Shadow of Joe’s goal darkens a memorable Leinster title

The drama of Joe Sheridan's infamous late goal and the disappointing scenes that followed are the enduring memories of the 2010 Leinster SFC final, but what shouldn't be forgotten is that the game was actually quite an entertaining contest as Meath claimed the silverware with a 1-12 to 1-10 victory over Louth at Croke Park on Sunday 11th July.

When JP Rooney scored a 63rd minute Louth goal the Wee County appeared to be on their way to a first title since 1957, but then Sheridan struck in the fourth minute of injury-time after Graham Reilly's initial point attempt wasn't cleared and Seamus Kenny's goal chance was blocked on the line.

The goal sparked huge controversy and referee Martin was assaulted on a number of occasions as he was escorted off the field after the final whistle by Gardai.

In front of a crowd of 48,875 Louth missed two glorious goal chances in a first half. The first fell to JP Rooney in the opening minute, when he drilled his shot just wide. On 20 minutes, Shane Lennon rolled his effort away at the far post.

In between, Meath enjoyed a productive spell late in the first quarter, when they reeled off points from Graham Reilly, Stephen Bray (two) and Cian Ward.

Rooney and Paddy Keenan had earlier struck Louth points, and they rediscovered the range when Brian White drilled over a couple of frees to bring the sides level on 19 minutes, but Meath clicked into another gear, hitting four of the last five points of the half with Reilly bringing his tally to four and Crawford also on target to secure a 0-8 to 0-5 interval lead for the Royals.

Louth dominated the early stages of the second half, closing the gap with two White efforts before Judge split the posts for a 43rd-minute leveller.

A sublime sidestep and finish from Adrian Reed had the Wee County ahead soon afterwards, but Meath responded with scores from Ward and Anthony Moyles.. However Louth went ahead in the 63rd minute when Rooney gathered a long ball and blasted a superb finish past Brendan Murphy.

Meath clawed their way back, and Ward converted a couple of long-range frees to narrow the deficit to one. It appeared to be all over for the Royals, however, until that dramatic finish gave them a victory that lives long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

Meath - B Murphy; C O’Connor, K Reilly, E Harrington; G O’Brien, A Moyles (0-1), C King; B Meade, N Crawford (0-1); S Kenny, J Sheridan (1-0), G Reilly (0-4); C Ward (0-4 frees), S O’Rourke, S Bray (0-2). Subs - C McGuinness for Moyles, P Byrne for O’Rourke.

Louth - N Gallagher; E McAuley, D Finnegan, R Greene; R Finnegan, M Fanning, J O’Brien; P Keenan (0-1), B White (0-4 three frees); A McDonnell (0-1), M Brennan, A Reed (0-1); C Judge (0-2 one free), S Lennon, JP Rooney (1-1). Subs - S Fitzpatrick for Greene, A Hoey for Fanning, P Smith for Lennon, D Byrne for Reed.

Referee - M Sludden (Tyrone).