Meath Forum

The Andy Mc Factor - Tailteann Cup

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Jesus Meath were Brutal. Done their best to lose that game. Just shows how bad and disinterested Wexford were last week

Selwyn (Meath) - Posts: 387 - 25/06/2023 16:03:26    2489137

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Well done to Colm and team. Still blooding guys and experimenting and still winning!

Cue 'If we don't win the final by 54 points Colm has to go''.

royalproxy (Meath) - Posts: 46 - 25/06/2023 16:10:58    2489140

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A final. Well thats a cause for celebration. Well done to all. I honestly wouldnt have said it was on 5/6 weeks ago.

Somehow Meath nearly managed to lose the game. There was a very real lack of game management and gamesmanship and Antrim came back hard in the final 20 and dominated; If they had more quality, we would have lost. The substitutions didnt add a whole lot either with the exception of COS who brought a calmness. I think Meath believed it was over at 2-13 to 1-08 and thought Antrim would go away - which they didnt. Fair play to them - I was impressed by them, but big lessons for this Meath team. They needed to be ruthless and kill the game when it was there to be killed around the 55 minute mark. On another note, the amount of elementary errors by both teams was insane. My head was sore. But I suppose its a marker of this level.

But to go back to my original point, they're in the final - and very well done. This game was always going to be hard. Some great athletes out there for Meath and they have an even chance in the final.

Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 596 - 25/06/2023 16:26:45    2489149

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Some good forward play yes An awful lot of work to be done to be competitive against better teams. Our
defence is far too slack .. forwards allowed shoot without pressure by defenders standing of the man too often. Surely part of a defenders job is to stop forward gaining possesion, IF the forward gains posession defender makes it difficult for forward to use that possesion Why do we stand back so often when we lose possesion?? Where is the tackle gone to with this team? Another slow start complacency ? Why? Not all negative today though forward play very good mostly so yes areas of improvement to be seen . We will not win the final UNLESS defence does its job to begin with Midfield has improved ,goalkeeping improved , Still not happy with our performance against a county better known for hurling than football, but still were able to show us how much improvements we still have to make in training. Best of luck to all in their efforts to do so!

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1266 - 25/06/2023 17:38:48    2489195

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Fantastic to get the win probably made it harder then it should have been. Down will be a tough game

Meathfor@life (Meath) - Posts: 85 - 25/06/2023 18:51:43    2489222

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Well done to the team in getting to a final. I'm very happy with the delligence and dedication they showed to the Tailteann Cup as I had questions given how the season had went. In attack we look dangerous, Jordy Morris is so close to being a brilliant forward, he just doesn't trust his right foot enough yet and is prone to a wild decision but he has serious sharpness, ball winning and is very skilful. Matt Costello a real leader in the closing stages and a good talent. We looked very suspect in the full back line, the loss of McGill and Lavin before him still leaves holes. We go into the final as underdogs but that might suit us. Lets go and win the thing, I would love nothing more than to see Donal Keoghan climb the steps of the hogan stand, nobody would deserve it more

LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1527 - 25/06/2023 18:52:44    2489224

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Replying To Young_gael:  "A final. Well thats a cause for celebration. Well done to all. I honestly wouldnt have said it was on 5/6 weeks ago.

Somehow Meath nearly managed to lose the game. There was a very real lack of game management and gamesmanship and Antrim came back hard in the final 20 and dominated; If they had more quality, we would have lost. The substitutions didnt add a whole lot either with the exception of COS who brought a calmness. I think Meath believed it was over at 2-13 to 1-08 and thought Antrim would go away - which they didnt. Fair play to them - I was impressed by them, but big lessons for this Meath team. They needed to be ruthless and kill the game when it was there to be killed around the 55 minute mark. On another note, the amount of elementary errors by both teams was insane. My head was sore. But I suppose its a marker of this level.

But to go back to my original point, they're in the final - and very well done. This game was always going to be hard. Some great athletes out there for Meath and they have an even chance in the final."
Shows how bad Wexford were. We haven't really resolved the defensive problems we have had all year I still don't know why hogan isn't getting a start I have a feeling he's been hung out a bit, but a gk is only as good as what is in front of him. I've no issues with Brennan he's a good keeper but for me hogan is no 1. The sideline today made some very odd calls, was it a case of thinking game over ? Or just making mistakes. ? I don't know. As I said it was exciting at times and I enjoyed been back in croker but this team and the way we set up, I have a feeling we just paper over the cracks by facing very poor teams throughout this competition (Down and surprisingly Antrim ) been the exceptions. We can say we have 12/13 debuts or whatever but from my view that holds its own problems 1, you need to blend in new players easy and not throw in a bunch in the one year (mod did that and it cost us big time) are we making the same mistakes again ? Is it a skryne thing ? I jest but for me it's too much , now I know the likes of lynch McGowan coffee etc we're all on the panel last year but only played this so wouldn't exactly call them new to ic set up but new to playing. Also this auld tactic of naming dud teams is getting boring, Jones was in no way fit to play today and looked it when he came on, McGowan must be getting mighty annoyed at constantly been named and dropped. And caulfield isn't ready yet imo and should be allowed to develop a bit more. I see us as having a pretty settled ff line hf line still looks a bit uneasy, midfield is doing ok against poor opposition, hb line is still a worry and our weakest link is definitely the fb line. Which unless changes are made for next year I can't see how we won't avoid this competition again . That's why the final is so important we won't avoid it by league and loosing our seeding in Leinster could really destroy us. So we need to beat Down no matter what

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 25/06/2023 18:53:28    2489225

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Some of the forward play was very good. Agree with previous poster, if Morris pushes on a bit he could be really good, did some really good things today.
Overall I wouldn't put this down as a good performance, felt like we were capable of winning easier but didn't push on. Defense in trouble at times.
Taking off Lynch and McEntee too early nearly cost us the game. McEntee was very prominent around the time he was taken off, considering he was off the panel for a while I would have really liked to seen him finish the game.
We'll need to up it a lot for the final.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1402 - 25/06/2023 19:25:16    2489244

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Well done to all involved, would have been easy- especially for older lads- to walk away after Leinster exit however, to a man they stuck with it and now have a chance to win it out and book a place in next years A/I series. Played very well in patches and got some great scores. Antrim's fullforward was a real handful, great hands and ability to bring others into play. No doubt we have plenty to work on and biggest let down today was impact from bench, a positive up to now but little imput today. Expect we would have seen out game without the late drama bar the changes, but what's the point of that? TC for Meath was about building the squad, hit a bit of a bump today. Couple of great catches under pressure from keeper, midfield went well, still a young pairing and fullforward line showing real ability. Matt Costello had his best outing in quite a while, working up and down the pitch showing great leadership, well done on his kind words to Kealy family in aftermatch interview. Will face a much bigger test in three weeks time, but still in with a great chance.

seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2196 - 25/06/2023 19:51:27    2489262

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Fairly frosty handshake between the two managers at the end… assume there's a story behind it!

GenderNeutral (Meath) - Posts: 115 - 25/06/2023 19:52:42    2489266

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Replying To LeitrimRoyal99:  "Well done to the team in getting to a final. I'm very happy with the delligence and dedication they showed to the Tailteann Cup as I had questions given how the season had went. In attack we look dangerous, Jordy Morris is so close to being a brilliant forward, he just doesn't trust his right foot enough yet and is prone to a wild decision but he has serious sharpness, ball winning and is very skilful. Matt Costello a real leader in the closing stages and a good talent. We looked very suspect in the full back line, the loss of McGill and Lavin before him still leaves holes. We go into the final as underdogs but that might suit us. Lets go and win the thing, I would love nothing more than to see Donal Keoghan climb the steps of the hogan stand, nobody would deserve it more"
Agree

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 25/06/2023 20:02:42    2489272

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Replying To royalproxy:  "Well done to Colm and team. Still blooding guys and experimenting and still winning!

Cue 'If we don't win the final by 54 points Colm has to go''."
Or "We've achieved absolutely nothing, but all credit and thanks has to go to Andy McEntee for some reason."

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1668 - 25/06/2023 20:06:20    2489274

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Replying To royaldunne:  "Shows how bad Wexford were. We haven't really resolved the defensive problems we have had all year I still don't know why hogan isn't getting a start I have a feeling he's been hung out a bit, but a gk is only as good as what is in front of him. I've no issues with Brennan he's a good keeper but for me hogan is no 1. The sideline today made some very odd calls, was it a case of thinking game over ? Or just making mistakes. ? I don't know. As I said it was exciting at times and I enjoyed been back in croker but this team and the way we set up, I have a feeling we just paper over the cracks by facing very poor teams throughout this competition (Down and surprisingly Antrim ) been the exceptions. We can say we have 12/13 debuts or whatever but from my view that holds its own problems 1, you need to blend in new players easy and not throw in a bunch in the one year (mod did that and it cost us big time) are we making the same mistakes again ? Is it a skryne thing ? I jest but for me it's too much , now I know the likes of lynch McGowan coffee etc we're all on the panel last year but only played this so wouldn't exactly call them new to ic set up but new to playing. Also this auld tactic of naming dud teams is getting boring, Jones was in no way fit to play today and looked it when he came on, McGowan must be getting mighty annoyed at constantly been named and dropped. And caulfield isn't ready yet imo and should be allowed to develop a bit more. I see us as having a pretty settled ff line hf line still looks a bit uneasy, midfield is doing ok against poor opposition, hb line is still a worry and our weakest link is definitely the fb line. Which unless changes are made for next year I can't see how we won't avoid this competition again . That's why the final is so important we won't avoid it by league and loosing our seeding in Leinster could really destroy us. So we need to beat Down no matter what"
Agreed on Wexford... and what about Laois today... but I will say there have been some other mad results in this tournament. Football between Divisions 4 and 2 is so, so difficult to predict these days. It's all on the day. First thing I will say is I wholeheartedly agree with a previous poster - I would love to see Keogan climb the Hogan and raise a trophy to a Meath crowd - what a tremendous player he has been. But I dont want to put the cart before the horse either.

I have to be honest, I think youre being a bit harsh. I mean I understand that selection has been unpredictable and I havent agreed with it a lot of the time myself, but with such a raw and young team you will have that. And I think all of these newer players have been thrown in because we needed a big reset. The previous team and previous generation; with a few exceptions who are still on the panel, were going nowhere RD. With the utmost of respect to them, they just didnt have the mettle and had been tried and tested to failure too many times - with the new set-up in the backroom and some successfull (and talented) kids, we needed to build from the bottom. The League and the Offaly game were sacrificial lambs. These guys are all we have, and I for one think they and their management have done fierce well to beat all before them up to now. Im not even going to think about the Down game for a while. But we have a team of young players and they are in an All-Ireland final my friend, that is a good day for us!

Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 596 - 25/06/2023 20:21:15    2489281

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Last few performances have been quite good at times ! Think these few games have been vital to build confidence and impose a game plan ! Wouldnt be getting carried away beating wexford antrim and so on.Nice to be in a final in croker all the same ! Looking forward to it ! But suppose we will see the real progress in next years league ! Its so important we perform well and progress from this year ! I think colm is kind of on the right track ..Dont agree with all of his decisions but would be backing him to improve next year.This is mostly a young team that hopefully will improve but stil think were a long way off competing to even get promoted into division 1

grahamc9897 (Meath) - Posts: 1176 - 25/06/2023 20:28:06    2489286

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Replying To LeitrimRoyal99:  "Well done to the team in getting to a final. I'm very happy with the delligence and dedication they showed to the Tailteann Cup as I had questions given how the season had went. In attack we look dangerous, Jordy Morris is so close to being a brilliant forward, he just doesn't trust his right foot enough yet and is prone to a wild decision but he has serious sharpness, ball winning and is very skilful. Matt Costello a real leader in the closing stages and a good talent. We looked very suspect in the full back line, the loss of McGill and Lavin before him still leaves holes. We go into the final as underdogs but that might suit us. Lets go and win the thing, I would love nothing more than to see Donal Keoghan climb the steps of the hogan stand, nobody would deserve it more"
Yes indeed Donal deserves it in every respect... Morris does the job he is there to do and a scoretaker . Defence a problem area still. Dont know what the position with McGuill and Lavin is. They would know what they have to do to work their way back to selection. To me Costello is a man with great potential. Eventhough he got MOM to day.I still want to see him even more involved as he seems to have it all. Not sure what his best position is ? Maybe midfield although with a fit Jones we are coming better there.You are right you have to give admiration to all for their attitude to Tailteann cup .COR initially admitted we are where we deserved to be in relation to the Tailteann cup. I think in hindsight he could also have said we are where we NEED to be. Where would we be now without it ?
A long road ahead but at least we know we are going in the right direction ,and we have to remember its largely with a young inexperienced panel... I wonder when we be able to say we have a primary freetaker thats not the goalkeeper? The quality of the next few training sessions ,and the attention to the defensive tightening up could very well decide the final against Down . Good positive start also ,and i believe we can beat them !

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1266 - 25/06/2023 20:37:27    2489289

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A win, made bloody hard work of it at times by reverting to silly mistakes and lack.of concentration, I dont blane the making of substitutes they should ha e been able to hold the game and been bursting to get on and make an impression, we just made errors but the difference this time being we managed to get a few scores to see us out. Some very dodge refereeing decisions made today too, I hear Andy Mc wasn't happy with the ref, I fail to see why. I think we are in a far better position than Down going into the final as I don't see what they could have learnt from their semi final, Laois were shocking. Anyway well done to all, we are where we want to be and I hope to see a massive Meath crowd in Croker in three weeks

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3744 - 25/06/2023 20:46:31    2489291

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Replying To Young_gael:  "Agreed on Wexford... and what about Laois today... but I will say there have been some other mad results in this tournament. Football between Divisions 4 and 2 is so, so difficult to predict these days. It's all on the day. First thing I will say is I wholeheartedly agree with a previous poster - I would love to see Keogan climb the Hogan and raise a trophy to a Meath crowd - what a tremendous player he has been. But I dont want to put the cart before the horse either.

I have to be honest, I think youre being a bit harsh. I mean I understand that selection has been unpredictable and I havent agreed with it a lot of the time myself, but with such a raw and young team you will have that. And I think all of these newer players have been thrown in because we needed a big reset. The previous team and previous generation; with a few exceptions who are still on the panel, were going nowhere RD. With the utmost of respect to them, they just didnt have the mettle and had been tried and tested to failure too many times - with the new set-up in the backroom and some successfull (and talented) kids, we needed to build from the bottom. The League and the Offaly game were sacrificial lambs. These guys are all we have, and I for one think they and their management have done fierce well to beat all before them up to now. Im not even going to think about the Down game for a while. But we have a team of young players and they are in an All-Ireland final my friend, that is a good day for us!"
Ahh it's not a real all ire final though. It's a B final. That been said I would love keoghan to step up the steps and pick up a cup. The transition had already started and has been fast tracked. I just don't know what good it will do us in what I think is a superior competition the league and division 2.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 25/06/2023 21:18:43    2489303

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Replying To Richieq:  "A win, made bloody hard work of it at times by reverting to silly mistakes and lack.of concentration, I dont blane the making of substitutes they should ha e been able to hold the game and been bursting to get on and make an impression, we just made errors but the difference this time being we managed to get a few scores to see us out. Some very dodge refereeing decisions made today too, I hear Andy Mc wasn't happy with the ref, I fail to see why. I think we are in a far better position than Down going into the final as I don't see what they could have learnt from their semi final, Laois were shocking. Anyway well done to all, we are where we want to be and I hope to see a massive Meath crowd in Croker in three weeks"
Down will have learned nothing from today. Just like we learned nothing from Wexford game (it showed at times today). So yep in much stronger position. Look win this and Colm gets a pass for his dreadful start to his tenure. Fail to win it and then the pressure will be immense from game one in league. Which is all this is about. The cup itself would hold similar importance to me as winning obc, nice but meaningless, but the real prize is qualification for all . The rest really doesn't mean anything. I can't see a repeat of the scenes I witnessed in Mullingar last year in either navan or newry.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 25/06/2023 21:37:57    2489308

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Replying To royaldunne:  "Down will have learned nothing from today. Just like we learned nothing from Wexford game (it showed at times today). So yep in much stronger position. Look win this and Colm gets a pass for his dreadful start to his tenure. Fail to win it and then the pressure will be immense from game one in league. Which is all this is about. The cup itself would hold similar importance to me as winning obc, nice but meaningless, but the real prize is qualification for all . The rest really doesn't mean anything. I can't see a repeat of the scenes I witnessed in Mullingar last year in either navan or newry."
I disagree royaldunne, if meath win I can see huge crowds in navan for the homecoming, big meath crowd there today in croke Park which is good to see.

Royal.Legend (Meath) - Posts: 685 - 25/06/2023 22:17:02    2489322

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Replying To Richieq:  "A win, made bloody hard work of it at times by reverting to silly mistakes and lack.of concentration, I dont blane the making of substitutes they should ha e been able to hold the game and been bursting to get on and make an impression, we just made errors but the difference this time being we managed to get a few scores to see us out. Some very dodge refereeing decisions made today too, I hear Andy Mc wasn't happy with the ref, I fail to see why. I think we are in a far better position than Down going into the final as I don't see what they could have learnt from their semi final, Laois were shocking. Anyway well done to all, we are where we want to be and I hope to see a massive Meath crowd in Croker in three weeks"
True, you can say you learn more in close games. I left at half time but I got the feeling Down play better on the big Croke park pitch from watching that first half. Defensively we'll need to be much better when facing Down than we were today.
People saying we didn't manage the game out well. To be honest sometimes teams think too much about managing games out, there were times w near the end where had we committed more to our attacks we may have got more scores. I remember at one stage a ball being kicked up to Morris and he was a fair bit out from goal. He had to take the shot on as no one was up with him and it went wide.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1402 - 25/06/2023 22:37:04    2489329

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