Tailteann Cup final: Down 0-14 Meath 2-13
DOWN will have to do it the hard way if they are to play in next year’s All-Ireland series after the goal-den touch deserted the Mournemen in Saturday’s Tailteann Cup final.
Meath’s deserved triumph may have owed plenty to a freaky first half goal that sucked the wind from a flying Down start but, just as in the scrappy, error-strewn group game six weeks earlier, it was the Royals who held the edge when it mattered.
Defensively Colm O’Rourke’s men were brilliant, keeping their shape and forcing Down along blind alleys, the twin towers of Jack Flynn and Conor Gray dominating the centre as Meath took control of the second half, while the impact from the bench - Jack O'Connor in particular - held sway in those critical closing moments, the game somehow still hanging in the balance despite their dominance.
Having finished sixth in Division Two, the Royals must still be wondering how they ended up in the Tailteann Cup at all – but, after a lukewarm start, it is a competition they embraced, reward coming their way when the long whistle sounded.
For Down, however, it was a day filled with regrets.
Where it was goals that kept them alive during the round-robin meeting in Parnell Park - 17 wides the killer then - this time around four opportunities to rattle the Meath net came and went.
Even beyond that, though, some all-too-familiar issues from a topsy-turvy year resurfaced as Down were guilty of over-playing and running into trouble, lacking that bit of composure and conviction so evident in the eight goal semi-final massacre of Laois.
It looked as though the habit had been kicked since victory over Cavan, but Conor Laverty and co know there is still plenty of work to do.
And yet the Mournemen had appeared in cruise control early on, a classy Odhran Murdock score making it 0-4 to 0-1 14 minutes in, their movement and intensity proving too hot for Meath to handle.
But a stroke of good fortune changed the course of the game two minutes later. Flynn’s long range effort dropped down from the upright before springing off the knee of the unsuspecting Ronan Jones and into the net, leaving Niall Kane and Pat Havern to looked at each other in disbelief.
Going after Kane’s kick-outs from the get-go, the Royals were determined to starve Down of any oxygen coming forward, even though the Kilcoo ’keeper was able to unpick the lock more often than not.
When the ball went long, though, and particular from Meath's own kick-outs, it was the paws of Flynn, Gray and later substitute O’Connor invariably wrapped around it.
But the goal chances proved the making and breaking of this game for Down. Despite losing Ceilum Doherty to a soft black card on the half hour, they conjured two gilt-edged opportunities in the final minutes of the first half that brought the sum total of a single score.
Danny Magill found Ryan Johnston in acres of space on the counter but the Kilcoo forward waited too long, allowing Meath ’keeper Sean Brennan just enough time to close the gap and block with his legs.
And before both sets of players headed down the tunnel, Liam Kerr managed to wriggle free of Padraic Harnan and drove towards the square, only to see his shot soar over instead of under the bar.
Another quick start saw Down edge two up early on in the second half but from there Meath grabbed the game by the scruff, even if they couldn’t quite shake the Mournemen off.
Cathal Hickey, Gray and O’Connor turned the screw before Flynn started to run the show, that stubborn-as-a -mule power on the turn leaving the Mournemen staring at his heels, the crowd roaring in appreciation as a series of stunning shots dropped over the bar.
Kerr, Shealan Johnston and Havern somehow managed not to find the net as the ball ping-ponged around the square heading towards the final quarter, then sub Andrew Gilmore saw another glorious goal chance go awry as the Mournemen searched for the inspiration that would ignite their challenge.
But, even though they were so near on the scoreboard, it still felt so far, O’Connor’s goal in added time putting the seal on a frustrating end to a promising year for Down - the Royals rightly headed back where they will feel they belong.
Down: N Kane (0-2, 0-1 free, 0-1 45); P McCarthy, P Laverty, A Doherty; M Rooney, C Doherty (0-1), D Magill; D Guinness, P Havern (0-4, 0-3 frees), R Mason; S Johnston (0-1), L Kerr (0-2), R Johnston (0-2), E Branagan; O Murdock (0-1). Subs: S Annett for Mason (43), D McAleenan for S Johnston (56), A Gilmore (0-1) for Magill (59), P Branagan for McCarthy (60), R McEvoy for Guinness (63)
Black card: C Doherty (29-39)
Yellow card: A Doherty (70+4)
Meath: S Brennan; A O’Neill, R Ryan; D Keogan; C Caulfield, P Harnan, S Coffey; J Flynn (0-4), R Jones (1-1), C Gray; J McEntee, C Hickey (0-2), J Morris (0-1); M Costello (0-3, 0-2 frees), A Lynch. Subs: J O’Connor (1-2) for Lynch (47), C O’Sullivan for McEntee (53), H O’Higgins for Caulfield (57), D Lenihan for Morris (66), D McGowan for Hickey (69)
Yellow cards: R Jones (25), C Hickey (40)
Referee: N Mooney (Cavan)
STAR MAN
Jack Flynn (Meath)
THE central figure as Meath took control in the second half, dominating the skies, Down were unable to curtail his bursts from deep, the Ratoath man showing the cool head to convert four from play as the Royals took control and didn’t let go.
