ICYMI: Brennan's boys bounce back in fine style

Manager delighted with character shown by his charges

Staring down the barrel of elimination from the All-Ireland SFC race after just three games, Meath produced their best performance of the season to scupper Derry's chances and advance to round three where they will face Mayo in Castlebar next Saturday.

There was no doubting ability ahead of Saturday's trip to Celtic Park, but what was in question was if Meath had the stomach for a fight and they certainly proved the doubters wrong with a composed, professional, controlled display that just got better and better as the 70 minutes ticked away.

With their backs against the wall following the Leinster SFC quarter-final loss to Westmeath and the All-Ireland SFC round one defeat by Cork in Pairc Ui Rinn, Meath had no where to turn, their only choice was to come out swinging and with their Commander-in-chief Donal Keogan providing the inspiration and James Conlon supplying the ammunition the Royals reigned supreme.

It is one thing to question a Meath player's ability, but another thing to doubt their character and while they were obviously hurting after two championship defeats they never doubted themselves and that was one of the most pleasing factors over the last three weeks since the Cork defeat for manager Robbie Brennan.

"If you lose two championship games you're fair game for criticism, and that's fair enough, but Westmeath went on to win Leinster and Cork have shown now that they're a very good side. You're losing to good teams, but nobody wants to lose," said the manager.

"So naturally your character gets questioned, not within the group though. The lads know what they're capable of.

"For us, the challenge is consistency. You can't only reach these levels after suffering a defeat. That's part of the journey and you just have to keep working at it."

In 2025 Meath made major inroads in Brennan's first year in charge. Championship wins over Dublin, Kerry and Galway earmarked them as the up and coming side in the country.

They followed that with a fruitful spring this year as promotion to Div 1 was secured in fine style, but all that good work was in danger of coming undone after they headed north on Saturday.

Having enjoyed a prolonged summer last year with nine championship games, defeat would have left Meath three and done this year, so there was a lot of pressure on Brennan and his charges ahead of Saturday's clash with Derry.

"There was pressure on us, definitely, but pressure is part of it. We keep saying to the boys that if you're in the Meath jersey, there'll be pressure on you all the time," said the manager.

"Maybe it was heightened by the fact that we lost our last two championship games, but we felt Cork wasn't as bad as everybody was trying to make it out to be. Obviously, we didn't handle the extra man well enough and that came back to haunt us that day.

"However, we knew we were at that level. I think Cork have proven today that they're a top-quality team if they're able to go up and beat Donegal away from home. So we knew the form line was there and that we weren't suddenly a bad team because of two poor results.

"I'm delighted the lads were able to show that today.

"They are tiny margins that can change a win to a loss. We held our hands up after the Cork game regarding the red card and admitted that we didn't control that situation the way we should have, but there were other areas of the game we targeted today and I thought the lads delivered on them in spades.

"It's not easy to come up here and win a championship game. Whatever about league matches we've won up here, trying to win a championship game is an extremely difficult thing to do against a really good Derry team.

"We're proud that we were able to get it done today, but it's only good for today. We'll see what Monday's draw throws up and then we'll get ready for next week."

One of the major aspects of Meath performances in the losses to Westmeath and Cork were their in ability to secure enough primary possession at kickout time, but they certainly corrected that against Derry with Cian McBride proving to be lord of the skies, whereas Derry struggled with their restarts.

"All these things can be funny. Your percentages can look really good because sometimes you get a flick or a break and you're lucky, but the work Shane Supple does is unbelievable. Anyone who doesn't know it would have to be inside the group to realise the amount of work he puts in.

"I'm delighted for him as a coach as well that it paid dividends for us today."

Another important aspect of Meath's improved performance were the performances of veterans Donal Keogan and Bryan Menton and their value to Meath was not underplayed by Brennan.

"When you come into a cauldron like this, they're (Keogan and Menton) the lads you hope will stand up and deliver.

"I thought Keogan was as good as I've ever seen him play. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but I just thought he was exceptional and you need that to happen. Menton was the same. He put in a massive shift."Then you're throwing in the really young lads like Killian Smyth from Castletown, who I think came of age during that spell.

"I'm delighted, but as I keep saying, it's onto the bus now, three hours back down the road, and we'll have to recover now for next week."

Any lingering doubts about their ability to bring the fight to Derry were dispelled early doors by Keogan's magnificent sixth minute goal and Brennan acknowledged that that was a huge score.

"It (Keogan's goal) set the tone. We've been at him to try to score a little more because he gets into those positions and sometimes lays it off to other lads, but he can be a brilliant attacking wing-back.

"I'm delighted for him. I think he finished with 1-2, did he? Brilliant for him."

While Keogan's early goal did give Meath a major boost, there was still an element of nervousness about the opening half and it wasn't until the second period wore on that Meath grew in belief.

Keogan was central to another huge moment in the second period which Brennan highlighted as being a significant turning point in swaying the game in Meath's favour.

"Was there a turning point? Probably only when the hooter went, particularly against Derry because they carry so many threats," quipped the Meath boss."I thought Keogan winning that ball out near the sideline was massive. At that stage you're thinking, 'Okay, we're on it' now.

"Derry were possibly beginning to tire after the effort they had put in trying to claw back those three or four points, but you're never sure.

"Pre-game, we were probably concerned about the breeze because it was tricky. Sometimes it felt sheltered and other times it seemed to be blowing, but once we got into the dressing room, the lads felt it wasn't really a huge factor, either on kick-outs or from a shooting point of view.

"Overall, we were happy enough at half-time, except that we had eight turnovers and conceded 1-5 from them. That hurt us at half-time and was something we tried to change.

"I haven't seen the second-half stats yet, but I'd hope that improved.

"That do-or-die mentality probably kicks in very early. You're trying to manage it and tell the players not to play the occasion, but it's very hard to ignore. Everything is on hold. You simply have to win.

"Maybe that played its part in those opening 10 or 15 minutes, but I thought the second half settled down a bit and we found a better rhythm."

When talking to Brennan in the immediate aftermath he obviously didn't know the opposition for round three, but he was aware of the difficulties posed by a quick turn around.

"We will get a bounce from today, but what can you do this week? No matter who you get in the draw, your analysis will probably be fairly limited in terms of what you can really go after and work on.

"It's the recovery side of things. It's very difficult to go two weekends back-to-back. We've done it in the league and had three games in succession, so it's a rhythm we've experienced before and we won't be using it as an excuse.

"Championship football is a different level and there'll be some very sore bodies after that. You've lads sitting on a bus for three hours before they even get back to their cars and head home.

"It's a big test, but that's the hand we're dealt and we just have to get on with it.

"When the season is over they (the GAA) might look back at the system and decide what's fair and what isn't.

"It does seem a bit odd that you could be coming in with a win and a bit of momentum against a team coming off a loss.

"It's all a little bit topsy-turvy, but whoever it is, it'll be a good team. We'll have to be on our guard and ready to go," concluded the manager before moving on to complete his media duties which included nine different post-match interviews, it certainly was a long day for Brennan and his side.