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Meath Minor Football championship

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Replying To ratlag: "Bit of an odd statement, bigger and stronger doesn't mean better!! I would have them as slight favourites alright, if there was betting I would say Na fianna 10/11 Ratoath 11/10. In the earlier game this year as mentioned earlier Ratoath were missing their 2 main marksmen in ahearn and Fadden which as seen in the matches since seems to be worth 5-6 points between them. The 8 point victory is a bit misleading considering Na Fianna had 2 men sent off but thats football, if it happens on Sunday and Ratoath win then its because they were the better team, and vice versa. Both teams have had very strong U17 teams (teams below this current minor group) the last 2-3 years, both competeing for Dvision 1 finals and semi finals although Na Fianna didn't field this year due to numbers I assume, which will be big boosts to the squad as it means they both have very good players on the bench as well as the pitch. I can't see this being more than a 2-3 point game at most and will tip Ratoath just about but I wouldn't rule any result out." Yes this is true but they will offer a much more physical challenge than a younger senchalstown team . I had a quick look a the Meath Minor team this year. Ratoath have 1 player ( Ahearne at no 12 ) Na Fianna Have Devine at no 3 , Martin at 11 and Walsh at 14 . I think all these played Senior this year also for their respective clubs Bear10 (Meath) - Posts: 328 - 25/10/2017 14:58:30 2057897 Link
Replying To Bear10: "Yes this is true but they will offer a much more physical challenge than a younger senchalstown team . I had a quick look a the Meath Minor team this year. Ratoath have 1 player ( Ahearne at no 12 ) Na Fianna Have Devine at no 3 , Martin at 11 and Walsh at 14 . I think all these played Senior this year also for their respective clubs" I agree that that Na Fianna are definitely a more physical team and have some quality footballers such as the lads you have mentioned, also given that they won the U17 last year does for me, even as a Ratoath man put them as slight favourites. however I do take the underage county teams in Meath with a pinch of salt!! Last years U16 Ratoath team were the Division 1 champions and only had one player on the Meath U17 pannel....and not even our best player which in my opinion was David McGowen in midfield and he has dominated this years U17 Championship in every game he has played. My point it that the number of county payers on a club team means nothing, its about how that team performs together as a unit and having seen both teams play a couple of times I don't see much between the 2 sides, Na Fianna play a string powerful game through th middle and Ratoath use pace and width to cut open teams. Two contrasting styles and will make for a great spectacle and curtain raiser for the Senior Final. ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 323 - 25/10/2017 15:24:50 2057905 Link
This will be a really good game,some really talented players on show,would expect a good quality open game,have a feeling Na Fianna will pinch it. ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 25/10/2017 16:48:17 2057939 Link
Replying To ratlag: "I agree that that Na Fianna are definitely a more physical team and have some quality footballers such as the lads you have mentioned, also given that they won the U17 last year does for me, even as a Ratoath man put them as slight favourites. however I do take the underage county teams in Meath with a pinch of salt!! Last years U16 Ratoath team were the Division 1 champions and only had one player on the Meath U17 pannel....and not even our best player which in my opinion was David McGowen in midfield and he has dominated this years U17 Championship in every game he has played. My point it that the number of county payers on a club team means nothing, its about how that team performs together as a unit and having seen both teams play a couple of times I don't see much between the 2 sides, Na Fianna play a string powerful game through th middle and Ratoath use pace and width to cut open teams. Two contrasting styles and will make for a great spectacle and curtain raiser for the Senior Final." yes I agree with you re county players at meath underage level and a lot of them don't even play senior for their club never mind county which is an awful shame . I never heard of this McGowan young fella ( midfielder) from ratoath. I must watch out for him. Bear10 (Meath) - Posts: 328 - 26/10/2017 09:32:32 2058071 Link
Replying To Bear10: "yes I agree with you re county players at meath underage level and a lot of them don't even play senior for their club never mind county which is an awful shame . I never heard of this McGowan young fella ( midfielder) from ratoath. I must watch out for him." McGowan is an Under 17 and wasn't on the Under 17 panel - from what I have seen of him this year that is hard to understand. If there are two better under 17's in the county at mid field then the county must be in a good place!! Royalblufill (Meath) - Posts: 284 - 26/10/2017 13:24:36 2058156 Link
Replying To Royalblufill: "McGowan is an Under 17 and wasn't on the Under 17 panel - from what I have seen of him this year that is hard to understand. If there are two better under 17's in the county at mid field then the county must be in a good place!!" That;s Good , Should be a good battle so between them and the 2 county minors at midfield for Na Fianna. Bear10 (Meath) - Posts: 328 - 26/10/2017 15:10:33 2058219 Link
Well done lads! Probably should have been more comfortable but great to add another minor title. U17s up in the final in 10 days time as well. Commiserations to Na Fianna. Heartbreaking to lose 2 finals in a row. Ratoath Royal (Meath) - Posts: 1198 - 29/10/2017 17:03:22 2058975 Link
Well done Ratoath - great game. Both teams were competitive but so sporting! One card - for not wearing a gum shield - over 60 minutes! Fair play to both teams! Ratoath deserved it - better all round team on the day but Na Fianna had some fine players too! Minor game was way better than Senior!!! Royalblufill (Meath) - Posts: 284 - 30/10/2017 07:58:05 2059050 Link
Really well done to Ratoath minors A great performance and a great tournament all round The future is really bright for Ratoath as their U17s are also in special minor final Shame to say only two Ratoath players represented on county minor team last year and only one represented on U 17 team Politics still at play in our county management teams with lots of examples I could give right through the ages but that's for a different thread commiserations to a gallant Na Fianna team Drawmatch (Meath) - Posts: 19 - 30/10/2017 11:54:07 2059085 Link
Two players that impressed me wasnumber 6 for Na Fianna(might have been Smullen?) and 12 for Ratoath. ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 30/10/2017 16:55:07 2059132 Link
Replying To Drawmatch: "Really well done to Ratoath minors A great performance and a great tournament all round The future is really bright for Ratoath as their U17s are also in special minor final Shame to say only two Ratoath players represented on county minor team last year and only one represented on U 17 team Politics still at play in our county management teams with lots of examples I could give right through the ages but that's for a different thread commiserations to a gallant Na Fianna team" Jaysus we've heard about too many Ratoath lads on Meath teams and now we're hearing about them not having enough. Have to agree though how Daithi McGowan and Cian Rodgers didn't play 17's is surprising. And Ryan Kelly should have got a look in with the minors, I thought he won them that game yesterday. Shut down NAF's most influential player in Sean Martin and got a goal himself, Lee Keegan esque LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 30/10/2017 19:23:15 2059155 Link
Replying To ziggy32001: "Two players that impressed me wasnumber 6 for Na Fianna(might have been Smullen?) and 12 for Ratoath." You could add No 2 Ratoath and No 5 Na Fianna to that also but must also hail the referee, superb use of common sense. (The ref in the senior final was also very good with common sense also to the fore). MillerX (Meath) - Posts: 742 - 30/10/2017 19:29:51 2059157 Link
Replying To MillerX: "You could add No 2 Ratoath and No 5 Na Fianna to that also but must also hail the referee, superb use of common sense. (The ref in the senior final was also very good with common sense also to the fore)." Yep Definitely the no 2 for Ratoath Kelly and the no 12 for Ratoath Rogers were outstanding ( think he scored 4 or 5 points from play ). It was a super game very entertaining with both sides giving their all. I thought the first half was quite even apart from the goal with all na fianna forwards working hard . But to me the difference was the Ratoath midfield who dominated the exchanges. Ratoath subs were much stronger than Na Fianna and made a big difference when introduced . But all in all the better team won on the day and congratulations to Ratoath and we'll done to Na Fianna on a great final. Bear10 (Meath) - Posts: 328 - 30/10/2017 19:55:11 2059163 Link
That was the first minor match I have seen all year, and I enjoyed it immensely. Well done to both teams for the entertaining game. The difference for me was in the forwards - Ratoath had 3 or 4 quick skillfull players who could take their scores, whereas Na Fianna wasted a lot of possession with wayward shooting. When Ratoath attacked Na Fainna directly, they caused them all sorts of problems. The only time i though Ratoath were under pressure was in the first 10-15 minutes of the second half when for some reason they seemed to drop back and invite Na Fianna on to them. When Na Fianna did start to come back at them, Ratoath finally woke up and went on the attack again. I thought Rogers was brilliant for Ratoath all game long. Fadden at full forward was excellent in the first half, and Aherne had a really good second half. I thought Johnson made a big impact when he came on for Ratoath at half time - how he didn't start the match I will never know. Na Fianna were a good strong team with Martin at midfield and Walsh at full forward impressing me, But Ratoaths pace won out over Na Fiannas power. Not that Ratoath were that small themselves - as one lad said to me at the game, Ratoaths minor team must be bigger on average than their seniors! anfearbeag (Meath) - Posts: 1134 - 01/11/2017 00:22:12 2059421 Link
Not sure what's the issue but my previous post about what I saw at the Na Fianna vs Rathoath Minor match was not published even though others on here have stated the made the exact same comments . Cian Rogers was the standout performer on the Day with the Ratoath midfielder McGowan coming in a close second . Neither of which figured on County panels in 2017 even though they are consistently standout players at this age level over the last 4 years .The great thing about the Youth football in Meath at the moment is that there are a number of teams that can go shoulder to shoulder now , and clear dominance by one or the other is not as clear cut now . You have the Na Fianna, Ratoath , Dunboyne , St Colmcilles , with O Mahoney's closing in again , and Dunshaughlin biting at everyone's heels , Walterstownm appreared to be on the up but things seemed to having stalled at present . And Senechalstown looking brighter than ever . I can see positives going forward . Unfortuately some posters still wear Rose tinted glasses and diss the opposition by saying that " A team is stronger better , and thus the standout favourites " I think that those people should look at the overall skillsets involved and realise that inclusion on a County team does not automatically make you a better team, better player ..... See the Ratoath Vs Na Fianna Minor Div 1 final for that one . Meath_True (Meath) - Posts: 285 - 01/11/2017 09:35:13 2059435 Link
Replying To anfearbeag: "That was the first minor match I have seen all year, and I enjoyed it immensely. Well done to both teams for the entertaining game. The difference for me was in the forwards - Ratoath had 3 or 4 quick skillfull players who could take their scores, whereas Na Fianna wasted a lot of possession with wayward shooting. When Ratoath attacked Na Fainna directly, they caused them all sorts of problems. The only time i though Ratoath were under pressure was in the first 10-15 minutes of the second half when for some reason they seemed to drop back and invite Na Fianna on to them. When Na Fianna did start to come back at them, Ratoath finally woke up and went on the attack again. I thought Rogers was brilliant for Ratoath all game long. Fadden at full forward was excellent in the first half, and Aherne had a really good second half. I thought Johnson made a big impact when he came on for Ratoath at half time - how he didn't start the match I will never know. Na Fianna were a good strong team with Martin at midfield and Walsh at full forward impressing me, But Ratoaths pace won out over Na Fiannas power. Not that Ratoath were that small themselves - as one lad said to me at the game, Ratoaths minor team must be bigger on average than their seniors!" Yes I agree Ratoath had a superb half forward line and this is where a lot of the danger came . But to me on the day it was the Ratoath midfield who did the damage by winning at least 70% possession I would imagine . I was surprised Na fianna Keeper who had a brilliant game otherwise kept kicking the ball out to taller Ratoath Midfielders and not using his sweeper . Apparently according to reports Na Fianna lost their big midfielder before the game and disrupted their game plan. But to me Ratoath were just a stronger side and have a lot more numbers to call upon when needed but Na Fianna certainly put it up to them and deserve great praise for an entertaining final . Next week sees another entertaining encounter between Summerhlll & Tones . I fancy summerhill and saw them play recently and are a very attack minded side with Frayne in good form . But Tones are dogged and this will be a close game just like Div 1 final Bear10 (Meath) - Posts: 328 - 01/11/2017 12:37:29 2059489 Link
Replying To Bear10: "Yes I agree Ratoath had a superb half forward line and this is where a lot of the danger came . But to me on the day it was the Ratoath midfield who did the damage by winning at least 70% possession I would imagine . I was surprised Na fianna Keeper who had a brilliant game otherwise kept kicking the ball out to taller Ratoath Midfielders and not using his sweeper . Apparently according to reports Na Fianna lost their big midfielder before the game and disrupted their game plan. But to me Ratoath were just a stronger side and have a lot more numbers to call upon when needed but Na Fianna certainly put it up to them and deserve great praise for an entertaining final . Next week sees another entertaining encounter between Summerhlll & Tones . I fancy summerhill and saw them play recently and are a very attack minded side with Frayne in good form . But Tones are dogged and this will be a close game just like Div 1 final" It was pointed out to me at the weekend this group of lads from Ratoath won the Under 14 Championship and Under 16 Championship in their years. So obviously they had a good track record. Royalblufill (Meath) - Posts: 284 - 01/11/2017 12:55:40 2059495 Link
Replying To Royalblufill: "It was pointed out to me at the weekend this group of lads from Ratoath won the Under 14 Championship and Under 16 Championship in their years. So obviously they had a good track record." Didn't win the 14's. Na Fianna won it. LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 01/11/2017 17:41:50 2059591 Link
Ratoath beaten finalists that year but won the following year and the minor team had 6 starting u17s and 2 came on as subs so a good blend from both teams Drawmatch (Meath) - Posts: 19 - 01/11/2017 18:27:33 2059608 Link
Replying To LeitrimRoyal99: "Didn't win the 14's. Na Fianna won it." Nope - Na Fianna won the league which qualified them for Feile - Ratoath beat Trim in the 14s Championship! Royalblufill (Meath) - Posts: 284 - 02/11/2017 10:28:04 2059702 Link