WE CAN COMPLAIN all we want about football, about the demise of the middle-tier and rise of the top-tier making things predictable in the early part of the season and leaving no room for romance.
But truthfully, such an attitude is like sitting at home on a sunny day and complaining of boredom.
It may not cause ripples that will make their way right through to August but last weekend Longford beating Laois was a fair old plop in the pond and this week Wicklow have a serious chance of beating Meath.
Read those last few words again because few people have ever had the chance of saying them seriously at any time in history.
Yet everything seems ripe and juicy when it comes to talk of an upset this Sunday. Dr Cullen Park is the perfect ground for early-season championship football as a decent crowd packs the place and provides a brilliant atmosphere. The television cameras are only there for highlights purposes meaning it will be thronged as even the neutral wants a piece of this. There’s this weather we forgot existed. And then there are the two teams, both now Division Three sides and each with so much to prove for various reasons, making it difficult to know what way it’ll go.
It’s lost in the grey haze of hsitory now, and Meath fans never saw it this way, but early on there seemed so much sense about Banty’s appointment because the county needed an outsider to bring peace. One mediocre season wasn’t good enough under Eamonn Barry in 2006. One good and one bad year wasn’t enough under Colm Coyle who was next in. And when an All Ireland semi-final and Leinster title in successive seasons under Eamonn O’Brien didn’t suffice, Meath had no choice but to look elsewhere. The method was madness but the new man made sense in terms of tactics too as Meath had become like a holey bucket. Their forwards kept filling it but their defence was so open it emptied it but here was Banty coming from a background of disciplined and mean teams that often delved into the dark arts to keep the score down.
Yet here we are a year-and-a-half on and Harry Murphy is licking his lips like a drifter sitting down to a steak. With no Mark Ward about in the opposition ranks, there’s no doubting who has the better midfield. James Stafford has bulked up and turned himself into one of the finest fielders in the game. Beside him Rory Finn doesn’t look out of place and has the ability to break forward unnoticed, take up good positions and crucially finish. Indeed if Meath are to crawl onwards they simply cannot go toe-to-toe in that sector. They’ll have to alter their kickouts, break ball and allow Seamus Kenny to wander forward from wing-back and get shoveling dirty ball like only he can. Therein lies the key to this game because there’s little between the sides thereafter.
Meath may have a better full-back in Kevin Reilly, but little else about a new-looking defensive division inspired confidence this league. It’s a worrying area for Wicklow too as Anthony McLoughlin at three and the entire half-back line have yet to convince us. Those faults will only be exaggerated by two exciting attacks. Wicklow have the option of giving it to Leighton Glynn short and a Plan B of going direct to Seánie Furlong and hoping Tony Hannon has a good dead-ball day. Meath have an inside forward line that will goal and in Graham Reilly one of the better long-range shooters in the province.
As for what will actually happen? Maybe our brains aren’t allowing us to the see the true picture in front of us and maybe history is skewing our perceptions, but we’ve a feeling a siege mentality will have helped Meath, they’ve more to prove, Kevin Reilly will shackle Seanie Furlong, Seamus Kenny will win Man of the Match for doing a job on Leighton Glynn and dominating the breaking ball stakes, one or both of Joe Sheridan and Cian Ward will goal and we’ll have a classic that isn’t decided for once and for all until late in a glorious day. Meath to win but even at that, don’t say there’s no room for romance in football.
Verdict: Meath by four
Leinster SFC First Round
Meath v Wicklow
Sunday, Dr Cullen Park, Carlow, 3.30
MEATH D Gallagher; M Burke, K Reilly, S McAnarney; D Tobin, B Menton, S Kenny; C Gillespie, B Meade; A Forde, M Collins, G Reilly; B Farrell, J Sheridan, C Ward
WICKLOW J Flynn; C Hyland, A McLoughlin, A Byrne; D Healy, M McLoughlin, S Kelly; J Stafford, R Finn; L Glynn, D O’Sullivan, Darren Hayden; T Hannon, S Furlong, J McGrath
Follow all the action from Dr Cullen Park with score updates, in-game analysis and reaction with Ewan MacKenna from 3.00 Sunday on The Score.
Can’t see either team making any impact in the championship this year!!
Actually don’t think so Frank, so little between Kildare and Dublin, that there’s an inevitability Kildare will beat them eventually and there’s that desperation within Kildare team to win a provincial title thar isn’t there in Dublin. That’s a lot favouring the Lilywhites in a tight game
Most likely not but championship about more than the big prize, it’s about the smaller but no less relevant prizes for the likes of Longford and Wicklow along the way.
Big difference to be playing against Kildare, Tyrone and Galway than Kilkenny, London and Waterford and while that will balance out with both being in Division 3, that’s a year down the line. Also, the players were completely behind the manager, that is what kept him his job and since all that unpleasantness, they have been locked away, Joe Sheridan is back, Kevin Reilly is a serious operator as is Seamus Kenny, and while Meath’s midfield is weak, they are still a talented bunch with something serious to prove. Time will tell.
That division has Limerick, Fermanagh & Clare in it aswell. Limerick were all ireland quarter finalists last year & have twice come very close to winning the Munster championship recently so I wouldnt discount the level of opposition Wicklow were up against just like that. As for the players being fully behind the manager, I wouldnt be so sure of that either, I’m sure that was what was said to the media but the reality was most likely very different.
Oi! Don’t be putting Waterford in with Kk & London. We are on the way-up.
I think this is going to be closer than meath by four, Wicklow are a decent championship team, meath have injuries to key players, have just been relegated to Division 3 & are not fully behind the manager. He barely kept his job recently due. I would say either team could win it by 1-2 points
They’ll both be sick when Carlow beat the winner in the next round :)
Very different Limerick now to the one that rattled Kerry and you can’t compare Clare and Fermanagh with Clare and Tyrone. Not discounting Wicklow, just big jump in opposition. Longford managed it, granted, and maybe Wicklow can too. Just can see Meath having a little too much class up front and can see them netting at least twice. But time will tell and it’s an exciting game. As for Carlow, Brian, I admire your optimism!
Andrew McLoughlin? Is he Anthony and Michael’s lesser known, non exist any brother?
Meath won’t win a thing as long as there’s anybody who was connected with the 2010 Leinster final team still involved.
I hope they have a nice game but we all know the Dubs will rule again in Leinster.