Robbie Brennan in bullish mood after leading Meath to another upset of an All-Ireland contender

The Irish Sun

7 hours ago

AFTER recording another Championship win over an All-Ireland contender, Robbie Brennan reckons his side have set the Royal standard.
Meath condemned Dublin to a first Leinster SFC defeat in 15 years back in April, only to
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Robbie Brennan was thrilled with how his players rose to the occasion
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Cathal Hickey scores a point during their 1-22 to 0-16 victory
However, their response to that disappointment has been emphatic.
A win over Cork and a draw with Roscommon assured Brennan's men of a place in the All-Ireland knockout stages with a game to spare.
And they upgraded their qualification on Saturday in Tullamore, where
Facing a six-point deficit at the interval, the Kingdom cut the gap to two approaching the end of the third quarter.
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But a Bryan Menton goal was the centrepiece of an unanswered burst of 1-5 that saw the Leinster runners-up pull clear.
Now that their team is one win away from a first All-Ireland semi-final appearance since 2009, Meath fans are salivating at the prospect of being back in the big time.
And the quality of the display that took down Kerry suggested they could be there to stay.
Brennan said: 'There's huge belief in that group and in that team.
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"I picked up on that quite early in our management, that they do back themselves and they do have belief. Those results can only help.
'It probably just backs up the Dublin performance, certainly for the public outside. Not necessarily for us, but for maybe the other noises that we're not just a flash in the pan hopefully.'
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Regardless of what transpires from here, Brennan's first season at the helm since succeeding Colm O'Rourke has been one of significant progress.
Just over 12 months ago, Meath suffered a 15-point hammering against Kerry in Navan.
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But the gaffer insisted: 'We're just taking on the work that Colm did — and all the lads. He blooded so many of these young guys and we're just nudging that forward a tiny little bit.
'Obviously it's new rules, it's a new game — who knows how that bunch would have done with different management under these new rules?
'That's all we've done. We've just tried to add it on a little bit. There's huge enthusiasm and belief in the group and you can see that when they're out there.'
INJURY UPDATES
The bonus of an extra week's break could afford Mathew Costello enough time to recover from the hamstring injury that sidelined him against Kerry.
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But James Conlon, who suffered more extensive hamstring damage in training last week, is likely to miss the rest of the campaign.
Brennan admitted: 'The two weeks is massive because you need it.
"I think it's a massive ask on players now and you can see the intensity they're having to get to and the high-speed running they're having to do.
'Turning that around in a week is very difficult. If it was next week, I don't think Matty plays. Two weeks will give him an extra chance.'
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Kerry, who will have home advantage, are set to learn their opponents for this weekend's preliminary quarter-final in this morning's draw.
KERRY VIEW
The swift return to action is set to test the Munster champions' strength in depth at a time when Paudie Clifford, Paul Geaney, Seán O'Shea, Brian Ó Beaglaioch, Barry Dan O'Sullivan and Diarmuid O'Connor are all carrying injuries.
After seeing his team fail to avail of the direct route to the last eight, Kingdom chief Jack O'Connor said: 'In many ways, we're glad to have a game next week.
"If you were two weeks thinking about that performance, it wouldn't do anyone any good.
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'That's the only road we have left now so we have to travel on that one and hope that we can lift it for next week, because we will need to lift it substantially.'
SCORERS — Meath: C Duke 0-5, 1tp, R Kinsella 0-5, 2tp, E Freyne 0-5, 2f, 1tp; B Menton 1-0; J Morris 0-2; B Hogan 0-1'45, D Keogan 0-1, S Coffey 0-1, C Caulfield 0-1, K Curtis 0-1.
Kerry: D Clifford 0-5, 1f, 1tp; D Geaney 0-4; K Spillane 0-3, 2f; T Brosnan 0-2; P Murphy 0-1, M Burns 0-1.