Jimmy Geoghegan: How Meath held back the tide to win the day

To win one All-Ireland final at Croke Park is special. To achieve the feat three times is, well, the kind of stuff that's bordering on the fairytale.

Sean Geraghty was one of those Meath players who completed a hat-trick of Christy Ring Cup triumphs at headquarters when he played his part in helping Meath defeat Derry on Saturday. Super Saturday as far as he and his colleagues were concerned.

Geraghty was there when Meath defeated Antrim (after a replayed final) in 2016. He was there three years later when Down were conquered. He was on duty once again when Derry were downed.

As ever Geraghty was diligent and dedicated in his primary task of helping to shut down the Derry attack, particularly in the last 20 minutes or so when the Ulster side started to storm back with all the vigour of a tornado.

It was then Meath needed men to stand up in the storm, be strong, and the Kilskyre hurler was certainly one of those who answered his county's call.

He manned the trenches with characteristic vigilance, dedication and plenty of skill, personifying the team's rugged resistance.

As the game slipped into injury time Derry, who trailed by 12 points early in the second-half, had reduced the deficit to a single white flag.

There was for a brief spell the real prospect that what looked like a once certain, comprehensive victory might, just might, turn into a defeat.

A defeat that would have been embarrassing and hurtful. The kind of defeat a team does not easily recover from but Meath's defensive fortitude shone in the side's darkest moments with Geraghty and others manning the trenches with characteristic dedication.

The line was held, the marauders rolled back and a two-point victory ultimately achieved.

Geraghty talked of those closing minutes as he stood in the media room under the Hogan Stand, just down the corridor from his team's no doubt, raucous, joy-filled dressing room.

He reflected on those minutes when the pressure was at its most intense and in talking about them he give an little insight into what it must be like to stand shoulder-to-shoulder against a siege; to man the battlements when the fight is at its most intense.

"Those Slaughneil boys, the Kevin Lynch boys they are made of tough stuff, we could see players like John Mullan surging up the pitch driving them forward, a real threat.

“ I just think we were clever in the way we would eke out a free here or a free there.

"There were other factors. I think Jack (Regan) was immense, he's among the best freetakers in the country. He scored what, 14 points, I know he missed a few there near the end but he's so accurate and in Cormac (O'Doherty) Derry had a brilliant marksman too. To see those two boys was, I think, worth the admission fee alone. Those moments from Jack also helped us get back into it when they had the momentum.

"There were a few moments when we could have killed them off but we didn't, they took strength from that and came back. We had to hold them off as best we could. We spoke about that as a panel how we have as a panel, to knuckle down and ride it out and we just about did that."

Geraghty pointed out how he and his team didn't do all that much different in terms of preparation for Saturday's final.

They did go to Croke Park to walk around the pitch a week before the game, just to get a feel for the vast arena, certainly a useful initiative for the younger players.

More experienced campaigners like Geraghty could draw on the knowledge gained in 2016 and 2019.

The Kilskyre player (who, of course also plays his football for his native Ballinlough) spoke of the strength in the Meath squad.

That too was a major factor in the success he felt. The fact that the players, all the players in the wider panel, were willing to work hard in training and in games, to never give up.

That theme of the relentless hard graft put in by the collective was touched on too by joint-captain Jack Regan, another who paid a visit to the media centre.

He too, spoke of how the team put in over 100 training sessions since last November. The Kiltale man overcame a troublesome groin injury himself over the course of the season to regain a regular place on the team.

He was determined that nothing would hold him back. He worked extra hard to get himself fit again for the fray.

Once back to full fitness he invariably contributed a raft of points during matches. Saturday was no different.

His memorable haul of 14 scores included some real gems hit from play and frees. Saturday was a day when Regan's class once more shone through.

He talked about how the players had set their targets from the start and went about achieving their ambitions with all the vigour and know-how they could muster.

"We set out at the start of the year to win the 2B and the Christy Ring.

It probably didn't look like it was going to happen for us today, with two or three minutes to go you probably would have been happy enough with a draw, to get in and regroup. Thankfully we were able to ground it out. We had that extra determination to go and win.

"Some lads really stood up to the challenge. Podge O'Hanrahan for example. He probably played every game this year so far.

“He was told on Thursday night he wouldn't be starting, that we would be going with someone else.

“Podge came into the game with about 20 minutes to go and in my opinion he was probably the difference. He won a couple of frees, got a lot of dirty ball, stuff like that.

"It would have been very handy for that chap to just sulk and say this is not right. He dug in, he grounded it out. It was lads like him that got us over the line."

The collective. That too was a factor on marking a truly momentous day for Meath hurling.

The kind of day that doesn’t come around too often. That kind of day that will be savoured for a long time by those involved in making it happen.