Kerry's sharper cutting edge shreds Meath's hopes
As anyone involved in sport knows a day can be a long time, a week an eternity. Seven days after they earned a morale-enhancing, one-point victory over Laois, Meath lost out to Kerry (0-12 to 1-12) in the National Camogie League Div 2A at Trim today. The same competition, diffferent week, very different outcomes and emotions.
The Meath players must have felt jubiliant when they defeated the O'Moore County with the help of Grace Coleman's last-gasp point in their opening game of the their campaign last week.
Alternatively they clearly felt deflated after losing to Kerry in this contest, the sense of having let one slip no doubt compounded by the fact that they led for most of the way.
With a formidable, and cool, breeze as their ally in the opening half Brendan Skehan's new-look team led 0-10 to 0-4 at the interval. They struggled to find any fluency, particularly in attack, in the second-half yet they still were in pole position as the contest approached the 50th minute.
It was at that stage Kerry, who had drawn with Westmeath the previous week, equalised and they pushed on from there. The Kingdom were the more composed team in the closing stages and showed a sharper cutting edge in attack.
That ability to turn possession into scores ultimately proved to be a major factor in securing the win - and making the long journey back home that little bit less arduous.
It certainly made the members of the Kerry management team, who were animated throughout this physically bruising encounter, very happy at the end. They celebrated with gusto but then why not, they had watched their team dig out a victory the hard way.
Meath's inability to garner a goal also proved a significant factor and the team will need to be have sharper cutting edge upfront if they are to avoid becoming embroiled in a relegation battle.
With so many players having moved on Meath are undergoing a rebuilding phase and invariably there will be days like they had today.
The problems up front are underlined by some stark statistics. Only one of the six starting forwards, Grace Coleman, managed to score from play. She fired over five points in all with three of those from frees. The two she did manage from play were sweetly taken, as might be expected from this richly talented player.
The fact that the team could muster only two from play will certainly concern Skehan and the other members of his advisory team which includes former Meath star Mike Cole.
Along with Coleman's contribution the rest of the home team's tally was supplied by Aoife Minogue who gave a brilliant, tour de force performance surging forward repeatedly while also clipping over six frees, including one mighty effort from well inside her own half. She also scored from a '45.'
Meath did have a couple of half-chances for goals but they were no more than that. Minogue had a low drive blocked. The indomitable Ellen Burke had a thunderbolt saved by Kerry 'keeper Ciaran Maloney in the second-half but the shot had to be unleashed from about 20m out and at an awkward angle. It would have taken something really special to have despatched the ball to the net.
All the Meath forwards worked ferociously hard and earned frees but they just couldn't find the time and space needed to garner the scores their team so desperately needed especially in the closing stages.
The only goal of the game was, not surprisingly, scored by Kerry's marquee player Patrice Diggin who seemed to be everywhere. She was also unerringly accurate when it came to frees. The goal came on 37 minutes when Diggin stepped up to take a free about 10 metres inside her own half.
She lofted the ball towards the Meath posts. Wind assisted, the sliotar still fell just short of going over the bar. Instead it went under the bar and Kerry had the score they so badly needed to inject some zest into their afternoon.
From then on they were the better team. Once they got themselves in front, which they did with less then 10 minutes to play, they looked to most likely winners. Five of their players got on the scoresheet with Diggin and Jackie Horgan between them contributing 1-9 of their entire tally.
Defensively Meath were strong with players such as Leah Devine, Sophia Payne and Tracy King getting in some vital blocks but Kerry's sharper cutting edge in attack ultimately proved the decisive factor.
SCORERS
Kerry - Patrice Diggin 1-5 goal from a free, four frees, one '45'; Jackie Horgan 0-4 two frees; Kate Lynch 0-1; Ellen O'Donoghue 0-1; Amy O'Sullivan 0-1.
Meath - Aoife Minogue 0-7 six frees, one '45'; Grace Coleman 0-5 three frees.
TEAMS
Meath - Collette Rowan; Sophia Payne, Claire Coffey, Rachel O'Neill; Tracy King, Maeve Clince, Leah Devine; Ellen Burke, Aoife Minogue: Cliodhna O'Riordan, Nadine Doyle, Grace Coleman; Emma O'Connell, Abbye Donnelly, Olivia O'Halloran. Subs - Emma Hanafin for O'Connell, Robyn Dunne for O'Halloran 59m, Aoibhin Lally for Donnelly 61m.
Kerry - Ciara Maloney; Aine O'Connor, Sara Murphy, Rachel McCarthy; Aoife Behan, Niamh Leen, Ciara O'Sullivan; Laura Collins, Kate Lynch; Ellen O'Donoghue, Patrice Diggin, Caoimhe Spillane; Amy O'Sullivan, Jackie Horgan, Clodagh Walsh. Subs - Norette Casey for Leen half-time, Danielle O'Leary for Walsh, Ann Marie Leen for Collins both 46 mins.
Referee - Barry Nea (Westmeath).