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Royals put on a regal show
 By
Graham Clifford
It’s been a long time coming but finally Meath are back in the
business end of an All-Ireland Football Championship.
Their deserved and dramatic three-point win over a disappointing Galway
at Portlaoise on Saturday sent them through to the last eight of this
year’s competition and initiated celebrations across the Royal County.
The beaten Connacht finalists started without the influential trio of
Padraig Joyce, Derek Savage and Declan Meehan in their line-up though
all three were introduced as substitutes as the Tribesmen aimed to eradicate
the nightmares which still lingered following their loss to Sligo two
weeks ago.
In the opposite dugout Graham Geraghty sat for Meath having sorted out
his differences with both management and players. Galway manager Peter
Forde was hoping the tiff would have gone on longer but it was not to
be.
There was nothing between these two evenly-matched sides for the opening
20 minutes as a score by one side was rapidly cancelled out by the other.
Meath’s sharpshooter Brian Farrell opened his side’s account
after three minutes when he converted his first free of the afternoon.
His score was cancelled out by former minor star
and Knocknacarra club man Sean Armstrong.
The see-saw nature of the opening half continued as scores by Meath’s
Farrell, Shane O’Rourke and Stephen Bray were responded to each
time by points from Galway’s Michael Meehan and two well-taken scores
by Nicky Joyce.
As the opening 35 minutes progressed it was evident that at some point
something would have to give.
Galway went close to bagging the opening goal at the end of the first
quarter when Armstrong shot well wide along the ground when finding the
back of the net was a real possibility.
Meath were to succeed where their Western foes failed though. In the 24th
minute Stephen Bray sent a piledriver to the roof of the net after latching
onto a deflected delivery to send the Royals into a 1-4 to 0-3 lead.
Galway were reeling and Bray was celebrating his second goal just three
minutes later when poor Galway defending allowed him to waltz through
their backline and stick the ball into the corner of the net much to the
delight of the travelling Royal faithful.
While Mathew Clancy and Joyce did convert to bring Galway back to life
the best score of the half came just at the death when Meath captain Anthony
Moyles kicked a superb point from the right to send his side in leading
by 2-6 to 0-6 at the break and already dreaming of a joyful return to
Croke Park in the next round.
Having received the hairdryer treatment from Peter Forde at half-time
Galway emerged from the dressing rooms like men possessed.
They immediately started to make in-roads into the Meath lead and two
points from Michael Meehan and one from Joyce had the men in maroon back
in contention.
However the ominous sight of Graham Geraghty entering the fray in the
43rd minute may have sent Galway back a few steps as Meath started to
reassert themselves again.
It would take something out of the ordinary for Galway to truly get back
in this game and it came courtesy of match referee Maurice Deegan.
The Laois man pointed to the spot midway through the second-half after
Michael Meehan fell to the ground rather easily following contact with
two Meath players.
Meehan himself took the spot-kick and though the keeper went the right
way there was no stopping the Galway man’s thunderous drive.
To Meath’s credit though they didn’t allow their poor fortune
to get to them and thanks to late scores from Geraghty, Farrell and substitute
Charles McCarthy the Royals march on to fight another day. |
