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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Meath masterclass denies Kerry automatic All-Ireland quarter-final spot
MEATH 1-22 KERRY 0-16 Kerry have missed out an automatic All-Ireland quarter-final spot after a commanding Meath performance in Glenisk O'Connor Park this afternoon, their first championship win over them since the 2001 All-Ireland semi-final. Jack O'Connor's side will return to action in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final at home next weekend but on the basis of this abject display and their injury list it is far from a certain win. Watched by a 8,265 crowd in Tullamore, Kerry were put to the sword with a Bryan Menton goal in the 57th minute. However, the signs were ominous for The Kingdom before that as Meath jumped into a seven-point lead with a couple of two-pointers. Meath's chances had been dismissed on a sports show on national radio on Friday night to the point that the game hardly previewed. Losing Matthew Costello and then James Conlon before throw-in, it appeared their chances had dimmed but the likes of Conor Duke and Ruairí Kinsella had other ideas. Kerry, who themselves were minus Seán O'Shea to compound their problems, were within two points midway through the second half when Kinsella brought his tally to three points. For the second time in the game, Shane Ryan was called on to stop Cathal Hickey and then Seán Coffey kicked the parried shot wide. Kerry's David Clifford with Meath's Seán Rafferty and Seán Coffey. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon. However, Kinsella and Duke booted two-pointers before Menton had the space to turn and beat Ryan for his first goal concession in the championship and Meath were through to the last eight on the back of a display that contrasted remarkably with their 15-point loss to Kerry in Navan 12 months ago. The first half was largely decided by kick-outs. When Ryan kicked them, Kerry couldn't hold them and when it was Billy Hogan's turn Meath struggled to retain. Ryan restarted 16 times to Hogan's 11 and Meath were so good in spoiling his strikes to the middle and picking up the pieces. Kerry's work-rate was in the dock at half-time. Depleted or not, eight points was a dreadful return and the concession of 13 points against a Division 2 side was a heavy toll. Meath led 0-3 to no score after eight minutes, Ryan had also kept out an Adam O'Neill shot, and it wasn't until the 11th minute that Kerry were up and running. Micheál Burns's point was the first of four in a row for the Munster champions including a David Clifford two-pointer. Meath struck back with a brace to level the game in the 17th minute. Kerry cancelled them out with Killian Spillane and Dylan Geaney scores but the latter of them in the 20th minute was his team's last for 14 minutes. What followed was a Meath onslaught of eight unanswered points, four of them from Eoghan Frayne and Ruairí Kinsella two-pointers. Kerry simply couldn't get the ball out of their half. Any aerial ball Mark O'Shea and Joe O'Connor were getting their hands on were being moped up by Meath men. A Clifford free, won by the Fossa man, ended that barrage in the 34th minute. However, Meath notched another score before the break when Frayne punished a three-up violation. Scorers for Meath: E. Frayne (3 frees, 1tp), C. Duke (1 tp), R. Kinsella (2 tps) (0-5 each); B. Menton (1-0); J. Morris (0-2, 1 free); K. Curtis, B. Hogan (45), D. Keogan, S. Coffey, C. Caulfield (0-1 each). Scorers for Kerry: D. Clifford (0-5, 1 tp, 1 free); D. Geaney (0-4); K. Spillane (0-3, 1 free); T. Brosnan (0-2); M. Burns, P. Murphy (0-1 each). MEATH: B. Hogan; S. Lavin, S. Rafferty, R. Ryan; D. Keogan, S. Coffey, C. Caulfield; B. Menton, A. O'Neill; C. Duke, R. Kinsella, C. Hickey; J. Morris, E. Frayne (c), K. Curtis. Subs: C. McBride for A. O'Neill (h-t); E. Harkin for C. Hickey (54); S. Walsh for E. Frayne (59); J. McEntee for R. Kinsella (68); D. Moriarty for S. Rafferty (68). Black card: C. Hickey (36-46). KERRY: S. Ryan; J. Foley, P. Murphy, T. O'Sullivan; T. Morley, M. Breen, G. White (c); J. O'Connor, M. O'Shea; G. O'Sullivan, T. Brosnan, M. Burns; D. Clifford, K. Spillane, D. Geaney. Subs: D. Casey for M. Breen, R. Murphy for M. Burns (both 48); S. O'Brien for M. O'Shea, C. Geaney for G. O'Sullivan (both 58); D. Moynihan for K. Spillane (66). Referee: J. McQuillan (Cavan).
Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Meath take their time but eventually come good against Cork
All-Ireland SFC Round One: Meath 1-13 Cork 0-12 It took Meath quite a while to eradicate the Leinster final defeat by Louth from their system but once they achieved that they showed their superiority on their way to a crucial opening win in Group 2 of the All-Ireland SFC at Páirc Tailteann. The Royals struggled for long spells, particularly in the opening half when playing with the elements in their favour and only managed two points in the first 20 minutes, both from placed balls. However they finished the half strongly and turned a three-point deficit into a 1-5 to 0-5 lead by half-time. Boosted by a two-pointer from midfielder Colm O'Callaghan, Cork were back level within four minutes of the restart and with the strong wind and driving rain at their backs they left themselves perfectly positioned for victory. Their challenge fizzled out after that though as Meath dug deep and showed great resolve to regain control of proceedings to the finish. This wasn't a game for the purist and the fare on offer was mediocre at best for long spells but the hosts were the classier of the teams and found it much easier to contain a Cork attack which failed to operate with the same fluency that took Kerry to extra-time in the Munster semi-final. READ MORE Four successive points, from Chris Óg Jones (three) and Mark Cronin in a six minute spell boosted the Leesiders to a 0-5 to 0-2 lead after 26 minutes. Meath's Ruairí Kinsella celebrates in the final moments of the game. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Meath, who had tallied seven wides by that stage and looked completely out of sorts, edged closer with a fine score from Mathew Costello before Jordan Morris provided the spark the game needed on the half-hour mark. Morris took a pass from Ciaran Caulfield and went past a couple of defenders before finishing with aplomb to the Cork net. Costello and Eoghan Frayne then added points to leave Meath three in front at the break. That advantage was wiped out soon after the restart but crucially Cork failed to get in front again, and with Costello and James Conlon prominent in attack and Bryan Menton winning vital possession at midfield, Meath regained their three-point interval advantage by the 49th minute. Cork did manage to reduce the deficit to the minimum following Jones' fourth point, but it was Meath who finished the stronger as Costello took his tally of points to five and Conlon added another. MEATH: B Hogan (0-0-1, 1 '45); S Lavin, S Rafferty, R Ryan; D Keogan, S Coffey (0-0-1), C Caulfield; J Flynn, B Menton; C Duke, R Kinsella, M Costello (0-0-5,1f); J Morris (1-0-1), J Conlon (0-0-2), E Frayne (0-0-3, 3f). Subs: A O'Neill for Flynn (45 mins), K Curtis for Frayne (45), C Hickey for Duke (49), S Walsh for Conlon (63). CORK: M Martin; S Meehan, D O'Mahony, M Shanley; B O'Driscoll, E McSweeney, M Taylor (0-0-1); I Maguire, C O'Callaghan (0-1-0); P Walsh, S Powter, S McDonnell; M Cronin (0-1-2, 2f) C O'Mahony, C Óg Jones (0-0-4). Subs: R Deane (0-0-1) for Powter (49 mins), R Maguire for McSweeney (49), E O'Hanlon for C O'Mahony (56), C Cahalane for Walsh (62), L Fahy for Taylor ((63), H O'Connor for Cronin (68). Referee: N Mooney (Cavan).
Irish Independent
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Royals end Dublin's stranglehold on Leinster
Leinster Senior Football Championship Semi-final Meath 0-23 Dublin 1-16 Meath players including Ruairí Kinsella, 11, celebrate as the final whistle is blown at the end of the Leinster Senior Football Championship semi-final at Laois Hire O'Moore Park in Portlaoise, on Sunday evening. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile However, the Royal County made have achieved an even greater feat by administrating the kiss of life to an ailing provincial championship that has been in sharp decline by the predictability of it all. Dublin's dominance had become as monotonous as Willie Mullins winners at the Cheltenham Festival in recent years. That was borne out by the attendance at Sunday's match where just 10,126 witnessed the shock of the championship season so far, probably the smallest attendance for a clash between these great rivals of the modern era. It was difficult to know which was the more satisfying, Meath finally dethroning Dublin or the prospect of a Leinster final clash with neighbours Louth. No doubt 2010 will be revisited many times in the build up to the final but this pairing will breathe new life into the final and should create quite a buzz in the north east over the next week or two. It will also set the turnstiles' ticking again, something that hasn't happened in the province for quite a while. Dublin had knocked their near neighbours out of contention on nine different occasions since Meath last recorded a victory when putting five goals past Stephen Cluxton in the 2010 semi-final. When the counties clashed at the quarter final stage 12 months ago Dublin had 16 points to spare at the final whistle. And with so many regulars having departed the scene since then it was expected that Meath would at least be competitive this time around with Dublin out of Croke Park and at their most vulnerable for quite a while. The attendance figure was some indication that few saw this shock coming down the tracks. However, from the very early stages an upset was very much on the cards as Meath were winning the majority of the battles all over the pitch. The recalled Stephen Cluxton was forced to kick long and Meath swarmed all over their opponents in the middle third with Mathew Costello, Bryan Menton, Donal Keogan, Ciaran Caulfield and Sean Coffey all immense. It ensured a monopoly of possession and with the advantage of the stiff breeze they set about dismantling a surprisingly subdued Dublin in clinical fashion. Meath sparkled throughout that opening 35 minutes kicking some great scores in the process as they built up a 0-17 to 0-5 lead. It was vintage stuff at times as they raced into a 0-6 to 0-0 lead inside 10 minutes following a two-pointer from Eoghan Frayne. Dublin didn't quite know what had hit them. The Meath captain had accounted for two earlier scores while James Conlon was beginning to look pretty elusive in attack. The St Colmcille's man ended the half with four points while Keith Curtis found the range with an early point and then added a brilliant two-pointer, a score that left Meath leading 0-11 to 0-3. Dublin had to wait until the 12th minute for Con O'Callaghan to open their account and he fisted a second point a minute later. However Frayne was unerring from frees and added a two-pointer that left it 0-14 to 0-3 after 26 minutes. Then just when it was needed Bryan Menton hit another monster of a score, a two-pointer, and Conlon added to that, leaving Meath 13 clear. Lorcan O'Dell went close to finding the net for Dublin before half-time but his effort was parried by Billy Hogan and Seamus Lavin collected it on the goal line. Dublin had to settle for a point from an O'Callaghan free on the stroke of half-time. Dublin introduced the experienced Cormac Costello at the start of the second half and within 18 seconds they had picked off a two-pointer courtesy of O'Callaghan. That score should have galvanised the Dubs but by that stage Meath were dug into the trenches and weren't about to relent without a mighty battle. Costello added potency to the Dublin attack throughout the half and the holders were especially threatening on the counter attack. Three points from Frayne (two frees) and another from Conlon proved crucial in that third quarter for Meath to remain a safe distance ahead. However when Costello struck for a goal following fine work from O'Callaghan it left it 0-21 to 1-12 on 54 minutes. Paddy Small added his fifth point before O'Callaghan was again the instigator setting up Costello for another goal chance but this time keeper Billy Hogan advanced to make a crucial block. A fisted point from O'Callaghan and a two-pointer from Colm Basquel reduced the deficit to just two points and one wondered if Meath's earlier exertions were beginning to catch up with them. Basquel then drove a two-point effort wide and Meath responded at the other end with a point from sub Aaron Lynch. Wild scenes of celebration were already in motion along the sideline and among the supporters by the time captain Frayne drove a free between the posts after the hooter had sounded. Meath: Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Brian O'Halloran; Donal Keogan, Sean Coffey, Ciaran Caulfield; Mathew Costello 0-1, Bryan Menton 0-2 ( 1 2p); Conor Duke, Ruairi Kinsella, Adam O'Neill; Keith Curtis 0-3 (1 2pt); James Conlon 0-5, Eoghan Frayne 0-11 (5f, 1 2ptf, 1 2pt). Subs: Aaron Lynch 0-1 for Curtis (50), Shane Walsh for Kinsella (53), Ronan Jones for Duke (55), Cathal Hickey for O'Neill (58), Ronan Ryan for Rafferty (61). Dublin: Stephen Cluxton; David Byrne, Theo Clancy, Conor Tyrell; Brian Howard, John Small, Tom Lahiff; Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne, Ciaran Kilkenny; Niall Scully, Lorcan O'Dell 0-1, Kevin Lahiff; Paddy Small 0-5, Con O'Callaghan 0-6 (2f, 1 2pt), Colm Basquel 0-3 (1 2pt). Subs: Alex Gavin for Tyrell (29), Cormac Costello 1-1 (1f) for K Lahiff (h-t), Killian McGinnis for Scully (45), Ross McGarry for O'Dell (58), Greg McEneaney for J Small (59). Referee: Kieran Eannetta (Tyrone)
