Meath 1-8 Wicklow 1-5

Meath signed off their U16 Leinster "C" Championship against Wicklow in the Shield Final held at the Portlaoise GAA grounds in Rathleague on Saturday the 27th April. Wicklow were the winners of the Shield just under 12 months ago. When the two teams played at the end of March this year the game ended in a thrilling 4-9 a piece draw.

This second meeting was equally well contested.  Meath hit the scoreboard first thanks to Saoirse Meagher scoring a free from near the left sideline.  Wicklow soon responded and  both sides now settled into battle mode early on.  Meath seemed destined on more than one occasion to cut loose in front of goals only for the excellent timing and resilience of the Wicklow rearguard to clear their decks.  Both sides hit some sweet scores from play and from distance in the first period.  The half whizzed by and the ref called time on what was now 90 mins of championship toing and froing between these two so far this year,  surprise surprise 0-4 for each was where it stood at the break.

Meath began to dominate the immediate period after half time but there were a number of royal attacks that didn't transfer to the scoreboard which is always a concern but there was quality scoring from Faye Govern and Genevieve Dorrigan that put Meath's noses in front but then as the middle of the half approached a very well worked team attack presented Wicklow with a goal chance they took decisively.  Now the melting pot was truly on fire.  Both sides had begun unloading their benches halfway through the second period to combat the fatigue that naturally was appearing as the game began to open up.  The breeze was on Royal backs in the second half and momentum swung Meath's way after Aoife Dunne poached an opportunist goal as the sliotar broke loose on the floor of the square. Meath's grip now tightened thanks to a solid work rate, their defensive and midfield positioning was key to quelling the Garden county's uprising.  In the closing 10 mins Meath delivered two morale boosting points from play courtesy of Genevieve Dorrigan and finally Saoirse Meagher to open up a 1-8 to 1-4 lead going into the final minute of play.  However in that final minute, Wicklow created a dangerous attack,  earning a free almost 40 meters out from Annie Leavy's goals which they targeted almost perfectly only to narrowly clear the crossbar.  This left a three point gap but the clock had run out of minutes for Wicklow - The Royals deservedly finished on the right side of the scoreboard.  The winning captain on the day was Sarah Heffernan from the Na Fianna club down Baconstown way and she accepted the Shield to the delight of her fellow players. 

The Leinster Camogie Association officials on duty had their eyes peeled for a player of the match and this accolade was destined for one of Sarah's comrades in the full back line - Seamim Shaw from Killyon.  She was noted as being relentless in the tackle and shrewd in possession from start to finish.  Wicklow will be disappointed but they have real quality to build on for the rest of their season.  Final score under rare sunshine on a cool but dry afternoon in Rathleague was Meath 1-8 Wicklow 1-5

Meath scorers: S Meagher 0-5(1F), A Dunne 1-0, G Dorrigan 0-2, F Govern 0-1

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