ALL-IRELAND FINAL COUNTDOWN: Experience key as Meath bid for back to back titles

Even though appearances in Croke Park on All-Ireland final day have become quite commonplace over the last five years there is still something so magical, so mesmerising, so mystical about this magnificent Meath Ladies team that the excitement of next Sunday's All-Ireland SFC final against Kerry is palpable.

With the disappointment of losing All-Ireland IFC deciders in 2018 and 2019 now a distant memory, Meath's last two All-Ireland final day appearances have been historic and successful as they finally won the IFC in 2020 before becoming the first team ever to win the senior crown the year after claiming the intermediate title.

No one ever thought last year's journey could be topped in terms of drama and excitement. Sure the novelty factor of Meath stunning the GAA world has been removed, but the thrills provided by this Meath football team have become more exhilarating than the Cú Chulainn ride at Tayto Park, that a front row seat at a Katie Taylor fight, than a backstage pass to an Ed Sheeran gig.

Meath Ladies are the gift that just keeps on giving - and no matter the outcome next Sunday they are and always will be heroes and their names with be forever etched in the folklore of Meath GAA.

Emma Duggan, Vikki Wall, Shauna Ennis. Stacey Grimes, Monica McGuirk and all their teammates can rightly take their place amongst the great names like Colm O'Rourke, Mick Lyons, Graham Geraghty, Trevor Giles, Tommy Dowd and all those heroes who have made Meath the proud footballing county we are.

Throughout the country Ladies Football is no longer viewed as being second class as it often disrespectfully was. Meath Ladies took the baton from Cork, Mayo and Dublin and have risen the sport to unprecedented heights.

Eamonn Murray and his management team of Paul Garrigan, Mark Brennan and Shane Wall, strength and conditioning coach Eugene Eivers, goalkeeping coach in Irene Munnelly who took over from Paddy Dowling this year, the hard working medical team led by doctor John Peters and physio Hayley Clarke, FLO Michelle Grimes, kit man Packie Reilly and psychologist Kelley Fay have all contributed to creating a winning environment, a space where players can go and do what they do best and let the worries and cares of what goes on around a top football team be managed by the best.

The Meath players are single-mindedly focus on one thing - the next game. Since Eamonn Murray took over as manager in 2017 the focus has always been to win the next game and after reaching the All-Ireland SFC semi-final in 2017, Meath have hardly stopped winning since.

Since 2018 Meath have played on the final day of every competition they entered, they have had to dig deep into their well of fitness and determination, they have developed a pool of experiences that have stood to them this year and last. This Meath team were not born overnight, they are a product of hard work, determination and sublime ability.

Playing every game possible for five years would take its toll on even the greatest teams, yet Meath have featured in NFL Div 1, Div 2 and Div 3 finals, three All-Ireland IFC deciders, a couple of Leinster IFC finals, this year's Leinster SFC final and of course who could ever forget last year's All-Ireland SFC final against Dublin.

Of course victory has eluded them at times. They lost this year's Leinster SFC final, two All-Ireland IFC finals and one Leinster IFC final early in their development, but what those losses did was add to the bank of experience for this incredible bunch of players.

Croke Park has become a home away from home. Meath have played more times at GAA headquarters in the last five years than they have in Pairc Tailteann in the last 20 years and that could be a key factor next Sunday.

This year's journey back to Croke Park to dance on the biggest stage of them all has been very different to last year’s, but no less dramatic.

Losing the Leinster SFC final put Meath into the three team group along with Monaghan and Armagh and after a comfortable if underwhelming victory over Monaghan Meath gave their first glimpse of their survival instincts this year by earning a draw with Armagh.

Armagh's victory over Monaghan, by one point less than Meath's victory over the Farney side, gave them second place in the group and set Meath on a course for a semi-final clash with Dublin, but in typical Murray focus, he never took his eye off Galway.

Galway went into the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final in Longford with a determination to get back to the final for the first time since 2019, but Meath hung tough and despite a tense and nervous performance they emerged with a one-point win as Emma Duggan hit the late, late winner.

The expectation that Dublin would provide the semi-final opposition proved false following the carnage of the quarter-finals that saw three of the top four teams in the standing exit as Mayo defeated Cork, Kerry, got the better of Armagh and Donegal stunned Dublin.

Donegal's victory over Dublin quickly refocused the Meath minds and the semi-final was another absolute thriller with Meath producing their best half of football in the second period to claim the 0-12 to 1-7 victory.

That win was greeted with as much relief as excitement. Meath were back, but nothing has been won yet in terms of the Brendan Martin Cup and Murray and his management will have to formulate a plan to cope with a whole new challenge in the shape of a rampant Kerry side.

Kerry blitzed Mayo in their All-Ireland semi-final with three first-half goals and in players Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh, Danielle O'Leary, Siofra O'Shea, Lorraine Scanlon and Emma Costello they have powerfully, pacy and accurate players that can cause problems.

The lines of form show just how prolific Kerry have been and they have also been very impressive against teams Meath have also faced this year.

In their opening round of the championship Kerry had two points to spare over Galway. They hammered Westmeath by 14 points in round three (Meath beat Westmeath by 15 points in the Leinster SFC) and in the All-Ireland quarter-final Kerry had four points to spare against an Armagh side Meath had only drawn with earlier in the campaign.

Kerry have been free-scoring in their five games, accumulating 13-49. Compare that to Meath's return of 2-46 from their five games and it is easy to see how the Royal rearguard is going to have their hands full next Sunday.

However it must be taken into consideration that Meath are a notoriously difficult team to break down and that is evidenced by the fact they have conceded just 2-28 in their five championship outings, whereas Kerry's attacking nature leaves them a bit more open at the back and they have conceded 5-44.

Kerry will be dangerous, but they have not faced a defensive structure like Meath's before. they will have to come up with other plans to find holes and create opportunities.

Teams like Armagh who only scored nine points against Meath and Galway who managed 1-11 hit Kerry for 2-14 and 3-8 respectively, so if Meath can get their counter-attacking game fine-tuned and they can create a couple of goal chances then it could well be another joyous occasion for this magnificent group of Meath footballers.