History caused some slight turbulence but we emerged unscathed. Yesterday marked the first occasion on which Meath and Mayo have met competitively since their celebrated showdown in the 1996 All-Ireland. The memories have outlasted the bruises and it gave Mayo pleasure incommensurate with mere league points to win in Crossmolina yesterday.
Meath will be slightly shaken by the experience. Not that losing league games in springtime is anything more than ritual sacrifice for them but since Christmas they have found scoring hard to do. Having scored six points against Down and just five against Derry they were a little giddy and ran in 2-3 in the first 15 minutes yesterday. They then failed to score again.
For their part Mayo welcomed back the enigmatic and much maligned Kieran McDonald who had mysteriously vanished in the Glengooley triangle recently. He has taken the precaution of bleaching his hair lest he be mislaid again, but his contribution to yesterday's game was less luminous. McDonald's form was much on a par with the rest of the Mayo forwards yesterday and it took the introduction of Ger Brady from Claremorris to really get the attack sparking in the second half.
In their defence Mayo will point to the chances they spurned. John Casey had a goal in the second half but he was passing up chances as early as the second minute. David Nestor, wandering with early enthusiasm, picked up a loose one and played a sublime ball into Casey's path. With the goal beckoning he chose to settle for a point.
Meath moved confidently through the first half. Ray Magee is no Trevor Giles just yet but he's already good enough to be a big player in most county teams. He got on the end of a lot of ball in the first half and only for Fergus McMahon having a difficult debut at full forward more might have been made of his industry.
Magee had a point from a free after five minutes to level things. A minute later he let Jimmy McGuinness launch a sideline ball from the left wing out of his hands. The ball steepled down into the Mayo square. Five or six hands grasped for it. Graham Geraghty got a touch to it. It fell to the net. An ugly but not undeserved goal.
Meath were enjoying some success just then with the early ball from the half-back line or midfield. McMahon was getting little change but Ollie Murphy was giving Kenneth Mortimer a good old shakedown. On 12 minutes Donal Curtis dropped a 50-yard ball into Murphy's hands and he cashed it in for a point. Minutes later Hank Traynor picked Murphy out again, lurking behind his man. This time he swung away for a goal, putting Meath seven points up.
By half-time Mayo had whittled three points off that margin and the Meath bench was beginning to drum its fingers impatiently as supply and inspiration began to evaporate in the forward line.
Mayo hardly set about their second half task with passion. Both teams concentrated early on in getting frequent views of the referees yellow card as the game grew spiteful and niggly.
It took 11 minutes for Mayo to post a score and when it came it was a Maurice Sheridan free. Five minutes later Casey was put through again and he crashed the ball off the Meath crossbar with a great attempt.
We waited for Meath to come back off the ropes and they never did. Minutes later James Horan played a free quickly into the path of James Nallen who found Casey. This time he planted it in the net.
With the teams level Brady's introduction began to look a little inspired. He put himself about generously, popped over a point in the 51st minute to give Mayo the lead and generally added some much-needed energy to the Mayo attack.
With the sheeting rain beginning to influence proceedings Meath still couldn't be brought back to full consciousness. Barry Callaghan, a second half sub, broke through once but pushed the ball wide, while at the other end Casey's fourth goal chance of the day prompted a good save from Cormac Sullivan.
Sheridan pointed a late free for Mayo and shook his fists exultantly to the crowd. Yesterday's was a sweet win which leapfrogged Mayo up the table and brought them a little measure of revenge served cold and late.
For Meath the loss might have proved more expensive had results elsewhere been different. They will ponder the players still to be reintroduced and imagine that if the teams meet again on a day when John Maughan is wearing his summer shorts things might be different.
MAYO: P Burke; K Mortimer, K Cahill, P Holmes; F Costello, A Roche, A Higgins; P Fallon, J Nallen; C McManaman, M Sheridan (0-4, all frees), J Casey (1-1); K McDonald, J Horan (0-1), D Nestor (0-1). Subs: G Brady (0-1) for Nestor 47 mins.
MEATH: C Sullivan; M O'Reilly, D Fay, C Murphy; D Curtis, H Traynor, P Reynolds; N Crawford, J McGuinness; R McGee (0-2, both frees), G Geraghty (1-0), R Kealy; E Kelly, F McMahon, O Murphy (1-1). Subs: B Callaghan for McMahon (41 mins); J Devine for McGee (51 mins); P Shankey for Kelly (60 mins).
Referee: J Bannon (Longford).
