Tailteann Cup Final Countdown: 'These players will be a lot better with time'

Meath won at Croke Park on Sunday. That's a fact and that fact alone should cheer supporters of the green and gold - and it would normally - but this is not a normal week.

Sunday's win was completely overshadowed by the tragic passing of Denis Kealy, the great Dunshaughlin and Meath player. There was a minute's silence in memory of Denis at Croke Park on Sunday before the Meath game and afterwards Colm O'Rourke encapsulated the sentiments of so many people in the county when he spoke of Denis and the legacy he has left.

"Whatever the joy of getting to the final I think the dominant emotion has to be one of sadness this week in Meath, first of all David McAteer, an old student of ours killed in a farm accident and then Denis Kealy yesterday which has shocked everybody and coming so soon after the death of Maria with cancer before Christmas. It's a dreadful blow to the Kealy family," he said.

"Denis was a wonderful man, a wonderful player and Maria was the same with the ladies, so they are too absolute stars so the Kealy family are the most wonderful GAA family in the country. I don't know how any family could cope with such a blow so for us to go out here today at least maybe brought a big of joy to some people but, as I say, sadness is about all we feel."

Discussion, however sombre it was, turned back to the match that had enfolded on Croker's green sward - and to Meath's performance. The game was played before what looked, at least from the pressbox, like an empty stadium. All the crowd, or at least the vast majority of it was corralled in the lower tier of the Hogan Stand.

One press photographer told this correspondent how they were encouraged to shoot their photos from the Cusack Stand side of the pitch so that at least some spectators will appear in shots.

Those who did show up - the attendance for both the Meath v Antrim and the Down v Laois games was around 17,000 and they created quite a din with the thunder storm just after the Meath match adding to the atmosphere. The reality, however, is that the vast majority of Meath followers don't put much store into the Tailteann Cup. It's seen as very much a second tier, second rate competition no matter what way it's dressed up.

O'Rourke talked of the relief he felt by the fact his team had made it across the line on Sunday - and it was a sentiment shared by the team's followers in situ. Meath looked so dominant at one stage in the second-half, when they led by eight, it seemed like it would be a stroll for them. Then they faded. Badly. Did he feel the raft of substitutions he made disrupt the rhythm of the team because something did?

"No I don't think so I though some of them came on and did quite well. When you take off people, put on people you're always taking a chance of disrupting the rhythm, we were going well at the time we started to put on subs but it was a very hot day and we thought fresh legs would work well."

The fact that Meath is in the Tailteann Cup has allowed O'Rourke the opportunity to experiment. It has given him and his selectors the space to introduce 13 championship debutants.

"You couldn't possibly do this if we were in the (Sam Maguire) championship,” he added.

“We've seen Louth getting hammerings from Dublin and Kerry. If we threw all of those lads into a scenario like that the chances are we might suffer heavy beatings and also destroy their confidence.

"It gives us the opportunity to say, 'ok we're going to build for the future, so we'll do it all in the space of a few months see where it brings us.' We hoped to get to the final, but also to build a team more for next year or the year after because I think a lot of these players are going to be a lot better with a bit of time."

He talked about defeats and "hard days for all" but he and his selectors are "committed now to the process of keeping these young players in the team" suggesting that there could be even more added to the panel in the near future.

That theme of introducing young players was also touched on by Andy McEntee afterwards. He has also brought a raft of players into the Saffron fold.

More, in fact, than Meath - and he did something unusual in the press briefing afterwards. He asked the reporters a question.

"Meath have brought in 13 players how many have Antrim?" he enquired. When no one answered he took us all out of our misery.

"Why don't you know? It's because we haven't been talking about it, 15 debutants between league and championship including two who came today who haven't even played for their club.

It's not an excuse, it's not a reason it's just the way it is. From our point of view I would say that's definitely progress." On Sunday it was Meath's contingent of rookies who showed enough guile and experience to get across the line. Just about.