(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post
|
We beat you. Without 3 or 4 of the best players in Ireland never mind Donegal. Keep up
Donegal_abroad (Donegal) - Posts: 1478 - 23/02/2019 15:36:54 2167154 Link 2 |
|
Enjoy the abyss. In situ in pairc Ui Rinn. Fantastic evening for football. royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 23/02/2019 18:37:29 2167218 Link 0 |
|
Wow what subs have you poached. Cause they have the best players in Ireland
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 23/02/2019 18:39:19 2167219 Link 0 |
|
Who are 'they?' Strange. Anyway, hope you beat the finest Cork team in living memory this evening. You'll be favourites for Sam in the morning according to yourself if Meath do win. Donegal_abroad (Donegal) - Posts: 1478 - 23/02/2019 20:08:39 2167239 Link 0 |
|
Jesus some of you donegal fans are becoming unbearable. Reminds me of how meath fans were when we actually won AI. I suppose winning does that to some. Anyway meath cruising tonight. I hope that implosion against Donegal doesn't come back to haunt us. Meath v Kildare next week is now huge. Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 23/02/2019 20:17:31 2167244 Link 2 |
|
The way we're shaping up you should be alright. If we don't beat Clare tomorrow heads will be down
JJ1 (Kildare) - Posts: 547 - 23/02/2019 20:42:09 2167251 Link 0 |
|
(Some) of yis are unbearable when you're winning nothing, Christ almighty
Donegal_abroad (Donegal) - Posts: 1478 - 23/02/2019 20:47:24 2167254 Link 2 |
|
I know Cork are muck but feck me, seriously though, important win for Meath, first significant win they've had for a while. Moving nicely. realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8821 - 23/02/2019 21:09:44 2167271 Link 0 |
|
In fairness Clare are on the crest of a wave and I wouldn't be surprised if they beat you and Meath then the following week. @realdub cork were muck. If we beat donegal that would have been bigger despite the fact they were missing players. Mad to think cork could be Div 3 next year and if they keep going like this who knows they could do a derry. Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 23/02/2019 21:15:26 2167280 Link 1 |
|
Not a pretty performance but we got the job done tonight. Should have won by more but didn't put them away. Kildare will be a true test of where we're at now. LoyalRoyal (None) - Posts: 466 - 23/02/2019 21:19:04 2167284 Link 0 |
|
Goodbye Division 2, it was nice knowing you PyatPree (Cork) - Posts: 376 - 23/02/2019 21:19:58 2167286 Link 0 |
|
RIP Cork football
bert09 (Meath) - Posts: 1859 - 23/02/2019 21:26:51 2167295 Link 0 |
|
Cork will return. But sad state of affairs Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 855 - 23/02/2019 21:50:02 2167313 Link 0 |
|
Good win tonight, we mixed the good with the bad but deserved the win. Another point should see us safe, after that we are in bonus territory. Cork looked a team with no confidence, but would still not write them off retaining div 2 status. seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2257 - 23/02/2019 23:24:48 2167347 Link 1 |
|
It doesnt matter how kildare are playing , once a kildare footballer sees a Meath jersey he will be up for the match. Kildare and Meath has been leinsters best rivalry the in last ten years or more. I always felt the game in Navan was going to be a massive game in the division. Im not surprised Meath are top of the division. I did say at the start of the league I expected Meath to get promoted. It was more a gut feeling more then anything else. Still I am worried. We r so inconsistent. We cud beat kildare and then lose to Fermanagh and Clare. But we are playing well at the moment. Which I felt in McEntees third year we wud see an improvement. I never felt we wud get promoted or reach super 8 in year 1 or 2 under McEntee. I didnt think it was possible based on it takes years to build up a team from the doldrums in leinster. It took Boylan four years with one team in 80s and four years with 1 team in 90s , it took Eugene McGee 4 years with Offaly and took Mick Dwyer 5 years with kildare to turn around those counties fortunes. They are three most sucessful managers in leinster football outside Dublins Heffernan and Jim Galvin. It takes time. So the first two years were always a right off. Its year 3 u see improvement but ususlly year 4 or 5 before a team makes the breakthrough. Meath are still 12 to 24 months were we want to be. And thats competing in div 1 and reaching super 8. But we are improving and going in the right direction. The last time we played Cork was a turning point. Meath lost v Cavan Tippearey and Cork in last years league. That Cork game was a turning point. Cork won by 4. Cork have gone back Meath have improved. Meath should have beaten Tyrone in championship last summer, losing to last min extra time injury point. Cork were hammered by one worst defeats ever by that same Tyrone team a few weeks earlier Meath should have beaten. That Cork game was a turning point for Meath. Leaving Longford game to one side since that Cork game there has been an improvement for Meath. One reason is Meath have allot of new young players. Meath team that played tonight v Cork had 8 changes to the team that started v Cork in last years league. While 4 of the subs who came on v Cork last year are not even on the Meath panel this year. For the first time since 2012 when Banty introduced 4 or 5 under 21 player. Meath this year for the first time in years have introduced a couple of under 21 footballers who are making an instant impact. Thats one of the reasons for Meaths improvement. And the good thing for Meath is this in the beginning of wave of new young talented Meath players which will be coming thru in next few years. One thing that is noticeable to me is these players are more Atletic then players we have introduced in the last few years. I have always felt there has been lack of atleticism in Meath teams in recent years. The main reason for Meath improvement is the backs. Meath defence has been excellent all year long so far. Thats the first time in this decade I can say Meath are not shakey at the back. Even tonigt without are best two wing backs starting J McEntee and Niall kane , we had good defenders like Gallagher and McCoy to come in. Gallagher is a good natural defender. So is Seamus Lavin, so is Conor McGill, so is Ronan Ryan and so is Donal keoghan. And we still have Padraig Harnan to come back , another good defender. A good defence is important. Blanket defences and sweepers have destroyed the art of defending in modern gaelic football. There is a serious lack of great defenders in the game currently. Dublin have great defenders and Mayo and Monaghan have a few also. But compared to defenders like we saw in 90s early 00s eg Fay Moyihan Scullion Lockart McGeeney Ryan O Connell McMemanin Jordan T O Se M O Se. The art of defending is dying and defenders are more interested in attacking then actually defending. And Meath for year were shakey at the back and had problems in the half back line particularly. This year its the first time in years I feel we are defensively strong. While we dont have defenders of the class of a a Fay or an O Malley , we are playing well defensively as a cohesive unit. Seamus lavin is turning into quality effective man marker. Conor McGill is one of the best full backs in the country. Meath have not played much on tv in recent years but many have not seen MCGILL play on the national stage. But there is serious lack of good full backs in the country. McGill is one of the best. Another player who people havent seen much outside of Meath is Keoghan. Keoghan wud walk onto the Meath teams of the 90s and the 80s. He is a top class defender who can play in any of 6 back positions. He is playing at centre back now a problem area for Meath since McManus retired in 2000. Keoghan is really attacking well from centre back and reminds me and always did remind me of Donegals Karl Lacey, who is one best defenders of this decade. While young Ryan has been a tigerish Summerhill corner back. And Gallagher McCoy and Harnan are also good defenders. But its kane and J McEntee that have offered a dimension to Meaths defence we have never seen before. All the top teams have top class half backs eg Keegan Boyle Mcarthy McCaffrey Lacey Thompson T O Se A O Mahoney Jordan D Harte. Half backs who can defend as well.as attack. J McEntee particuraly has been excellent since he moved from wing forward to wing back after the Cork last year. After Cork lose last year Andy McEntee moved J McEntee to wing back and D Keoghan to centre back since and other then longford game Meath have improved. J McEntee has had a big role. In 7 of the last 8 matchs he played for Meath he has been a man of the match contender. His ability to break through attacks with his pace from wing back has been massive. If he is missing v kildare it swings the game in kildares favour. If he is an long term it would be a massive blow. While we have good defenders to replace him. We do have no attacking wing back similar to McEntee. Actually J McEntee is one of best attacking wing back I have seen play for Meath in last twenty years. His return will be massive for Meath. The kildare game will be massive game. A real six pointer. Whoever wins will have a great chance of promotion. The last time Meath played v kildare there was a big gap. But I feel Meath have improved in areas Kildare were sucessful last time. kildare full forward line really caused problems for Meath in 2017. Kildares half forward line ran riot in 2017. And Feehily dominated midfield. Thats why kildare won. Two players who caused Meath problems are missing thats D Flynn and N kelly. D Flynn caused Meath many problems. While Kelly had a great game at half forward in 2017 league game. Meath full back line of Lavin McGill Ryan is the best Meath full back line in years. While Meaths half back line of J McEntee Keoghan Kane are best Meath half back line in years. If J McEntee is missing this will be a big blow for Meath. But in two of the areas Meath were weaker in 2017, we seem to have the two strongest lines of the field this year. The third area which will decide game is the Feehily factor. Feehily is one of the best midfielders in the country. In both games in 2017 he dominated midfield. If does the same again next weekend kildare will win. If he doesn't Meath have a great chance of victory. This is an concern coz Meaths midfield has issues. Brian Menton has had 7 midfield partners in 7 years. S McEntee has been best partnership. Both together are modern hard working midfield. S McEntee has been excellent so far this year. But Menton and S McEntee really are wing backs turned into midfielders . I worry when we play top class midfielder like A Fenton or a David Moran or Mark Feehily, how we could cope. This is an area of concern. In 2017 we had Menton / Toher and Menton / Jones midfield v Feehily. Toher is a wing forward and Jones was only playing his second game for Meath ever. Feehily dominated. Maybe Flanagan who is a more traditional midfielder cud be an option to curb Feehily in second half. But I think this is area that could decide the match. The loss of Conor Gillespie Conor Nash Shane O Rourke Harry Rooney and Ronan Jones all potentially quality midfielder has big blow to Meath. Another difference this year for Meath . While we lack a marquee forward and while are forwards are good we arent as strong in the forwards as the backs. But this year we have brought in a new coach Nally. And it is pretty obvious that Meath are attacking better in a more positive and direct way then they have for years. All the top teams have top coachs eg Donie Buckley Tony McEntee Jason Sherlock Cian O Neill Peter Lally. Nally seems to be having a positive impact. So there is improvement for Meath. We are going in right direction. But we still a while off being were we want to be. We are far from being the finished article. The game next week v kildare will give us a good idea how much Meath have improved. Kildare should be favourites and should win by a couple of ponts. But the gap between both counties should be much closer then in 2017. Meath have a chance of victory. But allot depends on if J McEntee is fit and how Meath deal with Feehily at midfield. If Meath win it would a real good sign of progress and that the gap has closed v kildare and Meath are neck in neck with kildare to be Dublins main challenger in leinster. For the sake of leinster football if Meath and kildare were to be promoted it wud be great for the provience to have three leinster teams in div 1 , the first time this would have happened since early 2000s. Anyway it should be a great game. Meath v kildare are always great games eg 1997 , 1998 , 2003 , 2011 2012. We havent had one in a while. Meath used to have a great record v kildare in Navan . Meath went 70 years without losing to kildare in Navan until kildare beat Meath in Navan in the league in 1998. Since then kildare have had some great wins in Navan eg 2011 and 2017 league. Its a sign that the best rivalry in the provience in last 20 years are so has been Meath and kildare. And with both counties getting their act at underage together I can see this rivalry going up a level in the next ten years or so. Looking forward to next weekend already. Regards the other teams. Donegal should still top the division. As I said before I think Donegal huge potential and cud see them winning Sam Maguire in 3 or 4 years time. They are young talented team. But like all young teams they can be a bit up and down. But over next few years I can see them dominating Ulster and in 3 to 4 years time being a real All Ireland contenders. kildare havent been great so far. But still they are in great position for promotion which is a great place to be. Looking forward to seen Hyland next week. Hopefully Lavin keeps him quite. But he does look like a gifted young player.Donegal and kildare are still favs for promotion. But next weeks game is a massive game and cud decide a promotion place. Armagh have been so inconsistent in games. Good mixed with the bad. They are strong powerful team and will still be hard to beat. But cud be more mid table then promotion. Clare cud be a dark horse. Shrewd manager Ennis is so hard to win. Clare will definitely not be relegated And cud be outside chance for promotion. Tipp could also come into play for promotion. A strong finish by Tipp could have them in play for promotion. Fermanagh will not be relegated. Team with best defence in divsion. Enniskillen is one of the toughest places to go. Fermanagh will decide this division. Meath Donegal and Armagh all have to play Fermanagh. If u beat Fermanagh it will a big win for all above counties. Dont surprised to see Fermanagh in promotion race. If they beat Donegal tomorrow they have a great chance of promotion. And there is a great tradition of teams being promoted from div 3 going straight up the following season to div 1 . Monaghan did it in 2014 , Roscommon did it in 2015 , kildare did it in 2017. All promoted from div 3 and then got promoted from div 2. Fermanagh are the dark horse for promotion. Cork look in trouble. It is terrible to see such a great football county like Cork in the state it is. Hopefully they dont get relegated. Relegation wud be a disaster for Cork football and for the gaa as a whole. G AA needs a strong Cork. This weekend will give us a better idea of who are contenders for promotion and relegation. Div 2 will go down to the last week. Always the most exciting division and the most unpredictable division is division 2. Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 23/02/2019 23:35:03 2167352 Link 0 |
|
We haven't notions above ourselves and a competitive division two. Where all counties that play in it deserve to be in it. Good luck v Fermanagh tomorrow, Strange game tonight were far more dominant than the score line suggests, missed James McEntee seriously, good to see Flanagan come on after injury, worries for me the injury to Brennan and O'Sullivan. Let's hope they ok for next week. royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 23/02/2019 23:50:12 2167359 Link 0 |
|
Cork lads what the he'll is going on, and this is from a staunch Kerry man. Is an SOS needed for a billy to come back. He still has it looking at the UCC victory this week Horsebox77 (Kerry) - Posts: 5491 - 23/02/2019 23:56:36 2167362 Link 0 |
|
It's the defining game. If we get beat that implosion after controlling the game for so long v donegal could come back to haunt us.
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 24/02/2019 00:50:34 2167377 Link 0 |
|
I said in a previous post that Meath v Kildare would be like a championship game. If Kildare beat Clare tomorrow then whoever wins in Navan will be in a great position to be promoted with two games left
lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 3070 - 24/02/2019 00:55:06 2167378 Link 0 |
|
We are moving in the right direction, it's taken long enough:). The young debuts have made a important contribution, campion, Kane, Ryan , McCoy, lynch. Devine, they have the drive and ambition as I said before to go for things that a more experienced player might not. But I think we have a nice mix of youth and experience, menton keoghan, Newman Reilly have the calm heads when things get tight, last night prior to the second goal cork 4 behind Reilly was running around the back getting ball demanding it back to slow down the game , eventually playing it back to keeper, this is something that we have to do, there is a time for all out attack and a time for cool heads. We're not promoted yet, and know that every point will count a loss against Kildare could completely derail us, Brennan and O'Sullivan went off last night injured to add to the huge loss that is James McEntee, all we can hope for is that all 3 are fit for Sunday, this is the biggest game for Meath since Tyrone last year, Kildare have had the measure of us in the recent past so have a psychological advantage, also that Kildare team is packed with players who have been very successful at underage. I don't know about Kildare views on it , after us throwing away the win in donegal we have to win this game if we do , then and only then will we finally feel we can get out of division 2. royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 24/02/2019 09:00:08 2167401 Link 0 |