All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifiers Round 2A: Derry 1-14 Meath 1-11
THE Derry eyes may be beginning to light up at the prospect of a first All-Ireland quarter-final in nine years, but Damian Barton feels the biggest opponent lies within.
On the evidence of Saturday afternoon, it would be hard to disagree. The first half display was described by Adrian McGuckin on Radio Ulster as “the worst Derry Championship display I’ve ever seen.”
Derry had played against a breeze far more significant pitchside that it appeared elsewhere, but that was no excuse for their laissez-faire attitude to defending.
Meath hit 1-8 but they ought to have another two goals and ultimately, they went a long way towards securing their own fate by not killing Derry off.
The second half could not have been more different. It took 17 seconds for Conor McAtamney to slip the ball to Mark Lynch for his fourth point of an inspirational afternoon.
Within seven minutes, Derry had cut their seven-point deficit back to two. Scores from Christopher Bradley, Eoghan Brown and James Kielt were the meat in a sandwich of fine Lynch efforts.
Meath had contributed nothing and when Pádraic Harnan conceded a needless free on his own 45, Kielt used the wind to raise another white flag and make it 0-10 to 1-8.
Even though Meath steadied the ship for the next fifteen minutes and managed to push themselves three clear heading towards the hour mark, it never looked like a game Derry were going to lose in the second half.
All the momentum was with them, but it took a moment of genius from a youngster to finally swing the pendulum.
James Kielt’s dropping effort fell beautifully into the bread basket of Niall Loughlin. Isolated one-on-one, he sold the same beautiful dummy that Ronan O’Neill threw in Celtic Park in May, sending Mickey Burke and Paddy O’Rourke for a loaf of bread in Foreglen shop, as the Greenlough man tapped into the empty net.
“We’re our own biggest opponent when you look at the first half compared to the second half,” said Barton afterwards.
“There were boys in the first half you’d have thought had never seen a ball before. We weren’t dropping off and showing for our defence at times.
“It was very frustrating for our defence coming out and nobody there to kick the ball to. We need to look at our system maybe, our forwards were maybe a bit too deep in the first instance.
“But we’re trying to change so we have to have a bit of faith in each other. I thought they stepped up and showed a lot of respect for each other and what they’ve done together, despite how difficult this year has been.”
It really looked as though their year was over at half-time.
The first Meath goal was symptomatic of the problems that Derry had in the first half. They looked to have won possession on the kickout but James Kielt had it stolen away, and Meath broke at pace.
The Oak Leafers were never short of bodies inside their own 45’, but they were short of any pressure on the ball when it came in there.
Meath were able to weave through without a hand laid on them and Kielt’s marker, Donnacha Tobin, supported the attack before lashing across Thomas Mallon.
The Loup goalkeeper got two strong hands to turn it away but it fell on to the boot of Mickey Newman to tap in. The Kilmainham man might have been in the square before the ball was played, but it was a goal the visitors deserved.
It put Meath 1-7 to 0-3 ahead after 27 minutes, and the game could well have been finished five minutes later. Newman, one-on-one with Gareth McKinless, cut inside to face Thomas Mallon.
The Ballinderry defender slipped but, lying on the ground, he managed to get both arms out and make a block that Damian Barton suitably described as “awesome”.
Derry went down the other end and kicked a fine score through James Kielt, though the excellent Cillian O’Sullivan pushed Meath 1-8 to 0-4 clear at the break with a free in stoppage time.
Mick O’Dowd’s side had also missed a golden chance on 16 minutes, when Donal Lenihan read the flight of O’Sullivan’s pass magnificently to get in behind Karl McKaigue, but lashed wide of Mallon’s left-hand post.
They paid the heaviest of prices for squandering so much, with Derry surviving five minutes of added time despite being reduced to 14 by a black card for Conor McAtamney after they’d used all six subs.
The measure of Derry’s renewed will came when Mark Lynch took a heavy bang to the shoulder that looked set to end his day, but he declined the medical team’s advances to go to full-forward and play a noble part.
Meath boss Mick O’Dowd had no complaints with the result resigned after the game, though referee Paddy Neilan did give three big decisions against his side in the spell before Loughlin’s goal.
They were also left to rue the tactical withdrawal of free-taker Mickey Newman as they missed two scoreable efforts in that same spell.
Derry could care no less. The spectacular ruin that hung menacingly above the Sperrins at half-time cleared very quickly turned a more optimistic shade.
MATCH STATS
Derry: T Mallon; G McKinless, C McKaigue (0-1), K McKaigue; C McFaul, B Rogers, C Mullan; C McAtamney, N Holly; D Heavron, C Bradley (0-1), E Brown (0-1); J Kielt (0-4, 0-3f), E McGuckin, M Lynch (0-6, 0-2f) Subs: N Toner for McGuckin (28), N Loughlin (1-0) for Brown (47), E Bradley for Holly (47), E Lynn (0-1) for C Bradley (53), L McGoldrick for Mullan (63) Yellow cards: N Holly (35), J Kielt (57), C McFaul (70) Black cards: B Rogers (61) replaced by N Forester; C McAtamney (70) no replacement
Meath: P O’Rourke; D Tobin, D Keogan, M Burke (0-1); D Smith, P Harnan (0-1), A Douglas; H Rooney, C O’Brien; G Reilly (0-2), C O’Sullivan (0-2f), B McMahon; D Lenihan, S Lavin, M Newman (1-4, 0-3f) Subs: E Wallace for McMahon (42), D McDonagh for Newman (51), A Tormey (0-1f) for Lenihan (60), S Tobin for Keogan (64) Yellow cards: D Smith (67), D McDonagh (69)?
Referee: P Neilan (Longford)
