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Meath GAA discussion thread

Hammer Archer

Well Galway has a thread, Mayo has one, even Cavan has one so why not us?

Two one point defeats in a row means we're back into relegation trouble especially if we lose to Derry next week. Having said that, beat Derry next week and promotion is still a (remote) possibility. Joe Sheridan leaving for the States certainly isn't going to help.
Thought the performance yesterday was easily the worst of the league. Our away form is killing us still.

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rpurfield

A league fixtures out today: http://meath.gaa.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ACFL-All-Divisions-2019.pdf

Start January 27th 11am

Hammer Archer

1-12 apiece at full time. Lost 3-1 on penalties. 4 penalties taken by us and only SeTobin scored. Dublin scored all three of theirs.

Jamemid

Hammer Archer wrote: »

1-12 apiece at full time. Lost 3-1 on penalties. 4 penalties taken by us and only SeTobin scored. Dublin scored all three of theirs.

Know it's early in the season but bad enough result considering it was basically the dubs 3rd/4th choice team.

CrabRevolution

Taken in isolation, drawing with a 3rd string Dublin team who are playing their first game is very disappointing. 8 of the Meath team today played vs. Tyrone last year, and Reilly came on as a sub.

I don't think it means anything in the long run or that it's a sign of what's to come but it's not a great result.

Sonny678

CrabRevolution wrote:

Taken in isolation, drawing with a 3rd string Dublin team who are playing their first game is very disappointing. 8 of the Meath team today played vs. Tyrone last year, and Reilly came on as a sub.

CrabRevolution wrote:

I don't think it means anything in the long run or that it's a sign of what's to come but it's not a great result.

But Dublins third team wud beat must teams in leinster.
We have never in the history of gaelic football seen a county with so many inter county players as Dublin have now. In the past even a great All-Ireland winning team would have had 18 , 19 and 20 players of good inter county standard. Dublin currently have 45 to 50 maybe more good quality inter county players. Their first 15 is the best team in the country by a mile. Dublin's second team would be good enough to win leinster reach super 8 and compete in div 2. While a Dublin third team wud compete in div 3 and would probaly win leinster also. Players like Conor McHugh would walk onto any team in the country.

This Dublin third team is going for its second byrne cup in three years. It has reached 2 Byrne cup finals in 3 years. The Bynre cup is now played without Dublin first and second team. It is basically the leinster championship without the All Ireland winning Dublin team. And yet the Dubs are probaly going win 2nd Bynre cup title in 3 years.

In 2017 Dublins third team comprehensivly defeated Kildare first 15 in the Bynre cup final. That kildare team basically , the same 15 went onto be promoted from div 2 in the 2017 by winning their first 5 games and in the summer reached the leinster final. Meath kildare Westmeath Laois Offaly and the rest of leinster could all be beaten by Dublins third team. They all have been. And if Dublin win their 2nd byrne cup in.three years that looks like the reality of the situation. That Dublin third team would definitely compete at div 3 or 4 level and probaly even div 2 level. Dublin could enter 3 teams in the All Ireland championship and the 3 of them cud potentially reach the Super 8s. That team that played Meath tonight could beat every team in leinster and every team in div 3 or 4. That Dublin team is probaly third or 4th best team in leinster. Thats how strong the talent pool is in Dublin currently.

EICVD

I’d be very disappointed with that if I was a Meath fan. Couldn’t beat that very inexperienced Dublin team with defensive tactics & physicality. Ref was awful in the first half & the usual Meath tactic of hitting bad wides looks like it’ll never go away.

EICVD

Sonny678 wrote: »

But Dublins third team wud beat must teams in leinster.
We have never in the history of gaelic football seen a county with so many inter county players as Dublin have now. In the past even a great All-Ireland winning team would have had 18 , 19 and 20 players of good inter county standard. Dublin currently have 45 to 50 maybe more good quality inter county players. Their first 15 is the best team in the country by a mile. Dublin's second team would be good enough to win leinster reach super 8 and compete in div 2. While a Dublin third team wud compete in div 3 and would probaly win leinster also. Players like Conor McHugh would walk onto any team in the country.

This Dublin third team is going for its second byrne cup in three years. It has reached 2 Byrne cup finals in 3 years. The Bynre cup is now played without Dublin first and second team. It is basically the leinster championship without the All Ireland winning Dublin team. And yet the Dubs are probaly going win 2nd Bynre cup title in 3 years.

In 2017 Dublins third team comprehensivly defeated Kildare first 15 in the Bynre cup final. That kildare team basically , the same 15 went onto be promoted from div 2 in the 2017 by winning their first 5 games and in the summer reached the leinster final. Meath kildare Westmeath Laois Offaly and the rest of leinster could all be beaten by Dublins third team. They all have been. And if Dublin win their 2nd byrne cup in.three years that looks like the reality of the situation. That Dublin third team would definitely compete at div 3 or 4 level and probaly even div 2 level. Dublin could enter 3 teams in the All Ireland championship and the 3 of them cud potentially reach the Super 8s. That team that played Meath tonight could beat every team in leinster and every team in div 3 or 4. That Dublin team is probaly third or 4th best team in leinster. Thats how strong the talent pool is in Dublin currently.

That Dublin team couldn’t beat Offaly or Wexford in last years O’Byrne Cup

Ali Bomaye

I thought that was a fairly awful performance. So many shots dropped short and bad wides.
Scrappy enough game. Less said about those penalties the better. Newman's was a shocker considering he'd be the main penalty taker there.

Sonny678

EICVD wrote:

That Dublin team couldnâ€™t beat Offaly or Wexford in last years Oâ€™Byrne Cup

That Dublin team won the byrne cup v kildare first 15 two years ago and are now in their second final in 3 years. If they entered the leinster championship instead of Dublin first and second team they wud be more then competitive. If they win their second byrne cup in three years , a competition that is a sort of leinster championship without the All Ireland winning Dubs , that indicates they are definatly inter county team that could beat every team in leinster and beat teams in div 3 and 4 seen most leinster teams r in these divisions. You ignore the two years they have reached the final. Instead the year they didnt win. If any team wins 2 out of 3 years in competition they r usually considered strong opposition in that competition in any sport. Dublin will probably win 2 out of last 3 Bynre cup with their third team. What does that say about leinster football. What we can say about Dublin is they have a reservoir of football talent we have never witnessed before.

Sonny678

EICVD wrote: »

I’d be very disappointed with that if I was a Meath fan. Couldn’t beat that very inexperienced Dublin team with defensive tactics & physicality. Ref was awful in the first half & the usual Meath tactic of hitting bad wides looks like it’ll never go away.

Dublin inexperienced team played Meath inexperienced team last night.

Meath also played an experimental, inexperienced team. Meath had 6 players starting who have never played a league or championship match for Meath before eg Ronan Ryan, Niall Kane, Barry Dardis, Niall Hickey, Danny Quinn and Darragh Campion. While Marcus Brennan, James Conlon and Gavin Mcoy came on as subs. None of these have played league or championship match for Meath before. Thats 9 players that played that were Meath debutants really. It was very inexperienced Meath team also.

wellpastit

This s##te about Dublin's third team really bugs me. We've seen their 3rd team win in 2017 on the road again in 2019. I'm still searching the fixtures every week to watch the 2nd team. Someone please tell me what competition they play in

CrabRevolution

wellpastit wrote: »

This s##te about Dublin's third team really bugs me. We've seen their 3rd team win in 2017 on the road again in 2019. I'm still searching the fixtures every week to watch the 2nd team. Someone please tell me what competition they play in

Well I'd imagine the first 35 or so were on holidays, so that's the first 2 teams there.

sc86

long year ahead for footballers - or mayby short year , depending how you look at it

Rock Lesnar

I honestly dont care what Dublin team we played last night, we are way way way off worrying about them, im only concerned about Meath, i actually taught we played ok last night, and compared to the last couple of years, we seemed to be a bit more attacking, moved the ball alot quicker, and left players in the opposition half instead of dropping them all back, keep that up in the league, try and be more competitive and show improvement in kicking scores, thats all i'll be looking for

rpurfield

We need to stop comparing ourselves to the Dubs, we're miles off them. The league will show us where we are at.

EICVD

Sonny678 wrote: »

Dublin inexperienced team played Meath inexperienced team last night.

Meath also played an experimental, inexperienced team. Meath had 6 players starting who have never played a league or championship match for Meath before eg Ronan Ryan, Niall Kane, Barry Dardis, Niall Hickey, Danny Quinn and Darragh Campion. While Marcus Brennan, James Conlon and Gavin Mcoy came on as subs. None of these have played league or championship match for Meath before. Thats 9 players that played that were Meath debutants really. It was very inexperienced Meath team also.

Took the bait I see. This was also Meaths 4th game of the OBC to Dublin’s first & with Newman & Menton starting & Reilly playing the majority of the game Meath were definitely the more experienced. Could only saw the Dubs 6 & 7 as leaders purely having senior panel experience. As I said, I’d be disappointed if I was a Royal. Avoided relegation will be a good season.

Sonny678

EICVD wrote:

Took the bait I see. This was also Meaths 4th game of the OBC to Dublinâ€™s first & with Newman & Menton starting & Reilly playing the majority of the game Meath were definitely the more experienced. Could only saw the Dubs 6 & 7 as leaders purely having senior panel experience. As I said, Iâ€™d be disappointed if I was a Royal. Avoided relegation will be a good season.

Its a fact 9 players who played for Meath on saturday have never played a single game , a single second for Meath in the championship or league before. 9 players played who have never played an competitive inter couny game for Meath before. Yes Meath had more first time players then Dublin. But basically 9 Meath players, half of the players that played for Meath on Saturday, around 50% of the players who togged out to play for Meath on Saturday have never played senior football for Meath in championship or league. 7 of them are only on the Meath panel for the first time ever in the last few weeks. If any county at the weekend say Galway hurlers in Walsh Cup or Clare footballers in their games had played 9 players who had basically never played a league or championship match before, that team wud be considered an inexperienced team. Thats a fact.

Sonny678

1 For me beating Tipp is essential. If we dont beat Tipp our chances for promotion our dented. We need a good start. We need to beat Tipp first game at home and beat Armagh team at home in 3rd game. We cud lose both games. But we r capable of beating both counties. If we dont win both we will not be promoted. We need at least 4 points out of 6 after first 3 game. I wouldnt be surprised we really put it up to Donegal and then we cud lose to Fermanagh. We are so inconsistent. We need a good start. We always finish well. But start poorly. This is the key a good startand we are in the driving seat. Lose and we are on the backfoot, playing catchup from the beginning.

2 We have to start the league well. We are very consitent in the league in recent years. 4 out of the 5 last years we were 1 win away from promotion. We have been contenders and we can be contenders this year. But we always seem to finish the league strongly winning our last 3 or 4 games. We always seem to start slowly. If you lose ur first game u r playing catch up from the start. So victory over Tipp is incredibly important. Here below r league starts for this whole decade. We r slow starters. The best league we had was in 2015 when we lost out to Roscommon on head to head. In that league in 2015 we started really well. Its no coincidence that is the year we got closest to promotion in 2015, was the year we started our first few games really really well, and won our first three games

A Decade of Meath league football in the Early Rounds

2010 League Meath Div 2
1st Game Won v Armagh
2nd Game lost v Down
3rd Game Won v Westmeath
4th Game lost v Tippearey

2011 League Meath Div 2
1st Game Lost v Laois
2nd Game Won v Sligo
3rd Game lost v Antrim
4th Game lost v Donegal

2012 League Meath Div 2
1st Game Won v Monaghan
2nd Game Won v Westmeath
3rd Game lost v kildare
4th Game lost v Galway
5th Game lost v Derry

2013 league Meath Div 3
1st Game Lost v Monaghan
2nd Game Won v Wicklow
3rd Game lost v Cavan

2014 League Meath Div 2
1st Game Won v Galway
2nd Game lost v Monaghan
3rd Game lost v Armagh

2015 league Meath Div 2 ( The best start of any Meath league campaign in this decade)
1st Game Won v Galway
2nd Game Won v kildare
3rd Game Won v Westmeath

2016 league Meath Div 2
1st Game Won v Armagh
2nd Game lost v Fermanagh
3rd Game lost v Cavan

2017 league Meath Div 2
1st Game lost v kildare
2nd Game Won v Derry
3rd Game lost v Down

2018 league Meath Div 2
1st Game Draw v Roscommon
2nd Game Win v Clare
3rd Game lost v Cavan
4th Game lost v Tippearey

3 We finished strongly in 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 and 2018 leagues. We can wins game back to back in the league in the later roundz. But we are poor starters.

4 We have started the league badly in first few games in the campaigns of 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 2017 2018. The only league campaign really started well was 2015 when we won our first three games. Thats the closest we have to got to promotion to div 1. If the GAA didnt change the rules and did take into scoring difference, not head to head we wud have being promoted , instead of Roscommon.

5 A good start is essential. If we can win game 3 or 4 games back to back at the end of the league. Why not at the start?. We lost 2 out of our first three games in the league 5 times in this decade in the years 2011 2013 2014 2016 and 2017.

6 But the most important weekend in league football is week 3. This is when the teams who are going to be promoted break into one group and the others break into relegation fight. Week 3 is a big big week in league football. In week 3 we have lost 7 times out of 9 years in this decade. We lost game 3 in the years 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 2017 and 2018. The last year we won game 3 was 2015, the closest we got to promotion.

7 So we need to beat Tipp but we need also to beat Armagh in week 3. A good start and we have a great chance of promotion. Donegal in Ballybofey in week 2 is on paper the toughest game on paper. But we are capable of really testing Donegal and go for toe to toe with them for 70 mins and then lose to Armgh , Clare and Fermanagh. Meath v Donegal are always close games. We do up our game v the top teams eg Donegal Roscommon in 2017 , Roscommon Tyrone in 2018 and Dublin twice in the last month. Our problem is v div 2 or div 3 teams eg Tippearey Cavan Longford. If we can be more consistent v div 2 or div 3 teams this will be massive.

Hammer Archer

I see that the county board have finally come round to allowing kids on the pitch at half time. About time.

Sonny678

The team that plays v Tippearey tomorrow has 6 changes to the team that started v Tyrone last year eg Ronan Ryan Niall Kane Ethan Devine Daragh Campion Thomas Reilly and Michael Newman. 5 of those players werent even on the Meath panel last year.

rpurfield

Very quiet on here this week with the A league back as well I thought we'd have more to say!! Interesting to see the new bodies in, it's still a serious turnover of players. Hopefully it will be a league that we aren't sweating like last year but I can't see us getting promoted.

Cavan_King

Sonny678 wrote: »

7 So we need to beat Tipp but we need also to beat Armagh in week 3. A good start and we have a great chance of promotion. Donegal in Ballybofey in week 2 is on paper the toughest game on paper. But we are capable of really testing Donegal and go for toe to toe with them for 70 mins and then lose to Armgh , Clare and Fermanagh. Meath v Donegal are always close games. We do up our game v the top teams eg Donegal Roscommon in 2017 , Roscommon Tyrone in 2018 and Dublin twice in the last month. Our problem is v div 2 or div 3 teams eg Tippearey Cavan Longford. If we can be more consistent v div 2 or div 3 teams this will be massive.

Reading the thread because I'm heading to your game today but this interested me. Maybe part of the problem is the arrogance of the supporters that feeds through to the team.

Tipperary are a good team. They reached an All Ireland semi final not so long ago and last year should have beaten Cavan and reached Division 1.

Cavan were promoted from Division 2 in 2016, relegated in 17, promoted again in 18 and play in Division 1 again this year. That looks more of a Division 1 team than Division 2 to me.

The bottom line is Meath have no right with the current state of affairs to expect to beat either county.

The glory days are a distant memory now and perhaps ye need to take a leaf out of the Cavan/Tipp book and rip up the notebook and concentrate on bringing through quality players from your youth teams.

Cavan_King

Having been to Tailteann today, I have to say I’ll be growing my hair and getting a nice bun for it! Meath must be the first team to have three men on the pitch with topknots at the one time!

Other than that, McEntee at five for me was your best player.

Thought Killian O’Sullivan contributed little when he came on.

Hammer Archer

Top of the league! Newman seemed in great form from placed balls.

Awful result for the hurlers as they only managed a draw against Mayo. If we can't get a win over London, we're in danger of going back to division 2B.

rpurfield

Today could have been easier than it looked with a bit of cop on. I thought the penalty was for handling on the ground in the small square but apparently it was a trip which baffles me. Also gave Tipp two handy points from frees for picking it off the ground but I suppose on the other side they had a couple of bad wides in the second half. I was impressed with the tackling and the back line but the forwards need some work done. Mickey Newman back is a massive bonus, he was excellent today. Given the other results today it's a good start anyway

CrabRevolution

An expected win today, but we have a habit of not getting expected wins so I'm happy with it. Donegal in Donegal will be tough.

Terrible for the hurlers though. Mayo was the most winnable game in the group and was vital for us to stay up, Seeing London's result today though makes me think they might not be up to much either and we could get a result off them. That said I can't see us being relegated as Mayo will probably get tanked in every other game while we might chalk up a few honorable defeats to keep the score difference better than theirs.

Hammer Archer

We rarely follow a win in the first game with a win in the second. Strangely, the last time we won the first two games in the league, we ended up getting relegated.
Donegal away next weekend so I hope we at least put a performance in. Donegal looked to have struggled for long periods against Clare before getting a 3 point win so we can certainly cause them problems. What team shows up is another question.

rpurfield

It's as good a time as any to play Donegal. They're missing a few between injuries and Gweedore still in the club championship. I still think it's beyond us though, I'd be happy with a good bounce off them.

Sonny678

One stat that mite be good for Meath. In last two years Meath have got results against best teams in the division.
In 2017 Galway won division 2 title, were the best team in divsion 2 , Meath defeated them.
In 2018 Roscommon won division 2 title , were best team in divsion 2 , Meath drew with them.
Will this be the third year in a row Meath get result against best team in the division.

There is no way Meath are favourites on Sunday. Donegal will be strong favourites and desevedly so. Every pundit, every tipster, every newpaper or social media outlet prediction will be tipping Donegal to win.

Donegal are one of the best teams in the country. They are a division 1. I know they r in div 2 but that will be temporary. Donegal r in the top 5 or 6 teams in the country and r the reigning Ulster champions. They have the best young team in the country at the moment. With also a good few players who have multiple Ulster titles and All Ireland medal. They have been the Ulster county / team of the decade.

This Donegal team in the next few year will be All-Ireland contenders and in 2 , 3 to 4 years this Donegal team I believe will be All-Ireland champions. They will definitely be in All Ireland final in 2 to 3 years. Michael Muiritigh was asked last week who was the team with most talent after Dublin who could beat Dubs next year he said Donegal.

Yes Donegal are building and yes they r missing two great players and Gweedore players but after Dublin the team with the best panel in the country is Donegal. I hear ex players and journalists continuing to refer to Donegal having a great panel and only Dublin have better. Look at Donegal players v Clare in forwards. Ban Gallagher Thompson and Langan are top class forwards who would walk onto to any team in the country.

Finally Ballybofey is one of the toughest places to win in the country. When Tyrone beat Donegal last year, it ended 21 match unbeaten run in Ballybofey for Donegal. It was Donegals first loss since 2010 in Ballybofey. After Dublin in Croke Park the toughest place to go in the country is Donegal in Ballybofey. Look at these stats. Meath have a big mountain to climb to beat Donegal. The following Armagh and Cork games are the big ones for Meath. Two victories in those game wud be achieveable and important. Beating Donegal wud be a bonus, but also a big upset.

1 Donegal have lost 1 match in Ballybofey in league or championship since 2010.
2 Since 2010 Donegal have played 21 times in league and championship in Ballybofey. Donegal have had 15 victories, 5 draws and 1 loss in 21 games in Ballybofey.
3 So in summary Donegal have been unbeaten in 20 of their last 21 games in Ballybofey
4 Even Dublin in this decade couldnt beat Donegal in Ballybofey. Dublin drew with Donegal twice in the league in Ballybofey.
5 Donegal have not been beaten in the league in Ballybofey since 2010. Dublin Tyrone Mayo kerry have all failed to beat Donegal in Ballybofey since 2010 in the league. Donegal are unbeaten in the league in their last 13 games in Ballybofey. That is after Dublin the best record in the country.
6 On average between 2012 and 2018 fifty seven per cent of home teams win their home matchs each league campaign in div 1. So excluding the last round of league games last year in the previous 6 rounds of the league in div 1 teams 12 home teams won games and 10 away teams won games and u had 1 draw. Thats 56% sucess rate for home teams. And as I said the average sucess rate for home teams in div 1 in the league is 57% . Donegal home record is on a different level. The only team comparable in league football is Dublin in Croker.

Meath have shown when they play the Tyrones Donegals Roscommon Galways they up their game and play well and even get results. ( Meath got results v Galway Roscommon and lost by a 1 point to Donegal and Tyrone in last 2 years ). Meath do play well v division 1 top teams, so I do expect Meath to put it up to Donegal on Saturday and result is not impossible for Meath . Donegal v Meath games are always tight close games. Last game, 2 years ago Donegal won by a point. In 2014 Meath drew with Donegal in Ballybofey.

But the fact is Donegal even with their players missing r one of the best teams in the country and Ballybofey is a fortress for Donegal. They are very very rarely defeated in Ballybofey. A Meath victory wud be a massive result. But Donegal are strong favourites and desevedly so. I believe Donegal will be All-Ireland champions in 2022 or 2023. Watch out for them, they r definatly one of the most exciting team out there after Dublin.

Sonny678

Hammer Archer wrote: »

We rarely follow a win in the first game with a win in the second. Strangely, the last time we won the first two games in the league, we ended up getting relegated.
Donegal away next weekend so I hope we at least put a performance in. Donegal looked to have struggled for long periods against Clare before getting a 3 point win so we can certainly cause them problems. What team shows up is another question.

Sorry for contradicting u Hammer . But yes we rarely follow a win in the first game with the second. But the last time wasnt when we were relegated. The last time we won our first second and third game was in 2015 when we came so close to promotion. We had same points as Roscommon and much better scoring difference then them but lost on promotion on head to head.

2015 league Meath Div 2 ( The best start of any Meath league campaign in this decade)
1st Game Won v Galway
2nd Game Won v kildare
3rd Game Won v Westmeath

PS Keep up the great work Hammer , U always keep us informed and updated on all Meath GAA matters. A great Meath GAA supporter u r.