Latest news with #MathewCostello
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Meath forward Mathew Costello out to prove shock win over Dublin was no flash in the pan
After falling short of the summit in Leinster, the Meath footballers have now set themselves a new challenge to climb out of their All-Ireland round-robin group. The Royals lost all three games in the group stage of the Sam Maguire competition last summer, finishing bottom of the table and failing to progress to the knock-out stages after defeats to Louth, Kerry and Monaghan. However, this has been a season of progress so far for Meath. Forward Mathew Costello believes Robbie Brennan's side can put the disappointment of defeat to Louth in the Leinster final behind them and launch an assault on the All-Ireland series . 'First and foremost, [the aspiration now] is to get out of the group and try get ourselves to an All-Ireland quarter-final,' says Costello. READ MORE 'Obviously last year we had a pretty poor campaign in the All-Ireland, so basically it's to do better than we did last year and get ourselves out of the group.' Meath begin their round-robin campaign at home to Cork in Navan on Saturday. John Cleary's Rebels will arrive at Páirc Tailteann on the back of a hugely encouraging display against Kerry in Munster. 'I'm expecting a seriously tough contest, to be honest,' continues Costello. 'Everybody knew they were a fantastic team but Cork really showed against Kerry they have a serious skill-set. 'They're a team that are also probably on the road together now the last few years. They've experienced big days, maybe more than us, so we're expecting a big battle in Navan.' Meath's Mathew Costello battles for possession with Kieran McArdle of Louth during the Leinster SFC final. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Beyond Saturday's first-round clash, Meath will then face a trip to Roscommon before finishing off their group with a neutral venue fixture against Kerry. Meath, Cork and Roscommon were all in Division Two of the National Football League this season while Kerry finished second in Division One. Meath lost to Cork but beat Roscommon. 'It's funny, obviously a lot of the teams are in the same division in the league and we all feel we can beat each other on any given day. I think it leads to really competitive matches and that's what we're expecting over the next few weeks,' adds Costello. Meath's standout performance this season was their Leinster semi-final win over Dublin, a victory that was some 15 years in the making. There was a lot of hard training and tough nights to build us up for performances like that — Mathew Costello It ended Dublin's dominance in the province and opened up the Delaney Cup for the first time in well over a decade. 'Yeah, it was very significant but it was going to come at some stage,' says the versatile forward of that victory over the Dubs. 'And over the last four or five years that's kind of what you've been trying to tell yourself ahead of those games – that some day we're going to get a really good performance and we're going to put it up to them. 'I think it was probably one of the best games I've been a part of, I'm sure the fans loved it. I think it was brilliant that the game was brought down to Portlaoise and we were able to build a bit of an atmosphere. And from that, hopefully we can keep Leinster a very competitive provincial series now. Mathew Costello takes on Dublin's John Small during the Leinster SFC semi-final, a victory Costello insists was not a one-off. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'It does give confidence but really where the confidence comes from is the amount of work we did in the off-season, pre-season and throughout the National League. 'There was a lot of hard training and tough nights to build us up for performances like that. The Dublin game wasn't just an overnight success or a one-off. We know we've plenty of big performances to come and hopefully we can bring that to the Cork game.' [ Hurling Man shifts uneasily as football gets mysteriously entertaining Opens in new window ] [ Ciarán Murphy: Dublin's leaders prove an old lion is still a lion - and Limerick are roaring now too Opens in new window ] The defeat to Louth in the provincial final knocked some of the gloss off that win over Dublin, but Costello is taking a more global view on the Leinster decider setback. The Dunshaughlin clubman believes the experience will ultimately stand to the Meath players. 'I think it's only a positive,' he said. 'The lead-up to the game and then the actual occasion itself, like the parade and everything, was just something I'd never experienced before. 'We know full well, for the future, that's 100 per cent going to help us having gone through that. If we can ever get back to those heights, back to Croke Park, we know what it's like now. It just gives you the buzz and gives you a bit more motivation to go back and do it again. I think Louth's experience probably did shine through in the last five minutes; they held the ball really well. 'Obviously the result just didn't go our way. It just wasn't our day – it was Louth's day. They were full value for their win, so I just have to congratulate them and we move on.' Given the array of young talent in the county, there has been a mood of optimism around Meath in recent times. Costello says potential cannot be talked about endlessly – at some stage it has to be about delivering on that promise. 'The aim, basically, is to do better than you did last year,' he says. 'We are young, but you can't be young forever. We've got to be putting in performances and hopefully that will lead to results.'
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘If Meath get back to Croker and those heights we know what it's like now'
Mathew Costello is confident Meath can get over their Leinster final defeat to Louth, with a chance to bounce back against Cork in the first round of the All-Ireland championship tomorrow.
The Irish Sun
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
GAA's provincial football finals provided fans with modern miracle – let's hope it's a sign of what's to come
IT'S a miracle — the GAA's provincial football Championships are back from the dead. With four finals complete, three of them have delivered absolute stormers that will live long in the memory. 2 Croke Park was a sea of red, green and gold on Sunday 2 While Clones' St. Tiernach's Park was at its sold-out best on the Saturday The Leinster SFC was on life support last year when Dublin coasted to their 14th Delaney Cup in a row. Only 23,113 fans turned up to see them beat Louth 1-19 to 2-12 last May in a repeat of the final from the year before. Well, at Croke Park, someone finally pressed the panic button — and they should've done it years ago. Still, hail to the provincial chiefs for Read More On GAA The Sky Blues were removed from the Croker comfort zone they enjoyed for far too long and the switch came up trumps. It was up to the chasing pack to take them down. And Meath did just that in Portlaoise last month. Grown men cried as 15 years of Royal pain were washed away by Robbie Brennan's gallant players led by Mathew Costello, Eoghan Frayne, Bryan Menton and James Conlon. That 0-23 to 1-16 win blew the whole thing wide open. Louth did their bit in the other semi against Kildare. Most read in GAA Football The dream Leinster final was upon us. The annals of 2010 were dusted off, as if they needed to be. The Wee County's wounds from that awful day were not even close to healed. Louth GAA homecoming in Drogheda after Leinster final win over Meath Flashbacks of Joe Sheridan's thrown goal haunted them each night. They could have all the therapy in the world — but only one thing would banish those demons. And it all came together on A whopping 65,786 turned up to take it all in. The competition that was on its knees was jumping through the roof. The game matched the occasion, and a whopping day of drama delivered in spades — Craig Lennon's solo goal into Hill 16, Sam Mulroy's 1-7 haul and a Louth team that refused to leave Jones's Road without the trophy that had eluded them for so long. Meath will have regrets. They came so close. The Dubs will be back too — but the playing field has been levelled and the conveyor belt in the capital city has stalled enough to suggest that the Meaths, Louths and Kildares of this world can seize the day once again. UP ULSTER Ulster, meanwhile. has been in rude health for as long as we can remember. But the northern province hit fever pitch in Clones all over again on Saturday, as Extra-time, super goals, unbelievable scores and two fierce rivals in Donegal and Armagh went toe to toe. Michael Murphy's fairytale comeback was matched with a dream performance. The big man lorded the Clones skies all over again. His team prevailed but the All-Ireland champions are far from finished in their bid for back-to-back crowns. WEST'S AWAKE Over in Connacht the week before, The only province still clinging on for dear life is Munster. Kerry's Kingdom dominate, and their 4-20 to 0-21 cruise against Clare served no purpose. Sure, Cork gave them a hell of a fright in the semis, but the final was a formality as soon as Joe O'Connor lashed home that epic extra-time goal against the Rebels. Mark Keane's goal sunk the Kingdom in 2020 but they still lost the final to Tipperary on a magical night at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The pandemic had thrown normality out the window and Cork's last provincial title was in 2012. How that problem child is dealt with remains to be seen. Can Cork truly revive the rivalry? Still, at least the other three look healthy. We may enjoy this miracle while we can. Only recently the provinces were heading for the scrapheap. Calls to remove their status in the calendar and links to the All-Ireland were growing. But this turnaround has saved them for a few more years — and the new rules have played a massive part. Whatever happens next is anyone's guess there will be plenty more twists in the tale. After years of despair, football is finally giving us so much joy again.
