BOYLAN TALKS SPORT: Forget the band, there should be a song called The Saturdays
Meath teams have a habit of doing great things on Saturdays. July 6th, 1991 - Kevin Foley scores the greatest football ever seen in Croke Park. Thereafter, Liam Hayes and PJ Gillic combine to set David Beggy up to complete the greatest football comeback ever mustered on the big field.
June 28th, 2002: Graham Geraghty’s ‘Helicopter goal’. Three point strikes from Ollie McDonnell and Mark Stanfield appeared to have Louth set up for what would have been a first win over the Royal County since 1975.
Our teams are made of something very special though. That night, Richie Kealy had his finest hour in a Meath jersey. Cracking home two goals which left Sean Boylan’s side a point adrift and at which stage a draw would’ve been commendable in itself.
However, that scenario wouldn’t have taken into account that Mr Geraghty was doing Best Man at a wedding in Wexford and was not in a position to hang around. So it was bury the ball, whip off the jersey, hop on the chopper and back in the tux!
Another Saturday, another green and gold rescue mission. This time the 2006 Minors when a masterclass from Brian Sheridan got those who were then Dudley Farrell’s charges out of a serious hole against Antrim.
Now consider that Meath’s Nicky Rackard and three Christy Ring Cup triumphs were also recorded on the second last day of the week.
Or what about Graham’s ‘spiked’ goal against Tyrone in 2007? Well, Saturday last was one to rival any of those which had gone before.
Beginning when male Minor footballers earned themselves a (Tier II) All Ireland Final ticket and a joust with Kildare for the Paul McGirr Cup.
It doesn’t matter if it’s tear jerking or Tier II, anything with the words All Ireland in its description is worthy of respect and worth winning.
Hence, Joe Cowley, his fellow mentors and their players have really embraced the McGirr Cup. And, having had their behinds hovering in dangerous proximity to the bacon slicer against both Galway and Monaghan, there was no messing around this time.
A goal from Skryne’s Sean Smith setting them on their way to a 1-08 to 0-06 half time lead and, even though Donegal hit the first four points in the second half, Cowley’s young charges quickly dismissed any chances of being dragged into an epic as goals from Smith (again), Niall Lawless, Stephen Cahill and substitutes Luke Casey and Jeff Foley saw the boys in green through to another crack at the Lilywhites.
Chapter two of Super Saturday saw the Royal camogie ladies get their Intermediate Championship campaign off to a very encouraging start with 3-12 to 2-07 conquest of Westmeath in Mullingar, before the history of epic encounters between Meath and Roscommon got another stanza added to it at the very impressive new(ish at this stage) King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park on Saturday evening.
Naturally, in the lead up to this clash, encounters of the past between the sides were recalled in several media outlets, including this one. Among them that which - with the exception of the fourth match against Dublin in 1991 - ranks as the best performance the one seeing eye here witnessed in the flesh from that particular Meath team.
Simply because, 34 years later, the Connacht side must still be wondering how they lost it. That primrose and blue amalgam had some brilliant footballers therein, like Gay Sheerin, Des and John Newton, Pat Doorey, Enon Gavin, Seamus Killoran, ‘Junior’ and Tony McManus, Paul Earley and, in particular, Derek Duggan.
The latter, who was at that stage playing his club football with Garda in Dublin, scored 1-8 as he and his colleagues led by 1-08 to 0-04 at the break. Though incredibly, they would only trouble the umpires thrice more for the entire contest. Because, inspired by Gerry McEntee and Tommy Dowd and Brian Stafford, that brave bunch produced an epic revival to rival any of the others hewn from between the rock and the hard place before being undone by Down owing to a combination of the four week break between the semi final and final and the paltry 18 seconds of injury time allowed by Leitrim whistler Seamus Prior.
Saturday night last was history repeated, albeit in reverse. In that, this time it was Meath who built up a useful lead only to be reeled in and subsequently headed before the Royals’ outstanding performer throughout, Ruairi Kinsella lofted over an outstanding equaliser.
Incredibly, the Dunshaughlin player’s leveller in the 62nd minute was his side’s last score but that wouldn’t tell a quarter of the story of this enthralling clash. As it happened, Kinsella topped and tailed proceedings for Meath, splitting the posts with an outrageous two pointer to open the scoring. Putting enough top spin on the ball after starting it out at the post away to his left and then drawing it back in at the famed graveyard end.
With the aid of said elements, Robbie Brennan’s team showed why they are among the most efficient two-point converters in the country as Conor Duke, James Conlon and Bryan Menton proved that they are every bit as adept as their fellow county man Keane Barry at hitting doubles.
However, what will undoubtedly concern Brennan et al will be the un-impinged manner in which Diarmuid Murtagh and Ben O’Carroll got in for goals inside the first quarter. Conversely, mind you, the manner in which his troops regained their defencive solidity in the aftermath of the goal was impressive and encouraging.
Which was the foundation from which Conlon and Mat Costello and Jordan Morris tacked on the scores which allowed the visitors take a 0-16 to 2-05 buffer to the dressing rooms. Without stating the obvious, matters were flipped on their head after the break as former All Star Enda Smith hit four of the five two pointers which was the entirety of Davy Burke’s troops’ contribution to the scoreboard in the second half.
It could’ve been more than that, mind you. Firstly because Smith had his penalty brilliantly stopped by Billy Hogan and then owing to those promoted to Div. 1 of the league for next season kicking a plethora of wides before dropping one short into Hogan, from whence construction of Kinsella’s acquisition of parity began.
Even that wasn’t the end of the drama. Not by a long shot. Yes, Meath spurned a few chances to snatch a win, but, the other side on that coin is that the home side were awarded a succession of frees so soft they’d make Andrex look like sandpaper.
None more so than the one bequeathed to custodian Conor Carroll after he’d caught Costello’s final attempt at a winner under the crossbar. Meath players appeared to have legitimately swarmed the Roscommon stopper to a point where he must have overheld the ball.
But no, referee Paul Falloon gave the homesters a succession of scandalous frees and though they appeared odds on to cook Meath’s goose, the inspirational Sean Rafferty produced a block to rival the legendary stop by Gordon Banks in another lifetime or that by Conor Gormley in the 2003 All Ireland Final. Give the Na Fianna man the full back All Star now!