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Happy enough with the point given we were second best for most of the game. Starting the match with five players who are essentially half forwards and just the one man inside was a poor decision. They didn't make good use of the wind either. They were overly defensive in the first half vs. Longford and too defensive today as well. Threw away a four point lead late on vs. Longford ... likewise today. It is time to learn from these errors/mistakes and not keep repeating them.
How many diagonal balls were kicked into TOR (1st half) that went over the sideline. Roscommon took a few really good long range points (2nd half), showing how to use the elements properly. Our goalie and McGill kept us in the game. Roscommon could and should have had the game put to bed. But fair play to the lads and particularly the substitutions, they rallied to go from 5 points down to 4 points in front. Pity they didn't make it five and got turned over late on. Andy needs to get his starting 15 much better in future though.
GlasagusOr (Meath) - Posts: 1348 - 28/01/2018 20:19:59
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Replying To Furlong1949: "I think the thing is Meath are not as bad as people think or want them to be. The above result today kind of proves that. Roscommon are one of the best young teams in the county. Outside the big three, Roscommon would be 7th or 8th best team in the country and are reigning connacht champions, two years in division 1 and went toe to toe with the second best team in the country last year in the drawn quarter final.
For Meath today is sign of progress. We wont havent got a result like today in the last few years or would say anytime since Boylan left. What would have happened is Roscommon would have gone ahead and won by 9 or 10 points as there talented young forwarda cut loose. However a couple of things have improved under McEntee.
1 Fitness has definitely improved
2 The old Meath never day die spirit is slowly coming back. Under Boylan for 20 years Meath were the best team in Ireland in the final quater of games. Meaths mental resolve in the final 15 -20 mins was unreal. Meath won so many games and titles in the final 15 to 20 mins with a never say die spirit. This never say die atitude was part of Meath teams before Boylan. But it has been absent since he left. For the last 12 years Meath have faded badly in second halfs and in the final years of O Dowd reign they became consistent problem. Under McEntee this has stopped as Meath are finishing game strongly something I have not seen since Boylan.
Leaving the two kildare games to one side. Meath have finished every game in the league championship and byrne cup strongly under McEntee. Last year we finished like a train v Derry Cork Fermanagh Clare and Galway in the league. And we finished strongly v Louth Sligo and Donegal in the champuonship. This has cont'd this year with strong last 15 to 20 mins against longford and Roscommon today. We gad our first proper Meath comeback v Cork last year since Boylan in league or championship when we brought back a 9 point lead to draw down in Cork. This area has improved under McEntee. And this mentality of never giving up has been the cornerstone of all strong Meath teams.
However we are far from the finished product. We are miles behind Dublin and the top teams. We are years behind them. But we are going in the right direction and todays result is more proof of that. Its long time since we got a result v provicial champions. We did let a lead slip in injury time . This is simply down to Rossies have class young forwards. But also inexperience on Meaths part. The top teams like Mayo or Dublin would make sure to close out the game. We didnt, thats an experience issue. And in time as these young players get more experience they will learn how to close out a game.
Overall I still think its more then likely this year we will be uo and down. We wont see progress til next year and real progress in early 2020s. We are on a learning curve. But today was promising. We were rank outsiders with the bookies and all the pundits and all the tipsters on all the forums where predicting a Rossies 5 or 6 points win. So today was progress of sorts.
Its a pity we didnt hold out. A win v the top team in the division on their home patch would have been a great start. But we need now to beat Clare in Navan. Its a long time since we were undefeated in our first two league matchs. We are usually slow starters. But if we can win v Clare we are in a good position. Clare will be tricky. They have a shrewd manager and their team which in the next few years are going in the right direction and will be a team to look out for. But home wins are so important. Next weeks game will tell a bit more about what kind of progress we have made this year.
This weekends results have shook up the pack. Cork look like continuing the form of recent years. And many peoples tip for promotion Cork could be a wrong one. They have huge talent. The best panel in the division. A top 5 team which could push for an All Ireland in coming years. But they are underachieving . Why John Cleary was not made manager was a big mistake. Cork might not be contenders if the results v Clare and Tipp contiunue. They will still cause a problems. You could see them losing to Clare one week and then beating Roscommon Meath or Down the following week.
Tipp were the real winners with Down this weekend. Tipp have a very good young team. They werent great last year. But I find young teams can be up and down. And I have feeling they will have a strong season this year with possible promotion and super 8 participants. In the last few league teams have had sucessive promotion. Monaghan kildare and Roscommon all went from Division 3 to div 2 to div 1. Tipp could do this also. Real contenders.
Other real contenders are Down. Very few tipping them. But they are a real strong league team. Very hard to beat in Newry. And have been in div 1 longer then any other team in div 2 in recent years. A great start. Real contenders also. My gut feeling is Roscommon Meath Tipp and Down will be the 4 way fight for promotion. Its again a wide open divsion.
One last thing it was good to see Eamon Wallace in good form. He came on in 2013 as 19 year old and had a great season finishing with 1-4 from play v Tyrone in the championship in Croker. He did his cruciate and has been trying to return to form since. Today and this years club championship are signs he is returning to 2013 form.
But the big thing for me was McKeever. We drew that game because him with and his 3 points and he set up the goal after coming from the bench. He has been the best club forward in Meath football by a mile in recnt years but injuries have kept him from the panel. If can continue what he did today and his club form . Himself and lenihan would form a tasty duo in the full forward line. Both are in their mid 20s and both should be hitting peaks now. We rely to.much on lenihan in the full foward line. He was missing today and it showed. If him and Mckeever click and two wallaces McMahon two reillys sullivan toibin can all adds scores this will be massive. We have had light forwards in recent years who couldnt make the ball stick. McKeever and lenihan could be two finishers in the inside line which could be a massive plus.
A final thought Our bench made a difference. Our bench this year looks stronger then it has since I can remember. Dublin have showed and the super 8 will show a strong bench is so important. The subs made the difference. Andy needs to get the right mix in first 15. But he needs impact subs. Impact subs like Rooney coming into midfield in future games or Toibin Mcabe McMahon also making impact as subs. Tiobin suits the impact sub role really well. But Conlon McKeever and Eamon Wallace showed they need to start.
The real good thing about today are our two best forwards Reilly and Sullivan did not play well. If we can get the best out of Sullivan and maybe look at biggy been an impact sub it would be more additions. Andy has a few selection dilemmas for the next game. Overall a good days work for Meath but this div again is wide open. Promotion and relegation is wide open." I think you are over valuing their provincial championship win last year they bet Leitrim on the way to beating Galway in a final a team I would fancy Meath beating .
Ok they drew with mayo the same Mayo team that drew with Derry and Cork and also lost to Galway but you didn't remind us of the hammering they received when the real Mayo team turned up .
This is a very average Roscommon team who I believe will struggle to get results in this division if Meath pushed up on them in the first half like they did when the game was going away for them I've no doubt they would have won easy .
Still worry why we can't hold on when we get into a winning position , 4 up today and against Longford and we panic , I hope todays dropped point doesn't come back and haunt us at the end of the league even though with 20 minutes I would have taken a draw .
mmc (Meath) - Posts: 214 - 28/01/2018 20:19:59
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And remeber Alan Forde has to come back. Him and James mcEntee are two kind of players we have been crying out for. Modern wing forwards who can come back and defend as well as attack. I thought James McEntee today and v longford is developing into an effective modern wing forward. We do have options going forward. Rooney can make impact from the bench. So can Mcabe McMahon and Wallace. We need to hold back 1 or 2 players on the bench. The reason we came back v longford and Roscommon was our bench. I can never remember us having a strong bench even under Sean. We had Mattie Mcabe and Jody Devine and that was all. Even though they were brillant players to bring on. Andy needs to get the right mix in the first 15. But he needs impact players from the bench. This is important today proved that.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 28/01/2018 20:24:28
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McGill was excellent today as was menton, but can't believe how people aren't raving about James mcenetee. Jesus he was everywhere. Great game too.
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 17035 - 28/01/2018 20:24:50
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Replying To mmc: "I think you are over valuing their provincial championship win last year they bet Leitrim on the way to beating Galway in a final a team I would fancy Meath beating .
Ok they drew with mayo the same Mayo team that drew with Derry and Cork and also lost to Galway but you didn't remind us of the hammering they received when the real Mayo team turned up .
This is a very average Roscommon team who I believe will struggle to get results in this division if Meath pushed up on them in the first half like they did when the game was going away for them I've no doubt they would have won easy .
Still worry why we can't hold on when we get into a winning position , 4 up today and against Longford and we panic , I hope todays dropped point doesn't come back and haunt us at the end of the league even though with 20 minutes I would have taken a draw ." Well everyone has Roscommon in their top 7 or 8 in the country. They beat kerry and other top teams in division 1 in the league reaching league semi final 2 years ago
They have loads of underage medals. 5 connacht under 21 titles in a row . They have achieved more then kildare. Kildare have not stayed in div 1 or beating kerry and other top teams in the league or won a provincial title and drew with the second best team in the country. Roscommon have. The bookies had them hot favourites. No one gave us a chance. Roscommon are young. And young teams can be up and down. Also how good a manager McStay is also a question. He was nearly got rid of last year.
Overall this is only the first time since beating Dublin in 2010 that we have got a result against provicial champions. When you examine everything this result is more significant then you think. Roscommon are not Dublin Kerry or Mayo. But they are not div 4 or div 3 team. They are not even a div 2 team. Most people expect them to get promoted and most people see them.as the top team in the division. Its a long time since we got a result v the top team in the division away from home and provicial champions. The fact is on paper this is one our best result in years in the league. Best since draw v Donegal in Ballybofey in 2014.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 28/01/2018 20:46:11
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Replying To Furlong1949: "Any news on Donal lenihan. I thought we missed him today. Him and Mckeever could form a very good inside forwrd line. Sullivan Lenihan Mckeever full forward line has potential. Sullivan has been up and down. But he has a touch of class about. If we can get the best from him that would be massive. His best position could be wing forward 10. Theres more room on the wing for his pace and vision. Centre forward is very congested part of the field with sweepers etc.
But maybe corner forward is where we will get the best from him also . He played in this position in minor all ireland final scoring 5 points from play, I remeber thinking at the time this guy is one to watch out for. He has played v Donegal last year and against Rossies today in the full forward line. And he scored 1- 1 v Donegal and 1 goal today and did not play well. Imagine what he would score if he played well. A sullivan Lenihan Mckeever forward line could be the way forward. Use Toibin as an impact sub. He really makes an impact from the bench. A strong bench is so important.
But any news on lenihan. Will he be back for Clare." Not sure what to make of today,i went down to roscommon not expecting anything so the draw is a plus. We were terrible in the first half, simple as. Had we won the game (which we should have) it would have been daylight robbery. Am sure we all remember Sean Cavanagh pulling McManus to the ground a few years back when trough on goal? Cavanagh took one for the team that day, am not sure who was tracking the roscommon player trough today but he didn't. After he had passed the 40 he should have been professionaly fouled. The dubs/kerry would have taken him down there, they simply know how to win. Surely that was Andy's first question after the game? Serious lack in concentration also, Alan Douglas on the pitch 2 minutes, nobody near him and he can't catch a simple hand pass!
Am generally very optimistic but I wouldn't be getting to excited about today, we were much the worse team for to long. 2 stupid frees kicked 20 yards into opposition hands. Too many handling errors- I know it was wet but that's no real excuse, you don't see the dubs/kerry drop balls like that, and that's got nothing to do with ability it's simple concentration that's not there.
Martinr5399 (Meath) - Posts: 7 - 28/01/2018 20:59:38
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Todays result also proves we play well v top teams. Leaving Dublin to one side. In recent years we have performed well v Tyrone 2013 and 2015 Donegal 2014 and 2017 Galway 2014 2016 2017 and Roscommon today. We do seem to up our game v stronger counties. We always have traditionally done this but it is continuing. Thats why I feel if we did go up to div 1 I could see us doing better then people think. Playing Kerry in Navan or Mayo in Castlebar would bring the best out of us. Maybe I am wrong. But I always belive its a trait of Meath teams even when we are not going well we up our game v top teams. Its our inconsistency that lets us down. In the last few years we would lose games v Clare and Cavan after getting a result today. If we can win those two games we are in a very good position. The point v Roscommon could look very good by the end of the league.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 28/01/2018 21:01:10
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Replying To Furlong1949: "Well everyone has Roscommon in their top 7 or 8 in the country. They beat kerry and other top teams in division 1 in the league reaching league semi final 2 years ago
They have loads of underage medals. 5 connacht under 21 titles in a row . They have achieved more then kildare. Kildare have not stayed in div 1 or beating kerry and other top teams in the league or won a provincial title and drew with the second best team in the country. Roscommon have. The bookies had them hot favourites. No one gave us a chance. Roscommon are young. And young teams can be up and down. Also how good a manager McStay is also a question. He was nearly got rid of last year.
Overall this is only the first time since beating Dublin in 2010 that we have got a result against provicial champions. When you examine everything this result is more significant then you think. Roscommon are not Dublin Kerry or Mayo. But they are not div 4 or div 3 team. They are not even a div 2 team. Most people expect them to get promoted and most people see them.as the top team in the division. Its a long time since we got a result v the top team in the division away from home and provicial champions. The fact is on paper this is one our best result in years in the league. Best since draw v Donegal in Ballybofey in 2014." I can't agree with you but if we all agreed on everything it would be a sad world .
We bet Galway last year 1-13 to -15 when they were Provincial champions and they are a better team than this Roscommon outfit
mmc (Meath) - Posts: 214 - 28/01/2018 21:04:18
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Replying To mmc: "I can't agree with you but if we all agreed on everything it would be a sad world .
We bet Galway last year 1-13 to -15 when they were Provincial champions and they are a better team than this Roscommon outfit" Galway are better then Roscommon. Let me think Galway played Roscommon in last years Connacht final. Surely if Galway are better team they would have beaten Roscommon. But no not only did Roscommon beat Galway they hammered them by 8 points. How can Galway be a better team then Roscommon when Roscommon hammered them in the Connacht final last year. That makes no sense whatsoever. So you are basiclly saying if you lose to a team by 8 points in a provicial final this means you are better team then your victorious 8 point winning opponents. Yep thats makes allot of sense.
PS I forgot Galway last year. But that was in Navan. We haven't got a result like today since Ballybofey in 14.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 28/01/2018 21:30:11
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Good result disappointing not to see it out. Mickey was unlucky to lose out shane mc was lucky to stay on the pictch because was all at see first 20 the wing was wing and Mickey lost out personally I would did a swap conolon for s mc . Really impressed with mc me ever. Mom of the match was Joey Wallace never wasted the made the right decisions clever player. And he will get stronger with more game time. Interesting that we played the last 15/20 without 3 of our main forwards from last year cos biggy and donal leinehan I reckon that s a positive.
bobkarlgees (Meath) - Posts: 1192 - 28/01/2018 21:32:00
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I enjoyed that today, great to see a bit of old style fight and determination being produced when at 5 down it looked like a a damage limitation exercise. The negatives wellthe first half was poor and not being able to see the game out was disappointing and with a 4 point lead going into injury time but our own mistakes cost us 2 points so one would hope those mistakes can be rectified. I would have gladly taken a point this morning so I'm going to be positive and call this a good start to the league, a win v Clare next Sunday now is imperative
Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3590 - 28/01/2018 21:42:37
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Turning point today was when the outstanding inside forward Diarmuid Murtagh from Roscommon went off injured. Roscommon looked to have the game wrapped up at that stage.
maximus02 (Longford) - Posts: 115 - 28/01/2018 21:43:40
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55 mins of absolute clueless football totally dominated by rossies who should have been more up then just 5 with 15 to go. Playing wit 14 men in our own half hand passing sideways with a strong wind at our back . They will be gutted as they emptied the bench early . As i said after longford game meath cant play this defensive system mcentees tactics just dont make any sense.
SheridansTry (Meath) - Posts: 168 - 28/01/2018 21:44:56
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Replying To Furlong1949: "Galway are better then Roscommon. Let me think Galway played Roscommon in last years Connacht final. Surely if Galway are better team they would have beaten Roscommon. But no not only did Roscommon beat Galway they hammered them by 8 points. How can Galway be a better team then Roscommon when Roscommon hammered them in the Connacht final last year. That makes no sense whatsoever. So you are basiclly saying if you lose to a team by 8 points in a provicial final this means you are better team then your victorious 8 point winning opponents. Yep thats makes allot of sense.
PS I forgot Galway last year. But that was in Navan. We haven't got a result like today since Ballybofey in 14." You must have Roscommon relations keep dreaming if you believe Roscommon are a top 8 team . Meath bet Galway last year also but they are up in div 1 now beating Tyrone today .
Galway streets ahead of Roscommon one fine day never makes a summer .
mmc (Meath) - Posts: 214 - 28/01/2018 21:45:16
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Replying To Martinr5399: "Not sure what to make of today,i went down to roscommon not expecting anything so the draw is a plus. We were terrible in the first half, simple as. Had we won the game (which we should have) it would have been daylight robbery. Am sure we all remember Sean Cavanagh pulling McManus to the ground a few years back when trough on goal? Cavanagh took one for the team that day, am not sure who was tracking the roscommon player trough today but he didn't. After he had passed the 40 he should have been professionaly fouled. The dubs/kerry would have taken him down there, they simply know how to win. Surely that was Andy's first question after the game? Serious lack in concentration also, Alan Douglas on the pitch 2 minutes, nobody near him and he can't catch a simple hand pass!
Am generally very optimistic but I wouldn't be getting to excited about today, we were much the worse team for to long. 2 stupid frees kicked 20 yards into opposition hands. Too many handling errors- I know it was wet but that's no real excuse, you don't see the dubs/kerry drop balls like that, and that's got nothing to do with ability it's simple concentration that's not there." The point about Dublin and kerry not doing these mistakes and our players do. Of course they dont Dublin Mayo and Kerry are the 3 best teams in the country. Played in many All Ireland finals with players with loads of experience and who have been around the block a couple of times. We are a young upcoming team thats learning the inter county game . We will make mistakes thats what young up and coming teams do. We are years behind Dublin. You dont just click a switch and become as good as Dublin over night. Its a long long road. With many ups and downs. But all you can ask is for improvement and going in the right direction. Getting the result against the team that the bookies and everyone expected to get promoted is progress. Its not made us into Dublin overnight. Its going to take allot of hard work and victories and defeats to get there. But todays result would have surprised many in the gaa .
Most expected Roscommon to win. You can see on main forum there r very few Rossies. They are suprised. They though they would win comfortably. You dont see many of our neighbours making comments on the main forum Ross v Meath thread. If we lost it would be full of Dubs and kildare making negtive comments. Very few of neighbouring counties supporters have made any comments. Because they are surprised Meath got a result.
It is a good result today. Simple as. And it could be a massive point come April. Its is a sign of progress the result. The performance was a mixed bag mixing the good with the bad. But thats happens when a team is building . Its a slow process. Rome wasnt built in a day.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 28/01/2018 21:49:40
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Replying To mmc: "You must have Roscommon relations keep dreaming if you believe Roscommon are a top 8 team . Meath bet Galway last year also but they are up in div 1 now beating Tyrone today .
Galway streets ahead of Roscommon one fine day never makes a summer ." Galway last year were dreadful v kerry in the quater final. And the year before Galway where hammered by Tipp in the quater final. Galway havent won a championship match in Croke Park in 17 years. Galway beat Tyrone this week. But they are capable of losing to any team next week. Galway are very inconsistent. Even Galway supporters will tell you that. In the last two years they have been hammered by Tipp Kerry and Roscommon in the championship. Yes Galway are one of the best teams in the country, the results dont back that one up. Still cannot see how you can say Roscommon are worse then Galway when they beat so comphresively last year. You must have allot of connections with Galway.
Every single list of teams in the country in the national papers on the internet every single one had Roscommon in the top 8. Just because Galway won today doesnt make them out to best in the country. Galway are still likely to get relegated. Do you have Galway relatives ?
Anyway it doesnt matter. Meath had a good result thats all.that matters. Anyone who examines the facts can see that.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 28/01/2018 22:13:26
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Replying To Furlong1949: "Well everyone has Roscommon in their top 7 or 8 in the country. They beat kerry and other top teams in division 1 in the league reaching league semi final 2 years ago
They have loads of underage medals. 5 connacht under 21 titles in a row . They have achieved more then kildare. Kildare have not stayed in div 1 or beating kerry and other top teams in the league or won a provincial title and drew with the second best team in the country. Roscommon have. The bookies had them hot favourites. No one gave us a chance. Roscommon are young. And young teams can be up and down. Also how good a manager McStay is also a question. He was nearly got rid of last year.
Overall this is only the first time since beating Dublin in 2010 that we have got a result against provicial champions. When you examine everything this result is more significant then you think. Roscommon are not Dublin Kerry or Mayo. But they are not div 4 or div 3 team. They are not even a div 2 team. Most people expect them to get promoted and most people see them.as the top team in the division. Its a long time since we got a result v the top team in the division away from home and provicial champions. The fact is on paper this is one our best result in years in the league. Best since draw v Donegal in Ballybofey in 2014." McStay wasn't nearly got rid of last year.Roscommon won the Connacht title and McStay got an extension to his term.
endgame (Roscommon) - Posts: 1275 - 28/01/2018 22:29:14
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Replying To mmc: "You must have Roscommon relations keep dreaming if you believe Roscommon are a top 8 team . Meath bet Galway last year also but they are up in div 1 now beating Tyrone today .
Galway streets ahead of Roscommon one fine day never makes a summer ." Personally don't think there is more much between both teams..
ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 28/01/2018 22:33:03
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I think a problem in the first half was we couldnt make the ball stick in the forwards. T Reilly Sullivan J Wallace are not going to win that sort of the ball into forwards. Young forwards like T Reilly while a good prospect is still learning his trade. If McKeever and lenihan were playing in the first half and in the first 50 mins of the game I think we would have had done much better. Its no surprise when Mckeever came on things really changed up front. Toibin also made an impact. Still think he would be better as impact sub. But if he keeps performing from the bench. He does deserve a place in first 15.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 28/01/2018 22:37:20
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Replying To maximus02: "Turning point today was when the outstanding inside forward Diarmuid Murtagh from Roscommon went off injured. Roscommon looked to have the game wrapped up at that stage." Roscommon are a one man team ?
WhyTheLongFace (Meath) - Posts: 829 - 28/01/2018 22:39:05
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