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It will be interesting to see how Meath deal with Micheal Murphy, He is a top class footballer everyone knows it. I like watching him play he makes a mockery of the game with his skill sometimes. bobkarlgees (Meath) - Posts: 1263 - 29/03/2019 17:23:17 2176261 Link 0 |
He always gets carried away, he'd want to wait until the championship before making such bold claims. Looking forward to the match and would be good for football if Meath won, Leinster desperately needs a stronger Meath to challenge the Dubs; Hopefully this is the start of their comeback. JDF (Galway) - Posts: 322 - 29/03/2019 17:24:14 2176262 Link 0 |
Meath defence cud be badly exposed in Croke Park open spaces and v the Dubs later in the year , we reach leinster final. Meath cud have a bad championship. But overall I think the defence is a massive strong point for us in the coming years. Meath have a young team and young teams can be very up and down and I do worry we might have a bad defeat or two in the rest of the season. But I wudnt judge Meath this year , judge this Meath team at the end of next season. McEntees 4th year , see how we do in divsion 1 and in next years championship. I think next year we will make an impact and do better in div 1 then people think and reach super 8 and perform competively at that level. This year we r far from finished article. Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 29/03/2019 17:50:13 2176266 Link 3 |
Meath defence is still evoling. And it will have its first game in Croker versus a top 6 team. Donegal cud expose weaknesses in our defence. Its an inexperienced defence and so is growing and learning as it develops. It is based on defenders fighting for the ball in front of tbeir men and getting players back at approximate times. It might not be fully developed and organised yet for team like Donegal in Croker, this is new tertiary. But the reason Meath were promoted was because of our defence. And we have a center of the defence which is good as any team in divsion 1. Even Dublin. Keoghan would get on Dublin half back line he is better defender then Small. And McGill.wud be full back on the Dublin team. Cooper is a great defender one of the best of his generation . But he is really corner back turned into full back. Conor McGill is an out and out bona fide proper traditional full back and as good as u find in the country. The center of Meath defence is top class. And on the wings u have hungry tigerish young defenders. But it has no experience of Croke Park and is defence which is learning its trade. Its defence in its infancy. Remeber the best defence of this decade , Dublin were being hammered by Meath and kerry in 09 and 10. It took three or more seasons before Phily McMahon Cooper Sullivan Fitzminons Carroll to develop into best defence in the country. It takes time and up and downs for every defence. But the Meath defence has been brilliant all year long and is primarily the reason why we were promoted. And for me they r one of best defences in the country on what I have seen this spring. If they r badly exposed by Donegal and Dublin then they r not. But even if they have bad days v Dublin and Donegsl this year I would still be very hopeful with those experiences and experience of division 1 football in the next few years Meath will become one of best defences in the country. Simply because we have onr of the best full backs and one best defenders in the country at centre back. And the other reason is our defenders r young in their early 20s will get better. Thats How I see it. Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 29/03/2019 18:28:45 2176273 Link 3 |
Yes. Both pitches are bigger than most which suits the likes of Eoghan Ban and O'Baíoll. Both men will hopefully show off their running power on Saturday. I think a lot more people will be sitting up and taking notice of O'Baíoll this year. He has definitely gotten stronger and I think he'll make one of the wing back positions his own as the year progresses.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9073 - 29/03/2019 20:28:20 2176290 Link 0 |
Ya O'Baoil is quality. There was one period of play from last weekend where he really impressed me. He got on the ball and went on a run into the Kildare half (happened in 2nd half). Anyways he got turned over after getting tackled from his blind side. Probably a mistake on his behalf but then he worked his ass off to get back and made a tackle around midfield to force a turnover. That is the kind of desire and work rate u want in a player. Physically he has seriously put the work in also over the last year. Looking forward to tomorrow. I think the team will be the same that started against Kildare including Brendan McCole. He has had a very good year so far and deserves his place for the work and effort he has put in.
panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2771 - 29/03/2019 23:31:05 2176319 Link 0 |
Don't worry about Murphy's fitness! No better man
Donegal_abroad (Donegal) - Posts: 1317 - 30/03/2019 06:25:20 2176332 Link 0 |
I think after today a lot of people will be sitting up and taking notice of Meath , players like lavin keoghan McGill and particularly James McEntee and Cillian O'Sullivan get to show what fantastic players they are on a national stage , I cannot wait. royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 30/03/2019 06:53:42 2176333 Link 0 |
Got to say while the primary goal is achieved, I am Excited for the players to show what they can do and what we in Meath know they are capable of, the one surprise this year has been the amount of opposing fans who said during or after game just how good the team or a individual player/players is , we have raised a few eyebrows along the way and turned a few heads. We won't win Leinster or all ire but by Jesus we are heading in the right direction, comments like from o"se yesterday that donegal beat us easily last time, show how out of touch pundits are (does he know his ass from his elbow?) or maybe he still has nightmares over the ole ole chants , I don't know. But after today win lose or draw he will know just what this Meath team can do, and so will everyone else. Best wishes to Andy and Brian and all the players. royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 30/03/2019 07:49:48 2176337 Link 0 |
No, what they'll be saying is Meath are still a soft touch. When playing Meath and the game is tight, the opposing team is full of confidence, knowing full well Meath will wilt everytime. We could be 20 points up at half time, and the opposition would still fancy themselves doing a job on us in the second half Yes, we're going in the right direction, but we've had many false dawns. The talent is there, but something is still missing in the psychology department, and has been ever since Mick O'Dowd scrapped our best players for kids. When you talk about "men against boys", we fall into the "boys" bracket. Same old story today really. 32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4122 - 30/03/2019 18:48:48 2176426 Link 9 |
I think the game today was more complicated than that, but the principle isnt far wrong. At the 50 minute mark I knew in my heart Donegal would win by 3/4, even if Meath were ahead at that point and had been for the whole match until that point. Meath atm are a very lively, positive, but naive team. Donegal are far cuter, and they'd great depth which came to the fore as the game went on. Meath will learn a lot but I agree, the old Meath teams of the past would have had that game won after the first half. They were a different breed altogether, mentally and physically. Michael Murphy wouldnt have been able to lord it in the air. They wouldnt be as easily dispossessed. Altogether still a fantastic league for Meath, miles beyond anyone's expectations. Onwards and upwards.
Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 586 - 30/03/2019 19:02:27 2176429 Link 3 |
Meath started off really well. Newman looked very sharp. BliainanÁir (Laois) - Posts: 598 - 30/03/2019 19:10:06 2176431 Link 1 |
The direction of the two counties I felt would have had a bearing on the game in that Meath were desperate for silverware as Donegal would have been happy with promotion without having to play at full tilt. The early stages of the game showed Meath's hunger and determination to add silverware to promotion. Donegal looked very relaxed and at one stage it looked like an embarassing scoreline was on the cards. Whilst it ended in a two point defeat for Meath the fact is the scoreline was 1-16 to 0-9 from the time Donegal started to play. I would still say Donegal had a few gears to use but we probably seen Meath at their limit today. Both counties will be happy with the league, Donegal will give Division 1 a go but I fear Meath might struggle but that is for another season. sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 30/03/2019 19:11:31 2176432 Link 2 |
Ye were schooled rd after a unbelievable start ye were effectively beaten by a 1 man show. OhtobeARossie (Roscommon) - Posts: 1755 - 30/03/2019 19:16:14 2176439 Link 6 |
Too harsh i think.
ROYALOPTIMIST (Meath) - Posts: 179 - 30/03/2019 19:17:29 2176441 Link 1 |
Good game.....enjoyed it. Some good scores etc. The_Fridge (Tyrone) - Posts: 2087 - 30/03/2019 19:39:54 2176449 Link 5 |
Very defeatist attitude, and Meath players and people will never accept it. When we win, we're great. When we lose, we're awful. Thats the Meath mentality. Its extremely passionate and hardline, and often ridiculous and that is why Meath will one day return to the standard of the 'big boys', because they want it. It could be this team or a future team but it'll happen because there is a genuine desire to be there and a tradition to live up to which many of these lads are very passionate about since they could walk. I dont mean to sound like braveheart here, but the team will never accept that kind of attitude. Its pure defeatism. My biggest dissapointment in Meath football post 2001 is the gradual lack of spirit and tenacity in its players, and there are still traces of it today which can be seen. We are going in the right direction.
Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 586 - 30/03/2019 19:43:30 2176450 Link 3 |
I dunno about the psychology but we're still short a few players, and we're very inexperienced when it comes to closing out a big game. We need to keep focusing on bringing underage players and get as much experience as possible playing at a higher intensity. Also well done to Donegal. HighKings (Meath) - Posts: 271 - 30/03/2019 19:50:34 2176452 Link 0 |
Come off it. Tyrone are the favorites and rightly so! Seriously strong end to division one campaign. Don't be playing silly games
Donegal_abroad (Donegal) - Posts: 1317 - 30/03/2019 20:05:38 2176458 Link 2 |
Meath are progressing and deservedly got promoted and congratulations on that That said, I don't think anyone at the top table will be overly stressed about Meath in the immediate future (upcoming championship). Despite their progress they are still miles off the top teams which playing in D1 next year will help bridge but relax, Meath are getting there but theyre still a long way off being BACK. Anyone who will be competing in the serious business end of the championship will have looked at the game and thought about Donegal and how good they where and in particular Michael murphy who was awesome. That period of play from when they got their goal, to the final whistle, was pretty much as perfect a spell you are likely to see. Got the lead after a brilliant, superb bit of play and then showed all their experience and know how to get over the line. It was Dublin-esque. No panic, just pass the ball around and wait for the gaps to appear against a team who where goosed and gave everything. At no point in that game even when Meath where 8 up was I convinced Donegal would lose. They didn't waver and I always felt that Meath would run out of steam and I think Donegal knew that and believed that theyd get their purple patch and take advantage and they took it in bucket loads. Great game of ball. waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 30/03/2019 20:13:06 2176461 Link 5 |