Meath GAA discussion thread

vapor trails · 14-07-2019 7:57pm

I think we actually played better-getting beat by 9 points today than we did in the league final having only be beaten by 2

rpurfield · 14-07-2019 8:01pm

9 points was a harsh beating. Apart from what’s already being said on kick outs etc, we started pumping in balls for goals with five minutes of normal time instead of clipping a couple of points to keep in touch. As well as that we never figured out that the Donegal out when we had pressure on was a kick out to Murphy who broke it to McHugh at full tilt. They must’ve pulled that one out of the bag three or four times after Newman’s penalty.

babybuilder · 14-07-2019 8:34pm

The nine point loss is not indicative of meaths performance. Really impressed with Meath in the three outings against Donegal this year. Very unlucky with the disallowed goal. I reckon you will give mayo all they want next week. Best of luck.

Redsoxfan · 14-07-2019 8:51pm

Stoner wrote:

But there was 5 minutes of worry there for donegal

Agreed.

But outside of that...

We left plenty behind us.

But plenty to worry us from both games today.

There will surely be a Mayo backlash next weekend.

May the team with the best kickouts win lol

snowgal · 14-07-2019 9:21pm

SameOleJay wrote: »

Tough one to take. Very impressive coming back into it but the tank was emptied and the last ten a clinic from Donegal.

Not much I'd complain about but lads need to get real and go for goal when clean through, this needs to be a point of emphasis from coaching next week and on. Meath are not good enough to be beating these sides with points alone.

And kick outs, my god the kick outs.

Quick reply tonight as wrecked!! But yes and no on this. Actually if we had just plucking a few points in the last 13 mins, esp before 2nd Donegal goal, we were still there about. This trying for goals wasn’t needed but there was a panic in forwards... also I thought the black card was a huge turnaround though haven’t seen it mentioned at all.. upset our whole rhythm at that stage and for me the turning point. Andy Mc and the Donegal fans was a sight from the stand!

windy shepard henderson · 15-07-2019 12:32am

snowgal wrote: »

Quick reply tonight as wrecked!! But yes and no on this. Actually if we had just plucking a few points in the last 13 mins, esp before 2nd Donegal goal, we were still there about. This trying for goals wasn’t needed but there was a panic in forwards... also I thought the black card was a huge turnaround though haven’t seen it mentioned at all.. upset our whole rhythm at that stage and for me the turning point. Andy Mc and the Donegal fans was a sight from the stand!

excellent reply but ,.. its baby steps now for meath , beat galway and monaghan next year in the league maybe get one back on donegal and avoid the drop

next step would be find one or two more forwards , the backs for meath are top top class as proven against dublin , its the front men that are letting the side down at the moment

james mcintee , pauric hareran , seamus lavin and conor mcgill are some of the best defenders in the country , shane mcentee donal keogan and ethan devine ain't bad operators either

lads ye are in a perfect position to build on next year ye probably need one or two options in the forwards but ye must be in the unique position that ye have probably the best defense in the country .....all we need is our forwards to score :rolleyes:

Hammer Archer · 15-07-2019 7:21am

Think we need to convince the likes of Lenehan and McKeever to come back to the panel next year. We don't have the fire power up front to keep the scoreboard ticking over and, as far as I remember, they were our top scorers last season.

rpurfield · 15-07-2019 12:18pm

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Think we need to convince the likes of Lenehan and McKeever to come back to the panel next year. We don't have the fire power up front to keep the scoreboard ticking over and, as far as I remember, they were our top scorers last season.

Is Lenihan not away travelling? I'd be hopeful he'd be back on the scene if it's the case. Conlon will improve but at the moment he's too prone to taking on mad shots.

dixiefly · 15-07-2019 1:00pm

What is the situation with Joey Wallace? He was introduced at a very young age by MOD but does not seem to feature anymore. He was probably disillusioned a bit but I felt that he had potential as he got older.

Also, was anyone else dismayed at the coverage of Meath on the Sunday Game last night? They basically only spoke about Donegal and how their tactics were affected by Meath's play. for the other games Des Cahill mentioned each of the two teams and how they were going forward. But nothing about Meath.

And it also happened fir the Laois game I think where they completely forgot to do any analysis and only spoke about it after the next run of games. It was an embarassment and I just switched off last night after the pathetic coverage.

Hammer Archer · 15-07-2019 1:53pm

Joey's not even playing for Ratoath at the moment. Focusing on soccer which he also excels at.

The Sunday Game generally don't care about anyone outside the likes of Dublin, Kerry, Mayo, Donegal or Tyrone unless it's an underdog story.

snowgal · 15-07-2019 2:29pm

yea think he just lost interest completely, pity... I have to say Biggy has genuinely looked worse fitness and general motivation wise in the last few games than Ive seen him all year. I was actually abit embarrassed watching him plod around the pitch yesterday, one of our 'impact subs', Im sure Donegal were quaking........

Rock Lesnar · 15-07-2019 2:32pm

snowgal wrote: »

yea think he just lost interest completely, pity... I have to say Biggy has genuinely looked worse fitness and general motivation wise in the last few games than Ive seen him all year. I was actually abit embarrassed watching him plod around the pitch yesterday, one of our 'impact subs', Im sure Donegal were quaking........

To be fair, he's been liked that for a couple of years now, he seems to have lost that initial burst of pace that took him past players which was his trademark, as i know well, when you get older, if ya lose your pace, you lose your threat

snowgal · 15-07-2019 2:36pm

Rock Lesnar wrote: »

To be fair, he's been liked that for a couple of years now, he seems to have lost that initial burst of pace that took him past players which was his trademark, as i know well, when you get older, if ya lose your pace, you lose your threat

oh yea for sure you could see it happening over the years, but yesterday he was just not there, mentally or physically. And to be honest its a worry that when we need to freshen things up for the last quarter thats what have to bring on!

whatnext · 15-07-2019 2:37pm

Thought the final score was harsh on the lads in the end.

There are a lot of positives to take from the performance and in my opinion the negatives are fixable. That's my big take from a lot of what I've seen this summer.

For the first time in a long while the the team is beginning to take a bit of shape. Most of us could have a reasonable shout at naming the starting 15, which again is something that was not the case in recent years. We have a playing style and for the first time in a decade its something that the opposition have to take note of / counter act and in doing so slightly weakens their own hand.

You can see the players beginning to develop an understanding of how each other play, what runs to make and how to play together to win breaking ball. There is so much scope for this aspect to improve in particular with high intensity game time.

Its all early stages, but I believe/hope there is so much more to come if we give them the time and support. I think the support aspect is important, they need the support from a motivational perspective. Why else would they bother with the ridiculous levels of work required in the modern game? I'm not sure I would put myself through it even if I had the ability.

These 3 games are a free hit. We need them to get the team exposed to whats coming in division 1 next year. We have to find a 3 wins next year in division 1. That will give a the whole set up the chance to make real plans about doing some damage in next years championship.

Fitness levels will continue to improve (mentally and physically (not that they are unfit!!!!)), confidence will improve, the number mistakes will reduce and who knows in 3 to 5 years we might be hated again!!

Here's to being hated, man I miss those days.......... :-)

snowgal · 15-07-2019 2:39pm

whatnext wrote: »

Thought the final score was harsh on the lads in the end.

There are a lot of positives to take from the performance and in my opinion the negatives are fixable. That's my big take from a lot of what I've seen this summer.

For the first time in a long while the the team is beginning to take a bit of shape. Most of us could have a reasonable shout at naming the starting 15, which again is something that was not the case in recent years. We have a playing style and for the first time in a decade its something that the opposition have to take note of / counter act and in doing so slightly weakens their own hand.

You can see the players beginning to develop an understanding of how each other play, what runs to make and how to play together to win breaking ball. There is so much scope for this aspect to improve in particular with high intensity game time.

Its all early stages, but I believe/hope there is so much more to come if we give them the time and support. I think the support aspect is important, they need the support from a motivational perspective. Why else would they bother with the ridiculous levels of work required in the modern game? I'm not sure I would put myself through it even if I had the ability.

These 3 games are a free hit. We need them to get the team exposed to whats coming in division 1 next year. We have to find a 3 wins next year in division 1. That will give a the whole set up the chance to make real plans about doing some damage in next years championship.

Fitness levels will continue to improve (mentally and physically (not that they are unfit!!!!)), confidence will improve, the number mistakes will reduce and who knows in 3 to 5 years we might be hated again!!

Here's to being hated, man I miss those days.......... :-)

ha ha, me too! though still seems to be some lingering hatred out there at the mo! I just hope its more like 3 years rather than 5!

Obrieski · 16-07-2019 1:00pm

Really feel that this Meath team is just one big championship scalp away from being propelled into the big time.

So often recently against the big teams in championship - Donegal 2 years ago, Tyrone last year, Donegal last Sunday, we were mighty close with the game in the melting pot only to come out on the wrong side of a narrow defeat (I include Sunday just gone as a narrow defeat despite the final scoreline).

This team just needs the belief that a result against one of these top teams will bring to really build the confidence and I have a sneaking suspicion that Mayo next weekend might be the team that will help us to achieve this. We have accomplished so much this year that it's the least these players deserve than a big championship victory and I really hope the Meath fans turn out in style in Croker on Sunday. It has been a fabulous journey so far and long may it continue!

sheroman01 · 16-07-2019 1:55pm

I can't help but feel Croke Park will be deciding factor in this match. Mayo's experience playing there vs. Meath's lack of. I do think we can beat Mayo, certainly, and I really like and believe in this Meath team, but I think the hoodoo from the final might be too fresh in the player's minds. As has been mentioned before, and I won't harp on about it, but our kick outs are an issue. Colgan is still new to the inter county setup and the pressure on his kick outs will be more intense in Croker, so I fear this might be another decider.

Sonny678 · 16-07-2019 3:56pm

Obrieski wrote:

Really feel that this Meath team is just one big championship scalp away from being propelled into the big time.

Obrieski wrote:

This team just needs the belief that a result against one of these top teams will bring to really build the confidence and I have a sneaking suspicion that Mayo next weekend might be the team that will help us to achieve this. We have accomplished so much this year that it's the least these players deserve than a big championship victory and I really hope the Meath fans turn out in style in Croker on Sunday. It has been a fabulous journey so far and long may it continue!

Obrieski wrote:

So often recently against the big teams in championship - Donegal 2 years ago, Tyrone last year, Donegal last Sunday, we were mighty close with the game in the melting pot only to come out on the wrong side of a narrow defeat (I include Sunday just gone as a narrow defeat despite the final scoreline).

We will beat Mayo and Donegal, but it probably will be in 12 months time. All these games in super 8 and div 1. All these 10 games in next 10 months v top division 1 teams v top teams in the country is invaluable to these young Meath players. This experience is priceless. And if Meath stay in divsion 1 , more experience is gained.

Look at Roscommon last year hammered at super 8 stage and hammered by Tyrone last year, they only lost by 4 points on Sat, and Rossies beat Mayo and Galway this year. It will be the same for Meath. Next year Meath will be battle hardened by these 10 division 1 games.

Also McEntee will be in year 4 and younger players like Conlon Devine Ryan Campion and Walsh will have had great experience playing top teams , young exciting forwards coming thru eg Luke Mitchell Matthew Costello of the underage teams. And the return of maybe 8 or more ex panelist to the panel eg Donal lenihan, Ronan Jones, Eamon Wallace , Alan Forde , Ruari O Coilean, Niall kane , Paddy Kennelly. Maybe even Harry Rooney. While players like Lavin , Harnan , J McEntee, S McEntee, Sullivan , McGill , McMahon Wallace , Flanagan ,Kennelly , Forde are all around 25 age mark will start to peak as footballers next summer and the summer after.

Its pretty obvious Meath are on an upward trajectory and Meath are going to get stronger and stronger. And next summer and the following year in 2021 this team will start to peak. Remeber this team is at 12 to 24 months before it peaks . And it does take time. Every team in history of football take years of ups and downs before sucess. It took allot of that Dublin team 6 years before they got to an All Ireland final and years of bad defeats to kerry , Mayo Cork and bad hammerings to Meath and kerry before they achieved their aims. They were coming from higher level. They were 5th or 6th best team in country in 2005.It took them til 2011 til they became the best. Meath were 15th best team in country last season. They are now 8th and at lowest 9th best team in the country. We want to break into top 6 or 7 teams and stay there in divsion 1 and win leinster. That will take more morale victories hard luck losess. Again in 12 months time we will be a much better team.

Of course it would be brilliant if we beat Mayo and if we did and had a chance of reaching semi final it would be outstanding achievement by players and management from.where we were last spring being near relegated to divsion 3 and losing to longford. Now we are comprehensivly beating teams like longford eg Carlow Laois and comprehensivly beating top division 2 teams eg Armagh, kildare Fermanagh and Cork. And really putting it up two best teams in country eg Donegal and Tyrone that is serious improvement in 12 months. And looking at age profile of the team the average age is 24 , and on sunday we had Conlon 21 , Campion 20 , Devine 20 and Walsh 19 all playing in the forwards. Anyone who knows anything about sport knows sportspeople with potential who are 19 or 20 years of age can only get better. This Meath team will only get better. But beating Mayo could be step to far. Kildare and Roscommon were in. are position last year and failed to win any games. Galway were promoted in 2017 and struggled at super 8 / quater final stage. If we suceed where Galway in 2017 and kildare and Roscommon in 2018 that would be an unbelievably goof sign for the future.

And as someone said above the Sunday Game and media are ignoring Meath , but they have always ignored Meath. Even when Meath won All Irelands they were downgraded and underapreciated. Think of 1996 or when we won 2 in a row in 88. Great achievements but all.we heard about in 96 was McHale and boucing ball not the greatest performance by young team ever in an All Ireland final and 88 we heard about rough play not one great achievements modern football , one of few teams outside kerry or Dublin to put back to back All Irelands.

So the media have always being anti Meath. While other counties hyped we are ignored or downplayed or criticised. But the way things are going in the next 12 to 24 months even the Dublin media will have to take notice of Meath.

Meath are no longer going in the right direction. Meath are in a new category , Meath are a coming team with potential. A team for the future, a team to look out for in next 2 to 3 years. Some of gaa community outside county are starting to notice this.
Tomas O Se did say Meath surprised him on Sunday , Meath were very good. Kieran Donaghy said Meath were very good also and are playing some exciting football with new exciting talent. Some are taking notice. Soon the whole of the gaa will have to take notice of us. And if we beat Mayo on Sunday everyone will take notice, which will be very difficult. Kerry hammering Mayo is worst that could have happened to Meath. Mayo will be up for this on sunday. But u never know. An young up and coming team beating Mayo where did we see that before. In 1996 and 2009 of course. We are a bogey team of sorts for Mayo and all these things help. We have problem beating Ulster teams in the last ten years but for 70 or 80 years Connacht teams and Mayo teams have had problems beating Meath. U just never know. They say Meath dont lose to Mayo. If we beat them on Sunday and beat their greatest team since All Ireland winning team of 1950 and 1951. Well that saying really must be true. But overall its not what happens next sunday , its what happens next spring and next summer and in 2021 that will define this team. And the direction is upward in direction and is very much a positive one.

rpurfield · 17-07-2019 5:30pm

My biggest concern for Sunday is the legs. Listening to We Are Meath today, they interviewed Colm Nally and he was making the point that we peaked to make the super 8 while the likes of Dublin etc would prime themselves to peak during it. I think part of our problem on Sunday gone was the fitness in the last ten minutes. A week to recover might leave it a bit too much.

It's great to be worrying about these things still instead of who will beat who in the next round of the club championship though!! I have to say I really enjoyed the buzz in Ballybofey on Sunday, hopefully Navan will be buzzing for Kerry too. Can't beat it.

Happy4all · 17-07-2019 5:45pm

rpurfield wrote: »

My biggest concern for Sunday is the legs. Listening to We Are Meath today, they interviewed Colm Nally and he was making the point that we peaked to make the super 8 while the likes of Dublin etc would prime themselves to peak during it. I think part of our problem on Sunday gone was the fitness in the last ten minutes. A week to recover might leave it a bit too much.

It's great to be worrying about these things still instead of who will beat who in the next round of the club championship though!! I have to say I really enjoyed the buzz in Ballybofey on Sunday, hopefully Navan will be buzzing for Kerry too. Can't beat it.

You peaked against Dublin?

pipelaser · 17-07-2019 5:46pm

Tickets are on sale now for the game vs Kerry,
Snap 'em up!

dobman88 · 17-07-2019 5:53pm

pipelaser wrote: »

Tickets are on sale now for the game vs Kerry,
Snap 'em up!

Just came to post this. Got mine about 30 mins ago. Great to have it sorted early. Looking forward to it now.

snowgal · 17-07-2019 6:26pm

Must get mine so. Though IF we lose (really reallly hope not) on Sunday, it will be a bit of a dampener for Navan... playing for nothing really... tho obviously it’s still great to see Meath v Kerry in our home ground... and I’m sure we’ll still have something to plat for ay!

dobman88 · 17-07-2019 6:38pm

snowgal wrote: »

Must get mine so. Though IF we lose (really reallly hope not) on Sunday, it will be a bit of a dampener for Navan... playing for nothing really... tho obviously it’s still great to see Meath v Kerry in our home ground... and I’m sure we’ll still have something to plat for ay!

Theres never nothing to play for. Play for pride. Play to beat Kerry. Play to entertain the fans that turn up to support. Play to stop Kerry reaching the semi final by beating them. Theres always something

snowgal · 17-07-2019 6:46pm

dobman88 wrote: »

Theres never nothing to play for. Play for pride. Play to beat Kerry. Play to entertain the fans that turn up to support. Play to stop Kerry reaching the semi final by beating them. Theres always something

Ah I know as I said I’ll still go of course, it just would be extra amazing to be playing for a place also!

Sonny678 · 17-07-2019 11:19pm

Happy4all wrote:

You peaked against Dublin?

This Meath team is 12 to 24 months away from peaking at least

The age of 4 Meath forwards who played on Sunday v Donegal

James Conlon 21
Ethan Devine 20
Dara Campion 20
Shane Walsh 18 ( just finished his leaving cert 3 weeks ago )

and other young players on team and panel
Ronan Ryan 22
Ross Ryan 22
Niall kane 22
Gavin Mcoy 22
Jason Scully 21
Thomas Reilly 22
Thomas McGovern 22
Daragh McGovern 22
Owen McDonnell 21
Robin Clarke 22
Sean Reilly 20

These players are very young and 10 games with div 1 teams in super 8s and the league will be priceless experience.

Then u have a group of players who will peak in next 24 months as most footballers peak at 25 26 27 .

James McEntee 24
Gavin McCoy 24
Seamus Lavin 24
Shane McEntee 24
Barry Dardis 24
Ruari O Coilean 24
Padraig Harnan 24
Cillian Sullivan 25
Adam Flanagan 25
Bryan McMahon 26
Conor McGill 26
Andy Colgan 26.

Meath are one of youngest teams and panels in the country with average age 23 24. And I said 4 of the fowards on Sunday were 18 to 21. These players have potential . Meath are a coming team. Meath next summer will be much stronger. look at Roscommon this year and the difference after div 1 football and super 8s last year. This Meath team will.start to begin to peak next summer into 2021 and into summer of 2022. McEntee is just half way through his reign at the end of this season coz it is a 6 to 7 year job. And this Meath team are 12 to 24 months before reaching full potential at least . The game v Dublin game v Donegal were not peaks they were the beginning of upward trajectory that will continue into spring of 2020 and the summer and continue in 2021 to the summer of 2022. Meath are just beginning .

Sonny678 · 17-07-2019 11:48pm

Players like Cillian Sullivan Gavin Mcoy Seamus lavin are improving all season long. No one predicted Meath would win promotion or reach super 8 at the start of the year. If anything many people were predicting Meath would be relegated to div 3. Tomas O Se at the start of the year predicted Meath would be relegated div 3. He admitted on Sunday he was very surprised how Meath played they played very good v second or third best team in the country double Ulster champions for third time this year. The second or third best team in the country have struggled to beat Meath on 3 different occasions this year, and so did All Ireland finalist Tyrone last year were very lucky to beat Meath

It was obvious at the start of the year that there would be a big improvement in Meath this year and they would get promoted. But people ignored this and just concentrated on the loss to longford last year and not the brilliant performance v Tyrone. The same way it obvious Meath young players and team.are improving and getting better and its obvious Meath will continue on this upward trajectory for next 2 years at least after this year. But people are just concentating on 4 points v Dublin. Not that Meath kept Dublin to their lowest score in championship in the first half in 8 years since Dublin played McGuiness Donegal in 2011. Meath have had after Dublin, one of best full back lines in this years championship. Look at how for 55 mins how well lavin McGill Gallagher did against Mannion Costello Callaghan. It wasnt til 55 min and Meath tired and game was over that Dublin forwards start to shine. Meath have one best defenders in.the country Donal keoghan and one best full backs in Conor McGill. And playing v Clifford Murphy kilkenny Mcmanus in next 10 games will bring on.this young Meath defence further. With players returning maybe up 8 or 9 including Meath best forward eg Donal lenihan and more young talent coming thru. And players peaking. As I said Meath are. improving even at the present time and this will continue for next 12 to 24 months.

RoyalCelt · 18-07-2019 12:10am

sheroman01 wrote: »

I can't help but feel Croke Park will be deciding factor in this match. Mayo's experience playing there vs. Meath's lack of. I do think we can beat Mayo, certainly, and I really like and believe in this Meath team, but I think the hoodoo from the final might be too fresh in the player's minds. As has been mentioned before, and I won't harp on about it, but our kick outs are an issue. Colgan is still new to the inter county setup and the pressure on his kick outs will be more intense in Croker, so I fear this might be another decider.

Did mayo play in Croker at all last year? They'd one match there this year.

Sunday will be Meath's 4th time in Croker this year. I don't think Mayo have that big an advantage over us.

snowgal · 18-07-2019 12:13am

RoyalCelt wrote: »

Did mayo play in Croker at all last year? They'd one match there this year.

Sunday will be Meath's 4th time in Croker this year. I don't think Mayo have that big an advantage over us.

What am I missing in my head? Laois, Dublin, Donegal,???
But yea I agree, don’t think they’ve an advantage over us in that regard...

Sonny678 · 18-07-2019 1:40am

RoyalCelt wrote:

Did mayo play in Croker at all last year? They'd one match there this year.

RoyalCelt wrote:

Sunday will be Meath's 4th time in Croker this year. I don't think Mayo have that big an advantage over us.

I think we can win on Sunday. It will be tough coz u expect a Mayo backlash but we do have a chance . But Croke Park is an advantage for Mayo. If it was in Navan we would have an even better chance. Even Castlebar wud be better then Croker as Mayo have dreadful record in Castlebar. But after Dublin they have best record in the country in Croker recently.

In this decade they have won multiple All Ireland quater finals and 4 All Ireland semi finals and played in 5 All Ireland finals in Croker and recently won div 1 league title in Cro. They have beaten Dublin kerry Donegal Tyrone and Roscommon and all top teams in Croker in this decade . This Mayo team have probaly won up to 15 matchs in Croker , while this Meath team has won 1 match in Croker.

Meaths record in Croker in league and championship since 2010

]In 2010 We beat laois in Croker
In 2010 We beat Dublin in Croker
In 2010 We beat louth in Croker
In 2012 We beat kildare in Croker
In 2013 We beat Wexford in Croker
In 2014 We beat kildare in Croker
In 2019 We beat laois in Croker

We have only won once in Croker in 5 years. We have a recent poor record in Croker. Prior to 2010 we had excellent record in Croker one of the best in the Country for decades. Prior to 2010 Mayo had dreadful record in Croker. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s and up to 1989 Mayo didnt win a championship match in Croke Park for 38 years. Then they beat Donegal in 1989 semi final. They had awful hammerings by Cork in early 90s in Croker. They won 2 times in 90s in Croker v kerry in 96 and Offaly in 97. They won league title in 1970 and 2001 in Croker. But since they beat Dublin for first time ever in 2004 Mayos record has improved dramatically in Croker. Only Dublin have a better recent record in Croker then Mayo. It is an advantage to them but we still have a real chance of victory.[/quote]

rpurfield · 18-07-2019 10:58am

Happy4all wrote: »

You peaked against Dublin?

Don't actually read the content of the post to make a cheap point. Good chap

RoyalCelt · 18-07-2019 12:43pm

snowgal wrote: »

What am I missing in my head? Laois, Dublin, Donegal,???
But yea I agree, don’t think they’ve an advantage over us in that regard...

The 4th will be mayo on Sunday

snowgal · 18-07-2019 12:54pm

RoyalCelt wrote: »

The 4th will be mayo on Sunday

duh!! If I just read it correctly!!

seligehgit · 19-07-2019 5:27pm

I think we can win on Sunday. It will be tough coz u expect a Mayo backlash but we do have a chance . But Croke Park is an advantage for Mayo. If it was in Navan we would have an even better chance. Even Castlebar wud be better then Croker as Mayo have dreadful record in Castlebar. But after Dublin they have best record in the country in Croker recently.

In this decade they have won multiple All Ireland quater finals and 4 All Ireland semi finals and played in 5 All Ireland finals in Croker and recently won div 1 league title in Cro. They have beaten Dublin kerry Donegal Tyrone and Roscommon and all top teams in Croker in this decade . This Mayo team have probaly won up to 15 matchs in Croker , while this Meath team has won 1 match in Croker.

Meaths record in Croker in league and championship since 2010

]In 2010 We beat laois in Croker
In 2010 We beat Dublin in Croker
In 2010 We beat louth in Croker
In 2012 We beat kildare in Croker
In 2013 We beat Wexford in Croker
In 2014 We beat kildare in Croker
In 2019 We beat laois in Croker

We have only won once in Croker in 5 years. We have a recent poor record in Croker. Prior to 2010 we had excellent record in Croker one of the best in the Country for decades. Prior to 2010 Mayo had dreadful record in Croker. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s and up to 1989 Mayo didnt win a championship match in Croke Park for 38 years. Then they beat Donegal in 1989 semi final. They had awful hammerings by Cork in early 90s in Croker. They won 2 times in 90s in Croker v kerry in 96 and Offaly in 97. They won league title in 1970 and 2001 in Croker. But since they beat Dublin for first time ever in 2004 Mayos record has improved dramatically in Croker. Only Dublin have a better recent record in Croker then Mayo. It is an advantage to them but we still have a real chance of victory.

Tyrone.:)

Your posts are a joy to behold on the forum,the depth of your GAA knowledge makes me think you should be a GAA correspondent (sports journalist) for a national newspaper.

Sonny678 · 19-07-2019 10:46pm

seligehgit wrote:

Your posts are a joy to behold on the forum,the depth of your GAA knowledge makes me think you should be a GAA correspondent (sports journalist) for a national newspaper.

Thanks for ur comments Seligehgit. Thats sounds like a dream job writing about gaa matters for living. But how wud u go about it. Id say u wud need a journalist degree for to work in that field. And I am bit to biased about Meath. But thanks for the comments. I appreciate it.

I might sound very positive about Meath. The truth is since Boylan left I have been very pessimistic about Meath football. With the exception of start of 2008 ( coz we reached semi final in 07 ) , start of 2010 ( coz we reached semi final in 09 ) and start of 2014 ( coz we were promoted and played well v Dubs in 2013 ) , at the start of all those years, I was optimistic for Meath football. They were all false dawns. All the other years I was very pessimistic and felt Meath football was in a pretty poor place.

But since McEntee became manager I feel Meath r definatly going in the right direction, I felt McEntee had the CV to be good inter county manager . And post Boylan era ( 2006 to 2016 ) of changing managers and other issues is over. I feel with the work being done at underage and even in the last 12 months that has gone up level under Seamus kenny . Kenny who is following the Dublin blueprint for sucess at underage , I feel Meath will continue to be strong at underage in 2020s and this will really benefit the senior team.

We will have ups and downs but overall I feel there is evidence to suggest that 2020s will be much more sucessful era for Meath football then this decade. Time will tell. But this is first time since Boylan left that I feel Meath are slowly coming back to being a proper division 1 team county. Time will tell. And next years division 1 campaign cud be the defining moment for this generation of Meath footballers . Stay in divsion 1 and Monaghan Donegal and Galway have shown how staying in divsion 1 for couple of years is transformational for a county. Next spring is pivotal. Stay in divsion 1 and that could be the real turning point for Meath football . If we yo yo up and down the divisions. Promotion to div 1 one season, relegated next season to div 2. The teams development will be at a certain level and be limited to certain level. The best example is Monaghan and Mayo.
Monaghan have been in divsion 1 since 2014 , 5 years. In those 5 years they have won 2 Ulster titles and reached All Ireland semi final and became a permanent top 6 team. Mayo are the longest county in div 1. Mayo are 23 years in division 1. Mayo in that time have reached 7 All Ireland senior finals. Only kerry have played in more All Ireland finals in that period. Its linked. Sucess in championship to permancey in div 1. So next spring is massive for Meath football .

westsidestory · 20-07-2019 9:56am

Sonny678 wrote: »

Players like Cillian Sullivan Gavin Mcoy Seamus lavin are improving all season long. No one predicted Meath would win promotion or reach super 8 at the start of the year. If anything many people were predicting Meath would be relegated to div 3. Tomas O Se at the start of the year predicted Meath would be relegated div 3. He admitted on Sunday he was very surprised how Meath played they played very good v second or third best team in the country double Ulster champions for third time this year. The second or third best team in the country have struggled to beat Meath on 3 different occasions this year, and so did All Ireland finalist Tyrone last year were very lucky to beat Meath

It was obvious at the start of the year that there would be a big improvement in Meath this year and they would get promoted. But people ignored this and just concentrated on the loss to longford last year and not the brilliant performance v Tyrone. The same way it obvious Meath young players and team.are improving and getting better and its obvious Meath will continue on this upward trajectory for next 2 years at least after this year. But people are just concentating on 4 points v Dublin. Not that Meath kept Dublin to their lowest score in championship in the first half in 8 years since Dublin played McGuiness Donegal in 2011. Meath have had after Dublin, one of best full back lines in this years championship. Look at how for 55 mins how well lavin McGill Gallagher did against Mannion Costello Callaghan. It wasnt til 55 min and Meath tired and game was over that Dublin forwards start to shine. Meath have one best defenders in.the country Donal keoghan and one best full backs in Conor McGill. And playing v Clifford Murphy kilkenny Mcmanus in next 10 games will bring on.this young Meath defence further. With players returning maybe up 8 or 9 including Meath best forward eg Donal lenihan and more young talent coming thru. And players peaking. As I said Meath are. improving even at the present time and this will continue for next 12 to 24 months.

Some very interesting reading there Sonny, good to get a handle on where you see Meath are at and future prospects. How do you summarise the championship game v Offaly where media said Offaly should've/could've won?

Rock Lesnar · 20-07-2019 12:41pm

While i agree with Sonny about us improving over the next few years and about McCoy and Lavin improving as this season has gone on, i cant agree with him about Cillian O'Sullivan, iv'e watched him closely this year and find he starts brightly then fades out of the games as they go on, drifting out to the sideline and back towards the defence to positions where he cant influence the game when needed, we need him to step up tomorrow, along with finding a way to get Conlon involved more, the forwards in general need to take the chances that fall their way, need to get more scores on the board

Sonny678 · 20-07-2019 3:23pm

Rock Lesnar wrote:

While i agree with Sonny about us improving over the next few years and about McCoy and Lavin improving as this season has gone on, i cant agree with him about Cillian O'Sullivan, iv'e watched him closely this year and find he starts brightly then fades out of the games as they go on, drifting out to the sideline and back towards the defence to positions where he cant influence the game when needed, we need him to step up tomorrow, along with finding a way to get Conlon involved more, the forwards in general need to take the chances that fall their way, need to get more scores on the board

I understand what u say about Sullivan. He has not had a great championship. He was poor v Clare. But I did think he did play well v Donegal. He had a good league but his form dipped since Fermanagh game. He does need to learn how to control games better and not lose ball. But over the years when he has played well , Meath usually play well. Over the years when I have seen play well he has looked a class act. He has pace and vision. And he has put in some serious performances in the green and gold. I remeber when we beat Galway in the league in Navan in 2017 he was the best player on the field. But he has been inconsistent. And I think like allot of our players when they come up against blanket defences, zonal defences and sweepers he can lose ball. But I think like allot of our players he is gettinf physically stronger. He is 25 so he sud peak in the next 2 to 3 years. He does need to cut out some bad habits . And yes he has had poor championship after a good league. But he is player with huge potential and can become an important player for us. And in the last few years has been an important player for us. And also it must be said the opposition do try and take him out of the game allot. The opposition see him as a threat and with Reilly gone from the team he is the player who gets very closely marked on the half forward line.

Sonny678 · 20-07-2019 4:08pm

westsidestory wrote:

Some very interesting reading there Sonny, good to get a handle on where you see Meath are at and future prospects. How do you summarise the championship game v Offaly where media said Offaly should've/could've won?

Just about Offaly game I will put in point form.

1 Meath form has dipped since the league. Meath had to peak twice this year.It is very hard for division 2 team who win promotion to have a good championship. Roscommon and Cavan were promoted from div 2 last year they had a poor championship, and Galway in 2017 were promoted from div 2 and had a poor championship. They were hammered by Roscommon in Connacht and were very poor v kerry in Croker in 2017. Kildare were promoted in 2017 also but their championship was not great eitheir. They were excellent v us , but while they had some good moves v Dublin, the game was over by half time. And they were poor when Armagh knocked them out of the championship. All the last few teams who were promoted from div 2 had poor championships afterwards. They had to peak twice in the season , one peak for league another peak for championship. They all failed and their form dipped for the championship. Meath have had that problem. Their form dipped in championship starting with Offaly game. But overall Meaths performance have been better then Roscommon or Cavan championship performances last year and other div 2 teams who were promoted who also struggled in the following championship. Meath form has dipped but hopefully it can peak again for Super 8. I actually think Meaths championship has been the best of the promoted div 2 teams in recent years. Teams who were promoted in the spring and then had a poor championship in the summer.

2 Everyone thought Meath were going to hammer Offaly. We underestimated Offaly . We thought they were nearly relegated to div 4 there was form was poor. We wud beat them easily. Offaly actually lost allot of their games by a point or two. And Offaly won 2 challenge before they played Meath by beating two teams from div 2 in the weeks before the Meath game. Offaly were coming into form.

3 Offaly in the last few years their form has been poor. This was their best performance in leinster in years. Maughan has a role here. He did excellent jobs at Mayo and Clare in the past . And he had impact at Offaly this year. Offaly after losing to Meath had a good run in the qualifiers they played very well and came close to reaching the Super 8s. Offaly have good players and the return of excellent Niall McNamee

3 Meath looked flat , the crowd were flat. People expected Meath to hammer Offaly and when Offaly actually played really well it took team and everyone by surprise.

4 Offaly would have no fear of Meath. They have a great tradition. The wins in 1997 and 2000 against great Meath team was mentioned allot in the week beforehand. And death of late Eugene McGee their greatest ever manager a beforehand , Offaly were up for this.

5 Maughan would love to beat Meath. He never stops talking about 96 he said he still thinks about it every day. Playing Meath is personal for Maughan. Game v Offaly was similar to 96. Offaly played best football like Mayo did in 96 for first 50 mins but Meath finished strongly.

6 Offaly would have seen kildare and particularly Westmeath and Longford beat Meath in leinster championship in recent years. This would have given them confidence. Meath record in leinster in last 3 years before this year was dreadful lost to Westmeath in 2015 , hammered by Dublin in 2016 and kildare in 2017. Meath form was poor in leinster in recent years and only this year they won 3 games in leinster the first time since 2010.

7 And finally it was really important win for Meath. We needed to get leinster final. And in any other year In 2015 2016 2017 and 2018 we wud have lost that game. Longford was very similar game and we lost it in 2018. But Meath have improved greatly this year. And they didnt play well and yet showed real nerve and strong character to win against the odds v Offaly. We wouldnt have done that last year or any year since 2010.

8 And of course Offaly were excellent. They really through the kitchen sink at Meath. Offalys midfield was excellent and Meath had problems with kickouts at start of second half. Overall Offaly had a good championship. And I wouldnt be surprised to see Offaly promoted to div 2 next year. With excellent Cian Johnston from under 20s I think Offaly will improve. It would be great to see Offaly back. One of leinsters great football counties.

RugbyLover123 · 21-07-2019 1:38pm

Incredibly frustrating first half. Almost a mirror image of Donegal game. Defence has been great, but we are embarrassingly wasteful in possession. What’s the obsession with passing it to someone who is under pressure themselves? Newman has been very poor. Just as I type this Conlon naively losses possession again and Mayo go straight on the attack. Hopefully Newman going off will be a blessing in disguise.

Obrieski · 21-07-2019 1:52pm

Well in this.
Need to get a bit more shape in our forwards and we will come close.
Defence doing well but can't rely on heroic blocks the whole way through.

Come on lads, we're more than capable!

This is it · 21-07-2019 1:55pm

Should be up by a few to be honest, hoping we aren't as wasteful in the 2nd. First time bringing the young fella, enjoying it so far!

dobman88 · 21-07-2019 2:29pm

Mayo were there for the taking. Meath kicking absolutely shocking again. And I wont even start on the goalkeeper. You wouldnt see his like in Junior B

Jamemid · 21-07-2019 2:31pm

dobman88 wrote: »

Mayo were there for the taking. Meath kicking absolutely shocking again. And I wont even start on the goalkeeper. You wouldnt see his like in Junior B

Every game colgan is costing us a minimum of 4-5 pints

Jamemid · 21-07-2019 2:31pm

dobman88 wrote: »

Mayo were there for the taking. Meath kicking absolutely shocking again. And I wont even start on the goalkeeper. You wouldnt see his like in Junior B

Every game colgan is costing us a minimum of 4-5 pints

dobman88 · 21-07-2019 2:44pm

dobman88 wrote: »

Mayo were there for the taking. Meath kicking absolutely shocking again. And I wont even start on the goalkeeper. You wouldnt see his like in Junior B

:pac:

Can safely say if the keeper on my team did that he would never live it down. Shocking stuff

RugbyLover123 · 21-07-2019 2:49pm

We are so naive in possession at times it’s ridiculous. Passing to players who are under pressure, aimless kick passing and taking ridiculous pot shots.

I find it hard to believe Andy is not telling the lads to stop taking aimless shots of goal but it was the same today as was against Dublin.

Ultimately we aren’t fit enough to compete at this level yet but it will come.

Colgan simply has to go. As someone said he’s costing us 4/5 points a game and Mayos momentum today all started from a lost kick out, just like against Donegal.

I also find it hard to believe there isn’t a better inside forward in the county then Conlon. He’s been awful in the last 2 games.

COS direct running is great but needs to happen more often.

Dead rubber next week but a chance to put in a statement against a Kerry team who’ll be playing for something. Good years for McGill, Lavin, Keoghan, JMcE. This post may be negative but looking forward to seeing this Meath team going forward.

Hammer Archer · 21-07-2019 3:01pm

I’ll defend Colgan slightly. Yes, the goal came from a bad kickout, but the defending after the kickout was shocking. McLoughlin simply sauntered into the box unnoticed and wasn’t tracked. His kickouts were decent enough up to then.

Forwards again killed us. O’Sullivan’s sitter would have put us 3 up with less than 20 to go. Mayo went up the other end and bought a free. Think we only got 3 more points after that.
Baptism of fire for us. Have played well for 60 minutes in both games but have lost both by 9. At least the players know the work they need to put in over the winter if they are to have any chance of staying up. And again, every effort needs to be made to get players back!
Hopefully a big crowd next week. It’s been an excellent season regardless of the last two results.

RugbyLover123 · 21-07-2019 3:08pm

Hammer Archer wrote: »

I’ll defend Colgan slightly. Yes, the goal came from a bad kickout, but the defending after the kickout was shocking. McLoughlin simply sauntered into the box unnoticed and wasn’t tracked. His kickouts were decent enough up to then.

Forwards again killed us. O’Sullivan’s sitter would have put us 3 up with less than 20 to go. Mayo went up the other end and bought a free. Think we only got 3 more points after that.
Baptism of fire for us. Have played well for 60 minutes in both games but have lost both by 9. At least the players know the work they need to put in over the winter if they are to have any chance of staying up. And again, every effort needs to be made to get players back!
Hopefully a big crowd next week. It’s been an excellent season regardless of the last two results.

Kick outs were dreadful against Dublin & Donegal and off the top of my head I can think of 2 he gave away today and a third one that almost went out only for inches by Keoghan keeping it in when it was not necessary to go that wide.

Would love to see Wallace rediscover his form from 2013 and come back in. What’s his story? Himself and Lenihan inside with COS playing off them could be decent. If Rooney could come back in and play a full league campaign and get up to speed he’d be a great option in the middle of the park!

Anyway, excellent season as you said.

rpurfield · 21-07-2019 5:54pm

We're not as fit or conditioned as other teams at this level, it's something that doesn't come in one year. I'm really frustrated with today as I believe we didn't play as well as last week and left it behind us today as Mayo weren't great. They did seem to be able to win frees a lot handier than us too. I don't believe Colgan is a bad keeper but we need to work on the kick out strategy as a whole. It's costing us too dearly, at least 2-2 came from them today. You can blame Colgan but if lads don't move or make space he can't hit them safely.

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