National Football League Division One B: Meath 2-12 Galway 1-12 Scenes from Páirc Tailteann yesterday were often stormy, at all times testing and not once for the faint-hearted. And that's before we even come to the football.
For that there was the addition of one remarkable transformation.
In the end it painted another reminder that Meath football is breathing hard again. Down 1-6 to no score after the opening 15 minutes, they gradually turned the game from what Galway do best to what Meath do best. Tension mounted for a short time and then Meath walked ceremoniously towards the victory.
"Well, they were two hard-earned points I can tell you," said Seán Boylan, relishing the moment as much as any in his previous 22 years as Meath manager. "We were getting an education out there early on. What I liked was the way the lads dug into it, battled hard, and tried so hard to get back on level terms. And whether we won or lost didn't matter as much as not giving in."
Galway manager John O'Mahony endured a rougher inquisition, the result of his team starting like a hurricane and finishing like an uprooted tree. Attempts to dissect this performance might be carried over into his sleep.
"So which is the real deal, is that it?" he joked. "We did have a great start, but inevitably in games like this there will be periods of dominance, and periods where you are dominated.
"But we did let them back into it, and there's no better team than Meath to take advantage of it. They battled all over the field and got a few scores, and that was it. But we're not using any excuses. Scores went against us at vital times and different things broke down for us."
So here's how it all turned so drastically: Galway hit the wet, sticky ground running and saw Pádhraic Joyce and cousin Nicholas Joyce open the free-flowing scoring. Pádhraic was likewise goal provider for Nicholas after five minutes, with Joe Bergin also contributing to the 1-6. Others, like Michael Donnellan and Kevin Walsh, were simply coasting.
Meath, in contrast, hit the wet, sticky ground and got mired. Defensively they were no match for Galway, and Boylan was soon forced into action. On 11 minutes Darren Fay was hauled from midfield to full back in a direct swap with Anthony Moyles, and at least then they started to settle.
The strong wind in Galway's favour was clearly a factor, too, yet it was on 23 minutes, just after the introduction of substitute Damien Byrne, who proved a revelation, that Meath registered their first score. And what hard work it was, starting from Moyles at midfield and passing through three players before Byrne finished. Even then no one could have predicted the change of fortune that lay in store.
By half-time Meath still trailed by six points (1-7 to 0-4), but already the tide had started to turn. Ray Magee started to show to great effect, and once full forwards Brian Farrell and Joe Sheridan started to see any decent ball the pressure was suddenly on the Galway defence.
Just 15 seconds after the restart that pressure first told, with Sheridan bursting clean through for Meath's first goal. Two points from Magee and one from Shane McKeigue followed so that Meath had levelled it, and the home crowd relished every moment.
Fay was by now his usual pillar of dominance at full back, and Moyles, who was lucky to survive the opening quarter, was quite ironically a similar force at midfield. Others like Nigel Crawford epitomised the vintage Meath determination and desire.
There was, however, a brief rally from Galway. Donnellan exchanged midfield duties with Bergin and the forwards found their range again, first substitute Matthew Clancy, then Nicholas Joyce and finally Derek Savage.
Yet that three-point margin was not enough to contain Meath. A superb free from Sheridan lifted spirits once again before Farrell got what he deserved - a defining score. Collecting a half-pass from Sheridan, the 21-year-old booted the ball past Brian O'Donoghue and with that Meath looked unbeatable.
There were some further exchanges before the close, with the score twice levelled again, but with Byrne collecting his second score, Moyles adding one spectacular point, and Sheridan twice converting frees as calm as a breeze Meath ended up the deserving winners.
Boylan admitted the opening 15 minutes were far from ideal: "And I suppose they have something of an Indian sign on us for a while now, so it was very important that when it happened, no one gave in. And instead give it to them. So I was very pleased at the way everyone just upped the ante for us."
MEATH: D Gallagher; P Reynolds, A Moyles (0-1), M O'Reilly; S Kenny, T O'Connor, H Traynor; N Crawford, D Fay; R Magee (0-3, one free), S McKeigue (0-1), A Kenny; B Farrell (1-0), N Kelly (0-1), J Sheridan (1-4, four frees). Subs: D Byrne (0-2) for Kenny (24 mins), E Kelly for N Kelly (55 mins), J Cullinane for Magee (56 mins), D Clarke for O'Connor (58 mins), B Dillon for Farrell (67 mins).
GALWAY: B O'Donoghue; C Monaghan, K Fitzgerald, M Comer; D Burke, D Mullahy, S Og de Paor; K Walsh, J Bergin (0-1); D O'Brien, P Joyce (0-4, two frees), M Donnellan; D Savage (0-1), N Joyce (1-3), T Joyce (0-1). Subs: M Clancy (0-2) for O'Brien (30 mins), D Meehan for Monaghan (43 mins), M Meehan for Bergin (60 mins), B Doohey for Mullahy (70 mins).
Referee: M Hughes (Tyrone)
