lot about Sunday's game

It's the murmur that tells a tale. The steady, incessant cacophony of voices that originates somewhere in the crowd and gets increasingly louder. It could be clearly heard among the spectators in the stand at Pairc Tailteann during the Meath v Wicklow Leinster SFC clash last Sunday.

The sound started to be rise about half-way through the second-half. That murmur, that babble of voices generated by people just chatting away.

When its heard during a game it's invariably a sure sign that the contest is effectively over; that one team or another are so dominant, so much in front, there is no doubt who is going to win. People continue to watch , but they also chat with the person beside them. They are not fully engaged with the drama unfolding on the field - and in the second-half of Sunday's clash there was a distinct lack of real drama.

From the start Meath were always a step or two ahead of their opponents. They led from start to finish, their advantage sustained by two early goals, gift-wrapped by a Wicklow defence that had gone AWOL.

The first from Jack O'Connor after just nine seconds surely set a new all-time record for the fastest goal ever scored in championship history.

Ahead 2-5 to 0-7 at the interval Meath effectively wrapped up the game early in the second-half when substitute Mathew Costello stole in behind the opposition defence and planted the ball in the bottom corner of the net.

It was then the murmur, the babble of sound, really started in earnest. At 3-8 to 0-8 everybody knew it was all signed and sealed. That it was over. The only surprise was that more people didn't head for the exits earlier. They stayed in situ, maybe fearful of missing an avalanche of Meath goals. They wanted their money's worth - and who could blame them because €25 was a big price to pay for admission when it was significantly cheaper to attend a Munster SFC quarter-final.

It wasn't Meath's biggest ever victory over the Garden County but history was in the making at Brews Hill, in the way it was the first Leinster championship fixture involving the Royal County under the new format.

O'Connor's history-making goal was probably worth the entrance fee alone. It would be hard to imagine how a goal could be netted much quicker unless somebody won the ball from a throw in and kicked it straight into their opponent's net. Not that the estimated 4,500 who showed up for this game will be too concerned about such historical trivia.

Most of them came to witness a home victory and they got their wish. What they didn't get was an engrossing, gripping end-to-end championship game. Instead it was stop, start, meandering encounter, lacking in real intensity for spells. It also lacked that ingredient needed to generate some real drama; a competitive edge. As a piece of theatre it never took off.

A sizeable contingent of people travelled from Wicklow to Navan and you had to admire their dedication, their commitment to the cause. About an hour before the game two of those Garden County supporters made their way towards the ground. They were a middle-aged couple, perhaps the parents of one of the players.

They admitted their team were rank outsiders, but they also pointed to how their side had defeated Laois the previous week. Despite all the doomsayers, the dark predictions of a heavy defeat they still believed. They still held onto some residue of hope that despite all the evidence, their side could do the business. Cause a shock.

"If you are a player and you don't believe you have a chance in any game, no matter what the odds, then you are gone, lost," said the man. "You have to believe you have a chance." He was talking specifically about the Wicklow players but he was also betraying his own feelings. Hoping for a miracle - but as the old saying goes - it's the hope that kills.

Sunday's schedule didn't include a warm up act. A game of some kind on the bill would have helped to give the fans a little more value for their precious cash. Perhaps a club match, even an A FL game. If not that then what about a band? What about the Navan Silver Band? They used to provide top class fare at county finals. They would have brought another dimension to the day.

We did get some quality singing from Matthew Gilsenan. He did a magnificent rendition of Amhran na bhFiann, the north Meath singer delivering his version of the old song like he was performing at Radio City Music Hall or the National Concert Hall itself.

Towards the end of the game Meath GAA PRO Ciaran Flynn announced there would be a presentation to someone at the end of the game. Who could it be we wondered? It turned out to be Bryan Menton who was presented with his 2020 Meath GAA 'Player of the Year' award.

By that stage the bulk of the crowd had headed home - bringing that distinctive murmur with them.