Meath Forum

Meath V Derry: All Ireland Round 2

(Oldest Posts First)

Time to turn the page. The lads had their first training session last night knowing what they're up against. Just looking at how Derry lined out against Armagh. Very settled team, basically same 17/18 players we faced in the league with the addition of Lachlan Murray who will need serious watching. Overall, I'd say we have the more potent attack but they have the stronger defence so could see it being won at midfield. The game is going to be won in the last 10 minutes so the only debate for me is how much firepower we leave on the bench. We need 2/3 lads we can bring in with 15/20 mins to go to make an impact. Keep McBride and Jack O'Connor in reserve?

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 175 - 03/06/2026 09:30:15    2677497

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Tough game in store. This is the game where all the good parts of our year have to come together. Kickouts need to be on the mark, or at the very least when they are going wrong, they go wrong long. Breaking ball is key, we're hot and cold but capable of winning enough to give us the platform we need. Our forwards have to spark as a unit rather than 1 or 2 shooting the lights out and the rest just hanging in there. We're best playing on the front foot, being ultra aggressive. Every ball matters type of stuff. We need a few lads to have their best game of the season, especially our defensive players. Derry have some decent forwards as we know, but if we can get Raff and co back to levels they are capable of then we can tie them up. With most our games this year, if we can hold a team to less than 25 points then we have a great chance.
It's very clear to me, play at 8,9,10 out of 10 levels and we win. Anything less and we're done.

GoalsWinGames (Meath) - Posts: 322 - 03/06/2026 10:21:14    2677517

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I think it's a very tough draw going away to Derry, but they are beatable and they are very up and down. Their style probably suits how we defend.

Teams like Cork and Westmeath ran direct at us and we struggled with the 1 on 1 match ups, were regularly were out of position and were taken advantage of.

Derry have that slow build up Ulster style which I suspect will suit us. We have the forwards to hurt them too. And the reality is if we are going anywhere anytime soon, we need to be beating a team like Derry who have struggled to product consistent form.

It'll be a tight game, but if we have our full compliment and everyone fit, I think we'll edge it by 3

Cabbagepatch1667 (Meath) - Posts: 158 - 03/06/2026 10:41:13    2677527

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Replying To gwanyagudthing:  "Time to turn the page. The lads had their first training session last night knowing what they're up against. Just looking at how Derry lined out against Armagh. Very settled team, basically same 17/18 players we faced in the league with the addition of Lachlan Murray who will need serious watching. Overall, I'd say we have the more potent attack but they have the stronger defence so could see it being won at midfield. The game is going to be won in the last 10 minutes so the only debate for me is how much firepower we leave on the bench. We need 2/3 lads we can bring in with 15/20 mins to go to make an impact. Keep McBride and Jack O'Connor in reserve?"
I think McBride or O'Neill start at wing forward as the extra big man around the middle. I'd have ONeill in if he's fit. He's the man you want in a dog fight. Brennan needs to get his kick outs right though or we can have all the big men around the middle we want, but it'll be a waste of time and we can forget about winning as kick outs so key.

Hard to know with Jack O'Connor, he's really suited to an impact sub role with his pace but he's probably played his best this year when he started and emptied the tank and brought off on 50 minutes. I'd go;

1. Brennan
2. Lavin
3. Rafferty
4. Ryan
5. Keogan
6. Coffey
7. Caulfield
8. Flynn
9. Menton
10. O'Neill (Charlie O'Connor if he's not fit)
11. Kinsella
12. Costello
13. Morris
14. Frayne
15. Conlon
Off the bench; Jack O'Connor with pace, McBride to make some crucial catches, Curtis, Charlie O'Connor and Hickey

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 144 - 03/06/2026 11:02:43    2677532

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Replying To Cabbagepatch1667:  "I think it's a very tough draw going away to Derry, but they are beatable and they are very up and down. Their style probably suits how we defend.

Teams like Cork and Westmeath ran direct at us and we struggled with the 1 on 1 match ups, were regularly were out of position and were taken advantage of.

Derry have that slow build up Ulster style which I suspect will suit us. We have the forwards to hurt them too. And the reality is if we are going anywhere anytime soon, we need to be beating a team like Derry who have struggled to product consistent form.

It'll be a tight game, but if we have our full compliment and everyone fit, I think we'll edge it by 3"
It's a tough draw but you make the point yourself, rather than playing a Kildare or Cavan and not really knowing where we are at, this type of game will define if the players are serious about going to the next level or just letting it peter out. Derry are kind of like a dying wasp, have the potential to sting us but they look to be in the dying embers of the 22/23 team so we'll see if we have the mental strength to go there and bury them.

The question will be who will have learned more from the league game? The problem is teams usually learn more from defeat but hoping we caught onto Derrys exact style and to be honest, if Brennan didn't drop that goal in we would've won more comfortably. But it was the first round of the league so this will a different game altogether.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 144 - 03/06/2026 11:14:24    2677536

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