Meath 4W

WHO: Meath
WHAT: Round 7 of NFL Division 2 AKA Relegation Showdown
WHERE: Pairc Tailteann, Navan
WHEN: 2.30pm Sunday

So Final weekend in ‘an Uaimh’, and in the back of all our minds we always knew the relegation ‘Great Escape’ was going to come down to this… we knew, they knew and more importantly both sets of players knew it.

Background

Meath as usual, have sucked us in again… perfectly playing the poor mouths role and lowering their expectations as a result.

A string of losses, Big Joe leaves the country, Gilsenan gets shot in the hamstring by a bullock, and whispers of Banty out are getting louder and louder.

When in reality they know that the run-in unrest is irrelevant, that a simple win on Sunday will suffice.

While on merit, we’ve got an air confidence coming into the game, largely on the back of a well-earned point, and due performance in Derry, but this approach by Meath also allows us to get ahead of ourselves.

I think I’ve established that form doesn’t matter with a local derby game like this; it’s all on the day, especially with the heightened stakes of relegation.

The match, if anything, provides perfect Championship preparation.

Key Battles

Meath’s possible team smacks of physicality, right down the spine of the team, Banty has opted for big men. This physical approach will suit our style of play, as we can counteract it with our pace and mobility.

Mickey Burke, will more than likely be given the daunting task of keeping Darren Clarke quiet, top scorer in the Division going into the final game Clarkie will a lot of weight is on his shoulders but the pace of Derek Maguire and accuracy of Jim can cause the Meath defence problems themselves.

Meaths half backline poses a huge threat but like I’ve said here before, with a half forward line of Derek Crilly, Mark Brennan and Adrian Reid. They have the ability to contain them and exploit them going forward also.

With Donnelly out, Fitzer has been spared a tough decision. A hopefully refreshed Paddy Keenan will come in alongside Ronan Carroll. Where, we look to have a certain mobility advantage over a possible Meath midfield pairing of Ward and Walsh.

However, as we all know, going forward and getting a platform hasn’t been a problem with us this year…Defending has.

Which is strange, for a number of reasons.

Our defence as a unit, has not seen much change this season and individually our defenders have played well.

Nevertheless the stats don’t lie. We have a score difference of -19, second worst in the Division and to win on Sunday we’re going to need a huge defensive effort.

Graham Reilly and Seamus Kenny on both wing’s, love nothing more than playing against Louth. Although Gilsenan is a big loss for Meath, Brian Farrell is an equal if not better replacement. Then you have Cian Ward and Stephen Bray, on their day two of the best forwards in Ireland.

So you can see why a huge defensive performance is needed, we need to put our best foot forward in stopping this dangerous set of forwards.

My Match up’s
S Kenny/ Rayzor: Perfect match up, to negate Kenny’s dirty ball winning ability.
S Bray/Decie Byrne: Time for Decie to step up and push Bray away from dangerous area’s.
G Reilly/Shevlin: Liam has the athleticism to counteract Reilly strong running
B Farrell/G Hoey: first game back for Gerry and should have the pace on Farrell
J Queeney/Dessie: Physically match up well
C Ward/J Carr: Our best defender and Meath’s main match winner, Carr needs to start on him.

Conclusion

Whatever the result Division 2 has been one hell of a ride and we’ve improved significantly as a result.

Can we win in Navan…yes 

Unlike Wednesday night we need a good start, it will go a long way in building momentum and getting the confidence going away from home. Lest we forget, Meath have done this before, surviving on the final day, last year in Navan.  They may have pulled it off last year but I don’t think they are going to get another second chance come Sunday, Louth I feel want it that bit more.

Things to expect: A more competitive encounter than Wednesday night, Louth fans to get mini heart attacks with the sight of Louth winning when the fourth official announces how much injury time there is, Possible Banty Bashing or Fitzer lashing,

Expenses? What expenses??