Meath captain Kevin Reilly says "there has to be" a reaction from the Royal County against Armagh on Saturday.

Mick O'Dowd's charges return to Croke Park, where they were humiliated by Dublin in the Leinster final earlier this month, to take on Armagh in a winner-takes-all Round Four Qualifier and Reilly hopes there will be a right Royal backlash:

"There's a lot of hurt there and there should be," the Navan O'Mahonys clubman is quoted in The Irish Independent. "We came in for a lot of criticism and some of it was justified.

"When you pull on a Meath jersey, there are standards expected of you and we didn't reach them the last day. I've no problem saying it; we really had to perform and we didn't, that's the really disappointing thing.

"There will be a reaction. I think there has to be. If there's any character in this squad at all, there will be a reaction.

"When you suffer a defeat like that, questions have to be asked. You have to analyse the performance, or lack thereof. You wade your way through it and try to come up with as many answers as possible and that's what we've done.

"There was a turning point in the first half with their goal coming off the post and then our goal being disallowed. That was a six-point swing, which was crucial. But the disappointing thing for me was that we just didn't stand up and have a real good cut at it, which we needed to do to have any chance really.

"It's going to be a real test of character; how lads put the disappointment of the Leinster final behind them and how we pick ourselves up and regroup." Tweet

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