Meath have delayed naming the side for tomorrow nights game due to injury concerns over Graham Reilly and Cian Ward, I assume it will be announced just before throw in so.

The team I would select would be on the basis that these will be ruled out.

David Lyons

Michael Burke
James Macken
Eoghan Harrington

Seamus Kenny
Cormac McGuinness
Chris O'Connor

Nigel Crawford
Mark Ward

Peadar Byrne
Steven Bray
Ollie Lewis

David Bray
Jamie Queeney
Brian Sheridan

This team would show a number of switches from last week, with Lyons, Burke, Kenny, O'Connor, Lewis, Sheridan all coming into the side or switching positions.
David Lyons had a decent O'Byrne campaign and deserves a chance in the league.
I would like to see Burke get a run at corner back also and some on here say he has a colleges all star for there.
Seamus Kenny comong in from the start needs no elaboration.
Chris O'Connor at wing back, not convinced he is tight enough for corner back and he is good breaking forward so wing back could be his best position.
Lewis had a good O'Byrne campaign and a good test up north would be an indication of where he stands in the forward pecking order.
Sheridan has not featured yet bar last weeks cameo due to college committments and his size and ability from frees could be a useful addition on Saturday. Even if Ward is fit I would start Sheridan as Ward was poor from frees and while I wasn't at the game due to being away he didn't appear to contribute a lot in open play either.
If Sheridan is to break through this year he needs to be given an opportunity.

Moyles is not selected as he probably would not be fully able for the 70 minutes as he works back to fitness while Macken is selected as he appears to be the only full back option currently.

jackhackett (Meath) - Posts: 773 - 12/02/2010 10:35:17    559322

I think it will be a very tough game on Saturday but one I think this team needs. Down at home is never easy and judging by their performance against Kildare this will be a very tough game. Meath will need to play well in both halves to be in with a chance. We need to control midfield for longer periods than against Armagh and if we have Séamus Kenny back picking up loose ball we have the forwards to score against anyone. Heres hoping for a good tough physical game to help bring on thie Meath team.

aodhanomaonaigh (Meath) - Posts: 27 - 12/02/2010 10:42:44    559331

Wouldn't make too many changes from last week. Maybe try macken again as nobody else there. Maybe Kenny instead of him with Harrington moving to full back. Try Ollie Lewis wing forward with O'Connor dropping to bench.

Paddy O'Rourke

Niall McKeigue
Harrington (or else Macken should Reilly not be fit with Harrington moving to the corner and Burke to the wing)
Micky Burke (if Graham Reilly available, otherwise move Harrington here with Macken at no.3)

Seamus Kenny
C McGuinness
Graham Reilly (if fit, otherwise move Burke bringing in Macken to no.3)

Crawford
Mark Ward

Ollie Lewis
Brain Meade (if back from suspension otherwise Stephen Bray)
Peader Byrne

David Bray
Jamie Queeney
Stephen Bray (if Meade back, otherwise try Brian Sheridan. Deserves a run)

David (Meath) - Posts: 567 - 12/02/2010 16:29:19    559771

If Meath can win this game than we can forget about the threat of relegation and really push on form a promotion point of view

James T (Meath) - Posts: 611 - 12/02/2010 16:49:38    559796

Poor performance. Our forwards seemed to forget how to put the ball over the bar at times. A few simple chances were missed (although some were missed by backs). Cian Ward seems to be having a confidence crisis at the moment with regards frees which is a shame as I really admire him as a player. I actually thought both Mark Ward and Crawford did well in midfield and each of them were one of the few to score from play.
Our defence was comical at times. Several times we handed the ball to Down forwards in our own half. I also thought Paddy O Rourke was a bit lucky not to get a second half.
Never deserved to get anything out of it as Down were by far the superior team throughout the game. The good news is we now have 3 weeks to prepare for a game that we really should win easily against Westmeath.

Ratoath Royal (Meath) - Posts: 1400 - 14/02/2010 11:41:22    560782

Yeah it was poor alright. Very frustrating to watch them work so hard to to get into good scoring positions but not actually take on the shots. Peader seemed to keep running into dead ends when he got the ball.
We dominated well at midfield & the 2 lads done very well. Best ive seen Mark Ward play in a very long time. David Bray well very dissapointing apart from the cuple of frees. He doesnt look capable of winning his own ball alot of the time. I dont think Stephen is at all effective on the 40 either & ends up taking way too much outta the ball.
Cormac McGuinness seemed to be caught in 2 minds on several occasions & ended up wasting possession & at one stage lost a free that we had won & after that gifted down a point by playing a stupid ball back across the goals after paddy orourke had made a good save.

There were a few positives from it tho,
Paddy O'Rourke was very solid under high balls & looks to have gotten a bit of confidence there.
The work rate was very high ,even if the skill didnt always match, they did try very hard.
Joe & Anthony Moyles came on at the very end so it looks like theyre both cleared from injury & available for the next day.
Midfield work very well & dominated throughout against a very big & physical Down midfield.

Jinxie (Meath) - Posts: 6347 - 14/02/2010 12:27:55    560814

Brutal game of football.
Midfield played pretty well. Fair play to mark Ward. After All the criticism others and myself gave him he played a blinder. Crawford played very well too.
That was the only positives from the game really. Down were so much fitter and hunted us down when we had possession which forced us to play rushed passes or just launch the ball down the field. There was no creativity in with ball going into the forwards. Infact the forwards showing for the ball was very poor. Im getting a bit worreid about peadar byrne, fair play to him he ran and ran for the whole game but he was just running into a dead end and lost possession more often than not. The backs were dissapointing especially McKeigue and Macken. How many times did a down player just side step a meath player with minimal tackling? Its unbelievable how Cormac Mcgill was told by o brien that he didnt figure in his plans for the year. O rourke was very good under the high ball which was another positive.

On a different note altogether, fair play to down on a magnificant stadium. I think thats what we should be aiming for in the near future.

Selwyn (Meath) - Posts: 428 - 14/02/2010 13:27:46    560855

Selwyn

Its a tidy spot allright. I was talking to a down man there last night at half time, seemed to be pretty well in with then running of the show there & their county board, but he told me that thats just phase 1! Theres 2 more to come which will see the stand continued down & around behind the goals. & the final pahse it to continue just the roof only over the terrace on the far side. Sounds like it will be some job when finished.
The thing that surprised me tho was the cost. For everything thats there at the minute, Stand, & three terraces, club house, Bar, gym & so on. Everything except the lights & pitch, cost £1.3m. I was expecting somewhere near £10m.

Jinxie (Meath) - Posts: 6347 - 14/02/2010 20:11:15    561153

My God this was brutal hopefully we are training hard or something like that at the minute but really one would have to worry after what we have seen in last 3 halves Meath had played.

Really only for our midfield winning a lot of marks there was nothing else to be happy about [bit similiar to the Irish rugger boys exploits in Paris] ORouke was decidely shaky in the goals with some really loose clearance seems to have no idea when he comes forward with the ball. One good save though.

Harro tried his best of the Full backs but really he is our only steady defender His two comrades last night where very poor and OConnor did little to help that suitation when he came in for 2nd half. Cant figure out why Down only got 12 points.

Half backs where equally poor with Burke getting a run around although Clarke is a classy player and a big addition to Down Reilly is lazy and totally out of his dept while McGuiness was also poor but has ability.

Midfield I would have to say did well in the catching stakes and both scored in 1st half but delivery was poor to inside line.

Half forwars Bray was busy and has ability but seems to get too involved with Referees lately Peadar trys hard but when you see him giving backchat to the crowd you wonder is this what we really want to see our players at. After that he reverted to a bit of hoofing the ball forward when he got it. Earlier he held onto the ball too long. Seamus Kenny while gives his all is not strong enough and 3 times in the 1st half was unable to take the ball forward when faced by Down defenders and instead stopped and turned back and tried to recycle the ball backwards we need men who will take the man on and put pressure on opposeing defenders.

Full forwards where straved of possession and Queeny was given a number of long high balls which is normally a backs ball all the way. Cian Ward will never win any 50/50 ball but is accurate as he showed with that good 2nd half point. Really hould have put that goal chance away but fair play normally he does. David Bray also will not win 50/50 ball but he too is accurate and the type of ball going in was food and drink for Down backs.

It is hard to win away in the League and Down are a few steps further up the ladder than us at the moment. We should even with a similar team accout for Westmeath in Navan and should get points in Tipperary and with Laoise under pressure we can do enough to stay in Division 2. Any more preforamnces like that and I would worry about Offaly in Leinster

Havoc (Meath) - Posts: 296 - 14/02/2010 21:44:41    561291

I would like to see EOB put out a better team against Westmeath than he did last night.
this would be my team.
1)Brendan Murphy(what is the story at the minute? is he still injured or is he just giving Paddy and Davy a run.We need him for the championship.He needs games sooner rather than latter.)
2) Chris O'Connor(Like to see him back in here.Not convinced and never hve been with McKiege as he is gaurinteed to make a major mistake.He can play well when the ground is soft and the forwards are not as sharp as they are in the championship.)
3) James Macken(no other option at the minute.)
4) Eoghan Harrington(Best defender we have.)
5) Seamus Kenny( Great at winning breaking ball)
6) Cormac McGuiness( Not great last night but is a great reader of the game and one of the top centre backs in Lienster and indeed Ireland.)
7) Mickey Burke( Graham Riely is not a proven Defender but still good back up to have in the forwards.)
8) Nigel Crawford( His fitness can only get better with games.)
9) Mark Ward/Brian Meade( Meade could be back but i would stick with Ward as he is playing well and deserves a run in the League but he will not start in the championship.)
10) Peader Byrne( needs to improve his sooting but runs his legs off for the team.)
11) Hopefully he will be fully fit by the Westmeath match as he brings a pysical presence around the middle.)
12) Ollie Lewis( Cannot understand why he has not started the last 2 league games as he is playing well and needs more time on the pitch to prove his worth.)
13) Steven Bray( This is clearly his best position and he influences the game more here.)
14) Jamie Queeny( As the ground hardens he will get even better and the more games he gets the better.)
15) Cian Ward/David Bray( Both are really low on confidence and it is a fifty fifty call at the moment.)

12Royal (Meath) - Posts: 987 - 14/02/2010 21:59:50    561315

I'd be very surprised if Brendan Murphy is even sub-goalie for the Offaly game 12Royal.

Once Paddy is in goals though, I think we will prove sound enough in that department.

There was never any need to go after Murphy if you ask me but we'll see how it plays out.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 15/02/2010 10:08:09    561392

The Midfield were decent lads. Its very difficult to beat down up there i wouldn be that disheartened. I remember Tyrone loosing up there to them and then going on to win an all ireland! I would have money that Down wont be beatan at home all year, league or championship! I would like to see Queeney being a bit more physical in winning the ball. That could be said for all of the forwards(except peader). Maybe its time to move queeney maybe to the corner and find someone powerful to win the initial ball for him. Maybe convert one of our plethora of midfielders? The full back is novicey and shakey but hes honest and is trying to do the right thing all the time. I believe that it is the goalkeeper that is causing the doubt and panic in the defence. I felt that despite one save he was decidedly poor. His distribution is odd and his demeanour shows a complete lack of confidence and total indecision. There must be someone better. A kick out is only so important and i can think of twnety keepers in the county with a kick nearly as good that it amounts to very little difference. I really really fervently hope that its not just his name that keeps him in the shirt. If thats the case im defecting to support Louth!!!!

James T (Meath) - Posts: 611 - 15/02/2010 12:50:16    561598

James T
County: Meath
Posts: 420

That's extremely harsh! Paddy O'Rourke apart from one good save was pretty poor? I don't know what game you were watching but that certainly wasn't the case for me. He made atleast 3 great saves in the 2nd half. He seems confident to me and has improved seriously since last season. The reason the back line is shaky is nothing to do with O'Rourke and more to do with their own confidence maybe... Your last statement is ridiculous too that you hope it isnt his name keeping him in the shirt? Are you serious? Thats disgraceful, maybe you should stay at home next time because observations like that really arent needed. He's a young lad and has been very good this season and god forbid he reads that...

itsgreenandgold (Meath) - Posts: 312 - 15/02/2010 15:32:17    561872

@ James T
Give it a miss. The lad is only a youngster. There were far too many idiots like you on the Hill last year at the Kerry game. A few bad passes and you were all jumping down O'Rourke's neck. He is gaining experience and in time will be the all-round GAA keeper. A bit of support for the lad would be far more welcome.

TheFlyingTeacup (Meath) - Posts: 285 - 15/02/2010 16:10:24    561943

I see Shane O'Rourke played for Simonstown at the weekend.Why is he not getting a run with Meath.Is he fit.Also did Brendan Murphy play with Trim yesterday.

12Royal (Meath) - Posts: 987 - 15/02/2010 16:56:43    562035

I was really disappointed with the two school boy errors, where Meath conceded hop balls when they were indesicive and delayed to long in taking frees. The one on our own 21 yard line was particularly unforgivable. I dont blame the free takers for these mistakes. It was obvious they wanted to get on with it but nobody was showing for a pass. I cant remember any team conceding two frees for this mistake in the same game before. Its not what you expect at intercounty level.

Maradonna (Meath) - Posts: 128 - 15/02/2010 17:07:01    562048

"I cant remember any team conceding two frees for this mistake in the same game before. Its not what you expect at intercounty level."

This has been a trademark of O'Brien's Meath sides. I can remember Crawford kicking frees away in the Mayo and Kerry games last year. Not singling him out, there was more than one culprit. We just about got away with this kind of sloppiness against Mayo.

Right now McGuinness is the only footballer in Meath I would trust to take a quick free kick and not gift posession away.

Ollie99 (Meath) - Posts: 442 - 15/02/2010 17:14:51    562062

It is nothing personal against the lad. I am looking at it dispassionately and without bias. I would recommend Benny Murphy, Nolan of Duleek/Bellewstown or even the guy Lyons thats on the squad. He doesnt cut it with me at all. Our boys actually targeted his predictable kick outs in previous club championship games. The goal conceeded against Mayo bothered me immensly. His passing is dodgy and even when accurate, its unadventurous as regards the beginning of an attack(like cluxton)

PS. I watched the game against Kerry in the stand not on the hill. I was in the hill for the Mayo game

James T (Meath) - Posts: 611 - 15/02/2010 17:14:58    562064

James T
County: Meath
Posts: 421

So what if his kickouts were predictable? Down only scored 12 points, when Meath lose they lose as a team not thanks to one indivdual.
The goal against Kerry? Thats in the past - last season and for a 20year old in an All Ireland semi-final I think he done great and I am looking at this unbiasedly. Paddy O'Rourke is our future and we need to be looking at that aswell as the present.
I'd also like to hear of these 20 keepers you mentioned?

itsgreenandgold (Meath) - Posts: 312 - 15/02/2010 17:29:02    562085

James T is just full of anti-Skryne, anti-O' Rourke Bile.

AnMhi96 (Meath) - Posts: 72 - 15/02/2010 18:09:42    562161