It's been 15 years since Meath beat Dublin in football championship – Leinster semi-final might be their best chance
FIFTEEN years since we last recorded a Championship win over Dublin, the hope in Meath is that the gap separating us from the old enemy might be beginning to close.
After all, any team would be weakened considerably by losing players of the calibre of Brian Fenton, James McCarthy, Mick Fitzsimons, Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey.
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Graham Geraghty previewed the Leinster semi-final between Meath and Dublin
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It's been 15 years since Meath beat Dublin in the championship
Credit: Ray McManus / SPORTSFILE
With that in mind, every county probably sees a greater opportunity to claim a rare win over Dublin. And teams will take plenty of heart from how
Oisín McConville's side were in that game for long periods and
Looking at the Dublin team on paper, they might not be the daunting proposition they once were.
Still, any team that can field the likes of Con O'Callaghan, Ciarán Kilkenny, Seán Bugler and Brian Howard is still extremely formidable.
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While I will not be going so far as to forecast a Meath victory, this certainly seems like their best chance in quite some time of getting the better of Dublin.
But the Royals will go nowhere if they replicate their first-half performance against Offaly last time out.
Let there be no doubt whatsoever that the Dubs are still capable of blowing you out of the water before the half-time break if met with feeble resistance.
In Meath, we would obviously love to revive the rivalry that existed with Dublin in the 1980s and 90s. But the performances have to do the talking for that to finally happen. There was obviously a bit of upheaval in the Royals camp when Joe McMahon and Martin Corey left the management ticket fairly abruptly after the National League.
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What really happened there is something I am sure will come out in the wash at some stage.
I have not heard of any replacements being brought in and you cannot deny that losing two of the best coaches in the country leaves a huge void.
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Nevertheless, things seem to have settled down now on that front and the second-half performance against Offaly gave them something solid to build on.
But with several hefty beatings by Dublin including last season's 16-point hammering still fresh in the memory, Meath are going to have to be at their very best just to stay with their opponents, let alone have a chance of beating them.
Jordan Morris is an enormous loss for Meath so there will be an onus on others to step up. But Mathew Costello is a huge asset and has the attributes that could hurt Dublin.
Costello is the type of player who can change a game on his own in the space of five minutes.
Bringing more consistency to his game is now what he needs to go to the next level. This could be an ideal chance for him to prove he's ready to kick on.
Conor Duke is another player I really like. He has the ability to land two-pointers in his locker and Meath will probably need quite a few of them to stay in the game in Portlaoise.
HOME COMFORTS
Getting Dublin out of their home pitch certainly will not harm Meath's chances either. As we saw in Aughrim last time out, they are more vulnerable away from Croke Park.
This will be a great test for Meath to gauge where they stand. If they can stay with the Dubs approaching that final quarter, anything could happen thereafter. A first win over the Sky Blues since 2010 probably still seems slightly out of reach for now but we live in hope.
Tullamore hosts the other Leinster semi and having had a difficult year so far on the injury front, Louth still have a great chance of making the provincial final for the third year in a row.
Sam Mulroy's return from injury ahead of schedule is a huge shot in the arm for Ger Brennan's charges, who I fancy to edge a tight game.
While they did not shoot the lights out against Laois in the quarter-final, the Wee County were very impressive in their last NFL game as they picked up a win over Meath that ultimately kept them in Division 2.
Kildare do not belong in Division 3 so it was vital that they addressed that as quickly as possible. Their performance in the final against Offaly was hugely disappointing but they gave a great account of themselves in their Championship opener by beating a Westmeath side who I expected to have their number.
Based on where the two teams are in terms of their development, Louth probably need this win more.
After contesting an All-Ireland quarter-final last summer, missing out on another summer of Sam Maguire football would be detrimental to them.
A young Kildare team under new management have time on their side and Tailteann Cup success might be more beneficial to them for now than being beaten in a Leinster final.
In Clones last weekend, I expected Donegal's margin of victory to be wider than two points. And who knows what might have happened if Monaghan had beaten the hooter by taking that sideline ball a second or two earlier?
But they should certainly have too much today for Down, even though this is a free shot in many ways for Conor Laverty's men as they punched their ticket to the 2025 All-Ireland series by lifting the 2024 Tailteann Cup.
After Down won the last Championship meeting of the teams, it says a lot for the impact that Jim McGuinness has had on Donegal that the Mourne men are 9-1 outsiders to repeat the trick just two years later.
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