New Meath show two sides of their character to defeat old rivals

Dublin rocked by two first-half goals

Meath...2-5

Dublin...0-7

What a start for Meath. Two wins from two in the National Football League Div 1. Last week Mayo were put to the sword in their own backyard and today in Pairc Tailteann Dublin were conquered, the reigning All-Ireland champions.

How sweet those last few words read for Meath supporters. "Any day a Meath team defeats Dublin is a good day," said one delighted fan after he had watched Shane McCormack's team (a combination of the familiar and the new) put in performance that mixed some enterprising, swashbuckling football with resolute, defensive play.

This game was a contest of two halves in more ways than one. In the opening moiety the Royals used the breeze to their advantage, regularly breaking out of defence at lightning speed.

It presented an opportunity for the players to land some big punches. The nature of the game in that opening half allowed the forwards especially to show some flair and imagination.

The second-half was a much different affair. Meath hardly managed to work the ball out of their own half as Dublin launched attack after attack. Now a different set of demands were placed on the home team.

Now they had to dig in, defend, concentrate. It was trench warfare. It was about chasing, closing down, getting blocks in. Relentless, largely unrewarding, unglamorous hard graft.

Yet Meath did what was required in both halves and did enough to get the result they deserved and will rightly savour, because for a Meath team, any Meath team in any context, it doesn't get much better than beating Dublin.

The kind of attacking imagination and flair the team could muster up was seen in the way they fashioned the two goals of the game that were, in the end, to prove so crucial. Decisive.

With the elements behind them Meath (well-supported by a mainly partisan crowd of about 2,000) made a whirlwind start with Ciara Smyth pointing. Dublin hit back with a score of their own from Ellen Gribben but they were struggling to get foothold.

With six minutes on the clock the Royals put together a devastating, swift-passing move. Aine Sheridan, Niamh Gallogly, Marion Farrelly, Meadhbh Byrne and Emma Duggan were all involved.

The move ended when a neat, quick-witted pass from Duggan found Byrne who swept the ball to the net. Meath were on their way.

Another slicing, high-tempo move on 14 minutes once again ended in a major. This time Mary Kate Lynch passed to Gallogly. Her super pass found Maire O'Shaughnessy. She found Byrne who released Marion Farrelly. The St Michael's player held her nerve to slot the ball to the net.

Those goals added to two points from Emma Duggan and Smyth's early effort helped to give Meath a deserved 2-3 to 0-3 advantage.

Meath were extremely good in that opening half as an attacking force but they were helped also by the fact that Dublin sharpshooter Carla Rowe was not as clinical as might be expected.

No doubt the swirling wind had something to do with it as she missed frees you would normally expect her to score.

Meath were also hampered by a yellow card shown to Gallogly shortly before the break. The Dunshaughlin Royal Gales player was missed because her surging, high-energy runs turned defence into attack in an instant.

The second-half asked a different set of questions from Meath. They were required to become a different team. Sure they gave the ball away a lot, missed chances too.

They coughed up a lot of ball in turnovers but Dublin, despite their dominance, could only muster four more points - three converted frees from Carla Rowe and one from play by Kate Murray. That stat alone is a tribute to Meath's defensive resolve. One point scored by Dublin from play in each half. They also clocked up some bad wides partly because of pressure exerted on them.

Granted Meath could only engineer two points themselves - from a Duggan free and Farrelly free - in that second-half but their defensive resolve was as important as their attacking flair.

It takes all sorts of qualities to win a game. Today Meath showed they had what was required - and how their supporters savoured the win.

SCORERS

Meath - Marion Farrelly 1-0; Meadhbh Byrne 1-0; Emma Duggan 0-3 two frees; Ciara Smyth 0-1; Marion Farrelly 0-1 free.

Dublin - Carla Rowe 0-4 frees; Ellen Gribben 0-1; Martha Byrne 0-1; Kate Murray 0-1.