Meath Forum

Super 8 Play-Off/Round 4 Qualifier

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Lads, the players and management are happy to move on from the Dublin game, perhaps analyse it after the season ends, which admittedly could be soon. We should do the same. We've a game coming up in a few weeks to get the opportunity to advance to the Super 8's. The other opposition is Westmeath, Clare, Laois, Offaly, Kildare, Mayo, Tyrone, and Armagh. There seems to be a stipulation whereby Meath cannot face Laois or Offaly again in one season though, so it narrows the board. A few big games coming up this week and we should be paying attention; every one of those teams will fancy Meath.

Another question surely we must all be asking ourselves on some level is if we are even ready for S8 action, of course we want our team there, but the reality of the quality of opposition is now far more clear... in saying that of course getting to the last 8 is a capability for this team and I think them capable of bouncing back and beating any of the above teams, although it seems a big task indeed in most cases. Thoughts?

Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 587 - 25/06/2019 16:35:38    2200722

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Replying To Young_gael:  "Lads, the players and management are happy to move on from the Dublin game, perhaps analyse it after the season ends, which admittedly could be soon. We should do the same. We've a game coming up in a few weeks to get the opportunity to advance to the Super 8's. The other opposition is Westmeath, Clare, Laois, Offaly, Kildare, Mayo, Tyrone, and Armagh. There seems to be a stipulation whereby Meath cannot face Laois or Offaly again in one season though, so it narrows the board. A few big games coming up this week and we should be paying attention; every one of those teams will fancy Meath.

Another question surely we must all be asking ourselves on some level is if we are even ready for S8 action, of course we want our team there, but the reality of the quality of opposition is now far more clear... in saying that of course getting to the last 8 is a capability for this team and I think them capable of bouncing back and beating any of the above teams, although it seems a big task indeed in most cases. Thoughts?"
You're right, let's move on with the players and management. It's a big ask but they're certainly able to beat any of those teams.

summerof09 (Meath) - Posts: 315 - 25/06/2019 16:55:06    2200735

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I for one am optimistic enough about the remainder of the year.
Ok Sunday was a horror show but as has been said only 5 conceeded in a half against dublin and had enough scoring opportunities ourselves.
At the same time all the wides we kicked and a real lack of chemistry in the forward line is worrying.
Our kickouts are abysmal and its hard to understand how we havent worked on them/ became much better at them.
The fact we dont have a dominant midfield obviously cuts your kickout options in half.

In saying all that i really do think there will be a massive kick in this team , whatever we say about them and the talent they may lack they seem to be a hardworking honest bunch.
Theyre sure to be hurting after sunday and with the thoughts of being 70mins away from the super 8s i think we'll battle like demons to get there.

In that sense i dont mind who we draw, maybe even a bigger team would narrow the focus to a higher level.


And finally i cant help but thinking could there be simalrities with this team and season to McEntees minor crop who got to an all ireland final.
Hammered by the dubs in a leinster they regrouped and pulled off a couple of dogged near miracles .

(Before i get slated , i dont see us getting to a final this year but i see us having a real shot at super 8s and being a right handful for most teams in it)

Meathmaverick (Meath) - Posts: 106 - 25/06/2019 17:06:59    2200741

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Regardless of who we draw it's vital that the lads have a right go at it for 70mins. I believe this group will as they know they let themselves down badly on Sunday. Only way to get over it is to go out and play and get it out of the system.

moylagh (Meath) - Posts: 484 - 25/06/2019 17:07:50    2200742

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Replying To Young_gael:  "Lads, the players and management are happy to move on from the Dublin game, perhaps analyse it after the season ends, which admittedly could be soon. We should do the same. We've a game coming up in a few weeks to get the opportunity to advance to the Super 8's. The other opposition is Westmeath, Clare, Laois, Offaly, Kildare, Mayo, Tyrone, and Armagh. There seems to be a stipulation whereby Meath cannot face Laois or Offaly again in one season though, so it narrows the board. A few big games coming up this week and we should be paying attention; every one of those teams will fancy Meath.

Another question surely we must all be asking ourselves on some level is if we are even ready for S8 action, of course we want our team there, but the reality of the quality of opposition is now far more clear... in saying that of course getting to the last 8 is a capability for this team and I think them capable of bouncing back and beating any of the above teams, although it seems a big task indeed in most cases. Thoughts?"
As far as I am aware a team cannot meet a team it previously played in the provincial system. Therefore the winner of Laois vs Offaly will be separated from Meath. A bit farcical at this stage of championship.

All we can do is wait and see who comes through the round and who pops out of the draw. It's a no brainer Meath would desire the winner of Westmeath vs Clare.

Hard to know if Meath can bounce back. I doubt this team could defeat Mayo/Kildare/Armagh/Tyrone based on their 3 match run of victories but odds would suggest it may well be a team of the above 4.

Bitterly disappointing from the weekend and I fear if we fall short of this hurdle again with a "moral victory" some posters on this forum will be delighted.

There is not much point deliberating until such a draw is made.

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 757 - 25/06/2019 17:12:13    2200749

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Replying To Royalio11:  "As far as I am aware a team cannot meet a team it previously played in the provincial system. Therefore the winner of Laois vs Offaly will be separated from Meath. A bit farcical at this stage of championship.

All we can do is wait and see who comes through the round and who pops out of the draw. It's a no brainer Meath would desire the winner of Westmeath vs Clare.

Hard to know if Meath can bounce back. I doubt this team could defeat Mayo/Kildare/Armagh/Tyrone based on their 3 match run of victories but odds would suggest it may well be a team of the above 4.

Bitterly disappointing from the weekend and I fear if we fall short of this hurdle again with a "moral victory" some posters on this forum will be delighted.

There is not much point deliberating until such a draw is made."
It is hard to know if they can bounce back. This is uncharted territory for an awful lot of them. Andy Mc Entee even alluded to that himself by saying he's interested to see how they react. There is a notable shortage of leaders on field and that has to be the case off-field too, making things even more interesting. I agree; Westmeath or Clare is the easiest draw but in saying that do we really want them? Why not have a crack at Tyrone again? Or Mayo? At least then if we get there we know and the players know its down to them having the ability to be there, not a nice draw.

Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 587 - 25/06/2019 17:27:37    2200757

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Replying To Young_gael:  "It is hard to know if they can bounce back. This is uncharted territory for an awful lot of them. Andy Mc Entee even alluded to that himself by saying he's interested to see how they react. There is a notable shortage of leaders on field and that has to be the case off-field too, making things even more interesting. I agree; Westmeath or Clare is the easiest draw but in saying that do we really want them? Why not have a crack at Tyrone again? Or Mayo? At least then if we get there we know and the players know its down to them having the ability to be there, not a nice draw."
Absolutely. Bring on Mayo!

cabbage (Meath) - Posts: 162 - 25/06/2019 18:24:20    2200789

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anybody know if Meath play at home in P T against a qualifier. Reckon that would be a massive advantage especially against a team that have played in successive weekends. Still all to play for

82300 (Louth) - Posts: 31 - 25/06/2019 22:20:45    2200962

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It smacked of passing the buck on to the players from manager to b honest. Looked bad from my end any way. Needs to b quicker on the line with tactics

Reco (Meath) - Posts: 419 - 25/06/2019 23:13:25    2200993

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Replying To 82300:  "anybody know if Meath play at home in P T against a qualifier. Reckon that would be a massive advantage especially against a team that have played in successive weekends. Still all to play for"
Round 4 Qualifiers are all neutral grounds. It is apparent that any advantages are thrown out the window.

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 757 - 26/06/2019 00:12:45    2201013

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This team have trained their arses off all year and given it everything on match days. I think the super 8's is just what they need. Let's find out where they are and where they need to get to next year. Perfect preparation for Div 1 next year. This will be our all Ireland final. It's been too long since meath made the quarter final stage.

Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 26/06/2019 00:17:32    2201014

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Replying To 82300:  "anybody know if Meath play at home in P T against a qualifier. Reckon that would be a massive advantage especially against a team that have played in successive weekends. Still all to play for"
Round 4 is played in neutral venues. Though about 10 years ago Cork and Limerick agreed to toss a coin for home advantage.

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1643 - 26/06/2019 00:40:53    2201019

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Replying To Young_gael:  "Lads, the players and management are happy to move on from the Dublin game, perhaps analyse it after the season ends, which admittedly could be soon. We should do the same. We've a game coming up in a few weeks to get the opportunity to advance to the Super 8's. The other opposition is Westmeath, Clare, Laois, Offaly, Kildare, Mayo, Tyrone, and Armagh. There seems to be a stipulation whereby Meath cannot face Laois or Offaly again in one season though, so it narrows the board. A few big games coming up this week and we should be paying attention; every one of those teams will fancy Meath.

Another question surely we must all be asking ourselves on some level is if we are even ready for S8 action, of course we want our team there, but the reality of the quality of opposition is now far more clear... in saying that of course getting to the last 8 is a capability for this team and I think them capable of bouncing back and beating any of the above teams, although it seems a big task indeed in most cases. Thoughts?"
We aren't ready but it doesn't matter... It's very important as part of our development that we get there. I knew wed steuggle agaiant dublin, but there arent any other dublins out there, the 2nd best team is prob Donegal and we cared much better against them.... even if we lost our 3 super 8 games it's still a success in terms of prep for div 1. People's goals seem to be changing, it was always promotion, Leinster final and get to super 8s.....2 of them have been achieved and the third is very possible and lads ( not you) are turning slightly on mcentee, what can he do about lads woeful execution, nothing, what has he done to get us into div 1 and 1 game away from super 8s, everything. beating Dublin was never a realistic goal...and after watching the game again, bar.the last 10/15 mins we did put it up to them, problem is the scoreboard just didn't reflect it.....50 50 possession, more chances in the first half, kilkenny, costello Howard, COC all very well marshalled to the extent that 2 of them were taken off early....none of the above happens very often. Goal keeper and the forwards having the bottle the next day are my big worrys.

southmeathgael (Meath) - Posts: 888 - 26/06/2019 06:52:40    2201038

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Roscommon weren't ready last year and they haven't been affected negatively this year. Now is the right time.

Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 26/06/2019 15:50:00    2201317

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Replying To southmeathgael:  "We aren't ready but it doesn't matter... It's very important as part of our development that we get there. I knew wed steuggle agaiant dublin, but there arent any other dublins out there, the 2nd best team is prob Donegal and we cared much better against them.... even if we lost our 3 super 8 games it's still a success in terms of prep for div 1. People's goals seem to be changing, it was always promotion, Leinster final and get to super 8s.....2 of them have been achieved and the third is very possible and lads ( not you) are turning slightly on mcentee, what can he do about lads woeful execution, nothing, what has he done to get us into div 1 and 1 game away from super 8s, everything. beating Dublin was never a realistic goal...and after watching the game again, bar.the last 10/15 mins we did put it up to them, problem is the scoreboard just didn't reflect it.....50 50 possession, more chances in the first half, kilkenny, costello Howard, COC all very well marshalled to the extent that 2 of them were taken off early....none of the above happens very often. Goal keeper and the forwards having the bottle the next day are my big worrys."
I would agree mostly. I think the lack of firepower up-front and in midfield is alarming. Again I hate picking out players but the goalkeeping situation needs to be looked at for next season in my opinion. Newman put himself about the pitch vs. the Dubs out of desperation from what I could see. He wasn't getting any ball coming in so he had to go looking out around the 45 and midfield to try and lead the team around him, where he was ultimately reduced in capacity. Conlon was unlucky in the sense that he stayed the course as a very youthful and inexperienced lad, and stayed in the full forward line alone for the vast majority of the game where he had next to zero impact. I dont think the man knew any better or had any other choice. I have to say though lads, going forward we were brutal. It was atrocious stuff. Our big names over the year were very quiet and effectively marked out of the game. We looked very limited. In saying that numbers 2-7 accounted well for themselves. I struggle to think that Ciaran Kilkenny will be kept as quiet as when Keogan marked him, McGill, Lavin, and Gallagher kept the Dublin full-forward line as quiet as they could probably be kept. Despite being a non-traditional midfielder, Menton is instrumental to this particular team.

On McEntee, I like him. I havent turned on him and Im saddened that people are starting to allude to the idea of a new manager. He's raw, and he doesent believe in spin. He's passionate and demands high standards which is obvious to see. He's perfect for this job and I dont think he should be put under pressure at all, what has been achieved this season with this Meath team is already a great achievement with what's available.

Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 587 - 26/06/2019 17:44:25    2201373

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Replying To moylagh:  "Regardless of who we draw it's vital that the lads have a right go at it for 70mins. I believe this group will as they know they let themselves down badly on Sunday. Only way to get over it is to go out and play and get it out of the system."
You see I don't believe that they let themselves down. I just think that the finishing/scoring eluded them. I'm not sure but what is there scoring average this in competitive matches; I would reckon around 14 or 15 points. Somebody may correct me. On most other days Ben Brennan and Micky Newman would have scored those frees and not hit the upright. Lets remember we hit 7 wides and 4 uprights in the 1st half. If we took even the attempts against the posts the scores are level. And a total of 12 wides, 5 off posts and 3 into Cluxton's hands, that 20 missed chances. Even half taken and its a different match. Also the scoreline IMO flattered Dublin. Sure they scored 1-6 in last 10 minutes when our players heads and confidence was nowhere to be seen. It's hard to keep driving on defending and tackling etc, when the chances are being missed over and over again. It's demoralising.

The team need to put it behind them, remember that nobody expected them to win (bar loyal optimistic Meath followers) so they had a free shot, excuse the pun in this context.

David (Meath) - Posts: 567 - 26/06/2019 21:22:19    2201467

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How can we play with such flair and exuberance in league and then resort to the tripe in the forward line sunday.we did this last year again Longford same result. Fear was our Achilles heel sunday,our backs had a right go but for some reason we brought out our full forward line except conlon.why they looked so long at this baffles me. We're they confused not a clue or just hoping for the best. The answer to that question I'm afraid to ask Andy anyway.
But if you were a reilly Flanagan McCoy dardis sunday you would like answers. They drove us thru the league so why was faith lost in them.i sincerely hope the management look at themselves before they open the book to the players what they will see wasn't good enough for an inter county set up.it can b rectifyed hopefully we get the super 8s to show that we are not as bad as last game.

Reco (Meath) - Posts: 419 - 26/06/2019 23:01:56    2201521

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Replying To David:  "You see I don't believe that they let themselves down. I just think that the finishing/scoring eluded them. I'm not sure but what is there scoring average this in competitive matches; I would reckon around 14 or 15 points. Somebody may correct me. On most other days Ben Brennan and Micky Newman would have scored those frees and not hit the upright. Lets remember we hit 7 wides and 4 uprights in the 1st half. If we took even the attempts against the posts the scores are level. And a total of 12 wides, 5 off posts and 3 into Cluxton's hands, that 20 missed chances. Even half taken and its a different match. Also the scoreline IMO flattered Dublin. Sure they scored 1-6 in last 10 minutes when our players heads and confidence was nowhere to be seen. It's hard to keep driving on defending and tackling etc, when the chances are being missed over and over again. It's demoralising.

The team need to put it behind them, remember that nobody expected them to win (bar loyal optimistic Meath followers) so they had a free shot, excuse the pun in this context."
I agree with all of that..... Dublin were the better team and deserved to win by 6 to 8 points imo, but if we had of converted half our chances nobody would be as downbeat as they are.....even 1 17 is a decent score to concede to them.....they usually put up way more then that....equal possession, more chances for 55 mins.....only 6 pts down at that stage after butchering god knows how many...... could have been 2 17 to 15 points and everybody would have a pep in their step on here. People saying mcentee wasn't quick enough on the line.....do people not realise how hard it is to prepare play against Dublin, let alone change tactics midway through the game bar its something as easy as going direct with a few..... they snuffed us out, they snuff every team out .... it was foolhardy to think it would be any different.... it's lads expectations that weren't realistic not the outcome of the game.

southmeathgael (Meath) - Posts: 888 - 27/06/2019 07:06:35    2201557

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Replying To David:  "You see I don't believe that they let themselves down. I just think that the finishing/scoring eluded them. I'm not sure but what is there scoring average this in competitive matches; I would reckon around 14 or 15 points. Somebody may correct me. On most other days Ben Brennan and Micky Newman would have scored those frees and not hit the upright. Lets remember we hit 7 wides and 4 uprights in the 1st half. If we took even the attempts against the posts the scores are level. And a total of 12 wides, 5 off posts and 3 into Cluxton's hands, that 20 missed chances. Even half taken and its a different match. Also the scoreline IMO flattered Dublin. Sure they scored 1-6 in last 10 minutes when our players heads and confidence was nowhere to be seen. It's hard to keep driving on defending and tackling etc, when the chances are being missed over and over again. It's demoralising.

The team need to put it behind them, remember that nobody expected them to win (bar loyal optimistic Meath followers) so they had a free shot, excuse the pun in this context."
I probably didn't word my original reply the right way. I was actually referring to both management and players. The lads did a lot of things right on Sunday, defence was pretty good, and I thought midfield did better than expected.
Our general forward play though was atrocious. Yeah, we created chances but some of the misses were of the OMG variety and the lads know this. Against teams like Dublin you need to convert 90-95% of chances to be in with any sort of prospect of winning.
There also didn't seem to be much of a strategy apart from trying to hit Conlon with long balls or taking pot shots from way out. I do hope Andy etc realises this and can get something in place for the next day.

I would expect a big reaction from all concerned as they've put in too much work this year to let it be defined by last Sunday.

moylagh (Meath) - Posts: 484 - 27/06/2019 12:52:27    2201674

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Replying To southmeathgael:  "I agree with all of that..... Dublin were the better team and deserved to win by 6 to 8 points imo, but if we had of converted half our chances nobody would be as downbeat as they are.....even 1 17 is a decent score to concede to them.....they usually put up way more then that....equal possession, more chances for 55 mins.....only 6 pts down at that stage after butchering god knows how many...... could have been 2 17 to 15 points and everybody would have a pep in their step on here. People saying mcentee wasn't quick enough on the line.....do people not realise how hard it is to prepare play against Dublin, let alone change tactics midway through the game bar its something as easy as going direct with a few..... they snuffed us out, they snuff every team out .... it was foolhardy to think it would be any different.... it's lads expectations that weren't realistic not the outcome of the game."
Being quick on the line is a saying for what's not been done on the line. If you have a plan and its plainly not working are you telling me that's that so. We're bate so let's go home. It doesn't work that way.
You see where your haemorrhaging and try at least TRY to rectify it.your bench for a start comes into play here have we been in this situation before how did we react?
If your of the opinion you haven't anyone on bench to try change things your in the wrong business.
Managers coaches have these lads for endless hours now so game based scenarios have to b discussed.moving lads is option at least try it. We had damn all to lose there sunday but we just kept doin same thing. Which is criminal

Reco (Meath) - Posts: 419 - 27/06/2019 14:25:57    2201727

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