‘Little breaks going their way, a few referee decisions going their way, that all adds up’

LEINSTER SFC FINAL REACTION Brennan disappointed with small margins that went against his side

It was almost as if someone died. As Robbie Brennan took his seat in the media room following Sunday's Leinster SFC final disappointment he was greeted by a line of journalists offering their condolences.

When he saw the Meath reporters in the room be was apologetic - but he had nothing to be sorry about.

All any manager can ask for is a performance and Brennan certainly got that from his players and while it wasn't good enough on the day the Meath manager believes Sunday's loss could be a huge learning curve for his side.

"I'm gutted obviously, gutted for the boys, I thought they put in a big shift, a big effort and to come up short like that is extremely frustrating, but all credit to Ger (Brennan) and the Louth boys for seeing that through. It was a hot and heavy game and they just came out the right side of it," admitted Brennan.

"Yeah, I hope so (watching the Louth celebrations a motivation to bounce back). That’s why we purposely stayed, out of respect for Louth as well, but just for us to soak that up and realise this is just the start of the journey for that team.

"Whether you’re old or young, there’s a lot more to come from them and I think that’s the overriding thing today, we’ve proved that we’re able to come here on the big occasion and perform.

“I’d like to think we’ll use that; whether that’s this year, next year, but it will definitely be a learning for us.

“Ironically, we probably felt this was going to be a tougher challenge – obviously coming from the high (of beating Dublin), and then you’ve got to come down and come back up again.

"We probably didn’t train brilliantly the Tuesday and Thursday after the Dublin game. We put in a really good week, this week just gone, but I felt we performed today, even though we’ve lost.

"Had we not performed and we were flat, that would have been more worrying, as disappointing as the defeat is. I thought the lads were able to take that, drop a little bit and come back up, and we’ll need to do the same again for Cork.”

There were a number of frustrating aspects of the game that proved to be Meath's undoing.

The concession of three first-half goals and an inability to create turnovers in the second period when Louth dominated the possession stakes.

“It was hard, we certainly lost that kick-out battle, you could see they put the squeeze on us, you could see the six was sitting in that back four and we found it hard to get out and the possession stats Louth were well ahead in that second half," said Brennan.

"A few of the breaks were unlucky but once they force you to rattle it out around the middle it can happen, that was probably the key, we didn’t get enough possession in the second half to put a dent on the scoreboard.

“It probably came back to haunt me, we said if we didn’t concede goals we would probably win Leinster that was the reality of it, and by half-time three had gone in.

"We didn’t defend it well enough. We knew with Louth’s slow attack to set it up and that is how you get punished.

“We kind of wrestled that momentum back again (after second goal), but it was poor on our part once Craig (Lennon) got into that danger area, whoever is on him just has to tag him and stay with him and we didn’t do that so another learning for us."

There were many learnings for Meath to take away from Sunday's loss.

They proved they could dance on the big stage in front of 65,786 people, but also showed they are capable of bouncing back from the hammer blows of conceding goals, but there is also plenty for Brennan to learn from, especially as his side failed to kick on after the boost of Mathew Costello's goal.

“Obviously there was a few little mistakes, that is going to happen in any game but I don’t think it fazed us," said the Meath manager.

"I think they deserve huge credit because there is still a lot of young lads in that group and in that team so that was encouraging. You couldn’t hear anything out there with that noise, but for they not to be fazed by it.

"To be able to go and deliver a performance, which I think we did, be it with mistakes, but that is a huge boost for us going forward to know we can live at that level.

“We were really looking for momentum after that (Costello's goal). It was a brilliant finish from Matt, we just didn’t get it (momentum) and again I have to give credit to Louth for that the way they kept the ball, little breaks going their way, a few referee decisions going their way, and that all adds up and before you know it the hooter is gone.

“Straight out, I'm disappointed with the two-pointer one. It’s on the TV, you can see it’s not a foul, but they’re fine margins and we said it at half-time, the one percent margins is what you need to go after. A few of them fell Louth’s way, but that’s not to take away from how well they played.

"We’re frustrated with some of them (referee's decisions), but I’m sure we got a couple that bounced our way as well. You have to go with it."

Not being able to call on Ronan Jones was a huge blow for Brennan, but he was glad to have Jordan Morris back and can look forward to the All-Ireland series which will see Meath take on Cork in Navan, Roscommon in Dr Hyde Park and Kerry at a neutral venue.

“It was unfortunately in training he (Ronan Jones) just went up to catch a ball and the cursed hamstring went, whoever invented them I’d shoot him!

"It was hugely disappointing for Ronan to miss out on a big day like that, a big loss, but we still nearly had a chance. Credit to Louth though the way they kept the ball there at the end under severe pressure is testament to them.

“I’ll have to check when the scan is for Ronan. We just put it to the side for everybody’s sake. It looked significant enough in training when it happened in Navan.

"He was three months rehabbing effectively, and for it to go again two or three days out from a Leinster final was a big blow to him. He’s resilient and tough – so whether it’s for Dunboyne he’s back or for us, I’m not sure yet.

“I think I might have said it before, where we are at on this journey they are all tough games.

"Literally we just said in the dressing room that all eyes on Cork now at home and that is a massive game.

"Obviously they played us in the opening round of the league and they beat us so we will have to up our game again for that and I've a good feeling the lads will get a good bounce now from the occasion itself which should give them massive confidence going forward.

“I hope so (Morris back fully), and I hope nobody thought I was lying to them on the media day. Jordy saw his own specialist on Wednesday, normal routine, and they were delighted with him. So we were kind of shocked by that, so we put him in.

“You saw what he had, he had those few minutes and still a bit rusty, but barring there’s a reaction to the knee, we’re hoping he’ll still be available for the next game.”

Brennan hopes the Meath supporters will continue to get behind his side ahead of the All-Ireland series.

"I'd be encouraging everybody just to keep going to games, because you’re going to get that type of a spectacle. The buzz coming in for us on the bus – and we enjoyed it, we absolutely enjoyed coming in, and that’s all part of the big occasion.

“The supporters were massive in driving that, and hopefully they’ll all come to Navan again for Cork in a big game.”