Meath 1-13 Limerick 2-9:IT WAS very much a case of third time lucky as Meath gained a first football championship success over Limerick in the last of the All-Ireland fourth-round qualifiers at Portlaoise's O'Moore Park on Saturday evening, Having lost in the previous two clashes over 120 years apart, the bogey was laid to rest, but Limerick, as in the Munster final against Cork, were left with nagging regrets.
The main talking point after the final whistle was the decision by Armagh referee Pádraig Hughes to whistle up Stephen Lucey for overcarrying in the closing seconds when an equaliser and extra-time looked a strong possibility.
The Royal County side appeared to be cruising to a quarter-final tilt with Mayo when leading by five points (1-12 to 1-7) with a quarter of an hour to go before a scrambled goal by Jim O’Donovan threw the tie open.
Although Meath hung on for the last-eight place, the win was secured at a price as team captain Stephen Bray was dismissed on a straight red card on 66 minutes following an off-the-ball incident and will miss next Sunday’s match.
Meath manager Eamonn O’Brien was relieved to see his side pass their first serious examination in the qualifiers. “The second goal put us under a lot of pressure and we were lucky to fall over the winning line,” he remarked.
“We showed a lot of character, we didn’t panic and I hope we deserved to go through. I didn’t see the incident which led to the sending-off but that’s what referees are for.”
O’Brien’s counterpart, Mickey Ned O’Sullivan, said the defeat was even more frustrating than losing the Munster final. “We may have won a lot of respect but respect does not keep the pot boiling,” he said.
“The break after the Munster final seemed to affect us as it took us 20 minutes to get to the pace of the game. Meath found scores easier to come by and that was the difference,” said O’Sullivan, who was reluctant to comment on the decision at the end but was obviously unhappy about the refereeing.
The fact that Stephen Bray fired over four points from play, three in the first half, makes his imminent suspension all the more distressing for Meath. Cian Ward’s goal after 12 minutes was another crucial score for the Leinster side.
Two Ward points, a free and 45, put them into the lead and the full forward ran on to a Séamus Kenny’s delivery to send a ground shot to the net to leave the scoreboard reading 1-2 to 0-2.
The advantage was increased to five points, courtesy of a Bray brace, before Stephen Kelly raised Limerick’s first flag from play. Kelly started at left corner forward but adopted a deep role.
While he struck three points from play as well as converting a free, his direct opponent, Chris O’Connor, made a personal contribution of two fine points to add to three in the first qualifier outing against Waterford.
It was 1-6 to 0-5 at the break and points from Peadar Byrne (two, one of which could have been a goal), Brian Farrell and O’Connor stretched Meath’s lead to six 10 minutes after the restart.
At that stage Meath fans must have been thinking of a return to Croke Park but they had some anxious moments ahead. When Limerick captain Seamie Buckley fired to the right corner of the net on 48 minutes, Meath were able to respond with Bray and O’Connor leaving it a five-point game.
However, with John Galvin, Lucey and Kelly spearheading the revival, Limerick were not finished. Kelly’s 45 was touched into the net by O’Donovan, who did not start because of an injury, to set up a tense finish. A Caoimhin King punched point was Meath’s only score in the last 15 minutes but it sufficed to ensure victory.
“The effort given by everyone has been fantastic and we will be there with a good shot against anyone,” concluded O’Brien.
MEATH: 1 P O’Rourke; 2 C O’Connor (0-2), 3 A Moyles, 4 E Harrington; 5 S Kenny, 6 C McGuinness, 7 C King (0-1); 8 N Crawford, 9 B Meade; 10 P Byrne (0-2), 11 J Sheridan, 12 S Bray (0-4); 13 D Bray (0-1), 15 C Ward (1-2, one free, one 45), 14 B Farrell (0-1). Subs: 22 M Burke for Byrne (58 mins), 21 B Regan for Farrell (67 mins).
LIMERICK: 1 S Kiely; 2 J McCarthy, 3 S Gallagher, 4 M O’Riordan; 5 S Lavin, 6 S Lucey, 7 P Banahan; 18 J Stokes, 9 J Galvin; 10 P Browne, 15 I Ryan (0-3, two frees), 12 S Buckley (1-0); 13 G Collins (0-2, frees), 11 C Joyce-Power, 14 S Kelly (0-4, three frees). Subs: 8 J O’Donovan (1-0) for Stokes (41 mins), 27 J Mullane for Browne (54 mins), 26 B O’Brien for Joyce-Power (62 mins), 19 E Hogan for Buckley (67 mins).
YELLOW CARDS: Meath: S Bray (20 mins), Byrne (24 mins), Ward (28 mins), Kenny (47 mins); Limerick: Collins (44 mins), Lucey (56 mins), Kiely, O’Riordan (66 mins). RED CARDS: Meath: S Bray (66 mins); Limerick: None. Attendance : 7,300.
Referee: Pádraig Hughes (Armagh).
