Rampant Royals Revive Ambitions

The Young Royals put six goals past Laois on Tuesday evening

Meath 6-22

Laois 0-7

DAVY RISPIN

Backs to the wall, Meath came out swinging to record their first win of this year’s Leinster Minor Championship and breathe new life into their hopes.

The prolificate and at times passive Meath side of recent weeks was a mere thing of the past as the visitors emphatically brushed aside the challenge of Laois on Wednesday evening at O’Moore Park.

Trevor Giles’ side showed a superior hunger and intensity which their opponents simply could not match from start to finish. An aggressive approach to the Laois restarts proved to be the perfect platform for Meath to dominate in relentless fashion yielding a high volume of scores.

Milo Stafford put Meath in front inside the first minute before Laois posted back-to-back points to lead for the one and only time in the contest. Despite wearing the number six jersey, captain Harry McGuirk playing in a far more advanced position, set the tone by forcing a turnover inside the Laois 20 metre line and firing Meath’s opening goal of the game. McGuirk and Thomas McKeever added points prior to Conn Brennan netting Meath’s second major in the 12th minute to put clear daylight between the teams, 0-2 to 2-3.

Cian Murphy briefly responded for the hosts, but the Meath juggernaut was not for stopping. The rampaging Royals rattled off a 2-9 unanswered over the course of the next 10 minutes. Some of the football, the combination play, movement and pressure applied on the Midlanders was outstanding.

McGuirk and McKeever registered excellent two-pointers, Cormac Walsh and Brennan added quickfire goals with further points from Walsh (three), Brennan and Stafford completing the devastating salvo between the 14th and 24th minute to establish a 4-12 to 0-3 lead for the side in green. The only response Dave McGrath’s charges could muster was a free with the final kick of the half from Sean Maree to leave a 21-point margin between the teams at the interval.

The one-way traffic continued into the second half with the excellent McGuirk adding to his tally shortly after the resumption. McKeever palmed home Meath’s fifth goal of the night with Stafford tagging on a brace of points immediately after. McGuirk raised his second and Meath’s sixth green flag of the contest following yet more pressure inside the Laois 40 metre arc.

Brennan and Walsh added points in the 40th and 44th minutes before Laois broke their second half duck entering the fourth quarter with their captain Fionnan Brennan slicing

over an excellent two-pointer from 50 metres. Eoghan Harris followed with Laois’ third point in as many minutes, but this would prove to be their last as Meath finished with a flourish.

The superb Walsh bookended the five points in succession with man of the match McGuirk and Stafford sandwiching white flags in-between to complete the rout as the reinvigorated Royals now set their sights on a preliminary Quarter-Final meeting with Wicklow.

Laois – Mark Dowling; Orran Langton, Dan Downey, Darragh Brennan; Oisin Gilligan, Fionnan Brennan (0-3 one free, one two-point free), Will McGrath; Will Craig (0-1), Cillin Hoey; David Timmons, Tom Lawler, Cian Murphy (0-1); Sean Maree (0-1 free), Aaron Mackey, Eoghan Harris (0-1).

Subs – Ethan Neilon for D Brennan 30m, Killian McLernon for Gilligan half time, Tadhg Hughes for Murphy 38m, Mikey Hand for Hoey, Dale Heffernan for Maree both 45m.

Meath – Cormac Fitzsimons; Ben Browne, Tomas Clarke, Niall Rogan; Liam O’Donoghue, Harry McGuirk (2-5 one two-pointer), Niall Smyth; John Killoran, Tomas Proudfoot; Cormac McKenna, Conn Brennan (2-2), Alex Keane; Cormac Walsh (1-7 two frees), Milo Stafford (0-5 one ’45’, one free), Thomas McKeever (1-3 one two-pointer).

Subs – Dillon Glynn for Browne, Conor McTigue for Smyth both 42m, Tomás Dillon for McKeever 45m, Jake Loughran for Proudfoot 46m, Harris Moffat for McGuirk 52m.

Referee – Lar Murphy (Carlow)