All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifier round four: Clare v Meath (tomorrow, O’Moore Park, 2pm, live on RTE1)
CLARE, put some respect on their name and their manager Colm Collins.
The Banner county go into tomorrow’s round four Qualifier with Meath with an excellent body of work behind time during the Kilmihil native’s time in charge.
When he took over ahead of the 2014 season, the county were languishing in Division Four. Next year they will play in Division Two for the fourth consecutive year. Throw in an All-Ireland quarter-final appearance in 2016 and their shot at the Super 8s against the Royals tomorrow and it’s clear that they have been one of the most improved sides in the country over the last five years.
The perception though? They’re still working on that, hence why they were underdogs last week against a Westmeath side that hasn’t played Division Two football or above since 2015.
It’s much more understandable that they are unfancied this weekend but it’s hard to escape the feeling that the mental battle will have as big of an impact as talent on this particular contest.
Let’s look at their journeys to this point. Clare stuttered past Waterford before giving Kerry their fill of it in the Munster semi-final. Qualifier wins on the road against Leitrim and Westmeath have built up real solid momentum.
Like Clare, Meath started with a poor performance and they needed a late charge to reel in Offaly before recording wins over Carlow and Laois. Then came Dublin in the provincial final and a 1-17 to 0-4 defeat.
The odd thing was that Meath had some spells of really good play, but a shot conversion rate of 18 percent was a harrowing return. Who is to say those yips won’t reappear if the pressure is cranked up late on at O’Moore Park?
Then there was the sideshow of the Andy McEntee-Meath Chronicle affair. The Meath boss used some colourful language towards one of their journalists after the Dublin game, the newspaper printed the account and Meath GAA announced that they would be investigating the incident. It’s an unwanted distraction that could manifest negatively tomorrow.
Opportunity knocks for Clare and while much will be made of their midfield colossus Gary Brennan, it’s the lightning fast forward line that will provide their possible route to the big time.
Eoin Cleary (0-21) and Jamie Malone (1-10) have started all four Championship games to date while David Turbidy (1-10), who missed the Waterford game, is one of the most clinical finishers in the business. If the Meath defence is off colour, they’re in serious bother.
The Royals had three options in the draw given Laois’s progression to this point – Mayo, Tyrone or Clare. It’s undoubtedly the easiest draw they could have received and if they play to their best they should win.
They had five points to spare in March when the sides met in the League but a strong wind, along with a huge amount of unusual unforced errors from Clare, played a role.
McEntee took Mickey Newman out the field against Dublin to leave gaps for flying machine James Conlon but their opponents soon twigged onto that and shut that avenue down. Clare’s Cian O’Dea, who will have number 15 on his back, will move back to plug that space.
Once that tactic failed at Croke Park Meath reverted to low percentage shots from distance which, unsurprisingly, resulted in that horrible conversion rate. Tomorrow will not only be a real test of their character, but also their ability to learn if Conlon again can’t get on the ball.
Clare have character in abundance as we have seen in recent years. They may still be waiting on the respect they deserve but they have the ability to finally earn it here.
