Gusty Royals come up short against the Kingdom

Meath battled hard but ultimately came up short against Kerry on Saturday

Meath 2-18

Kerry 0-18

Two goals in either half proved decisive for Kerry against a gutsy and determined Meath who were without the services of some key u-20 players in the NHL Div 2 clash on Saturday in Trim.

A dubious penalty awarded to Kerry in the 12th minute also resulted in Meath being reduced to 14 men temporarily when Daire Shine was awarded a black card. The Kilksyre-Moylagh man was judged to have fouled Daniel Casey in the square but the contact was minimal and it looked like any foul that may have been made, occurred outside the large rectangle anyway.

That penalty, which was slotted home well to the bottom right corner by Ronan Walsh, put Kerry five points to the good after 11 minutes. 14-man Meath rallied well and when Daire Shine returned to the field the Royals had reduced the gap back to three after points from Damien Healy, Tom Shine and a cracking score from Sean Doyle from a very wide angle.

Jason Diggins responded for Kerry before Tom Shine scored a brace of frees in quick succession. After 25 minutes, Meath trailed narrowly 0-6 to 1-5.

After breaking through the Kerry defence, Daire Shine had a fantastic opportunity for a goal but his effort just went to the right and wide. The introduction of Lorcan Og O’Connor and Padraig Boyle from the Kerry bench had an immediate and effective impact for the visitors.

The pair scored a point each before Boyle set up James O’Connor as Kerry rattled off five points on the spin in the space of five minutes. After 30 minutes, Kerry led 1-10 to 0-6.

Daire Shine and Rory Fagan responded for the Royals with two brilliant points but they were cancelled out by scores from Tom Doyle and Lorcan Og O’Connor and at the interval Kerry led 1-12 to 0-8.

The opportunities missed by Meath coupled with the harsh penalty call, meant that Kerry’s lead of seven points at the break certainly flattered the Kingdom. That did not deter the Royals and they returned after the restart with real intent.

Daire Shine and Tom Shine both knocked over nice points as the Royals seized momentum. However, Johnny Greville’s men suffered a heavy blow in the 39th minute when Doyle produced an excellent finish to the Kerry net, leaving no chance for Gavin King between the sticks. After 40 minutes, Kerry led 2-12 to 0-9.

Boyle and Kyle O’Connor followed up with two points in quick succession. Meath regained their composure and scored three points on the spin courtesy of Lorcan Byrne and the Shine brothers. However, Meath’s hopes suffered another dent when Healy was given a red card for a high tackle on Kyle O’Connor.

Just like they did in the first-half, Meath reacted well to being reduced to 14 men. Joey Cole added his name to the score sheet before Daire Shine and Ronan Walsh traded scores. Boyle kept Kerry ticking over and after 60 minutes the visitors led 2-16 to 0-15.

Gavin King’s long-range effort and Padraig O’Hanrahan’s late ‘65’ epitomised Meath’s determination to keep plugging away despite the fact that the result was probably beyond the Royals at that stage. It was Kerry who had the final say though as Colin Walsh’s late score was quickly followed up by the final whistle which confirmed a spot in the league final for the Kingdom. Meath will have to wait for the first-round of the Christy Ring Cup where they will get a chance to seek revenge on Kerry for Saturday’s defeat.

Meath - Gavin King (0-1 free); Jarlath Ennis, Seán Geraghty, Lorcan O'Connor; Noah Conroy, Daire Shine (0-4 one free), Simon Ennis; Joey Cole (0-1), Eoin Donegan; Damien Healy (0-1), Tom Shine (0-6 five frees), Lorcan Byrne (0-2); Rory Fagan (0-1), Seán Doyle (0-1), Mikey Cole. Subs - Podge O’Hanrahan (0-1 ‘65’) for Fagan 36m, Sean Coloe for Doyle 55m, Jack Walsh for Donegan 61m, Kevin Mulligan for O’Connor 71m.

Kerry - Conor Bohane; Eric Leen, Sean McGrath, Kyle O’Connor (0-1); James O’Connor (0-1), Jason Diggins (0-1), Michael Leane; Kevin Goulding (0-1), Ronan Walsh (1-4 three frees, 1-0 penalty, one ‘65’); Tom Doyle (1-1), Colin Walsh (0-2), Jordan Black (0-1); Michael Slattery, Daniel Casey, Oisin Maunsell. Subs - Liam Og O’Connor (0-2) for Casey 27m, Padraig Boyle (0-4 two frees) for Maunsell 29m, Luke Rochford for Slattery 59m, Evan Murphy for Diggins 60m, Adam Segal for Goulding 71m.

Referee - Peter Ownes (Down).