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Replying To bdbuddah: "What's the scenario tomorrow?. I think if 2 teams finish level on points it will come down to who won the game between the 2 teams. Say Meath/ Roscommon/ Cavan finish level on points would Meath be promoted based on beating both Roscommon and Cavan?." I'm almost certain if three teams finish on the same points it comes down to score difference. Only head to head on two teams finishing on same points but I stand to be corrected. I expect Meath to win tomorrow but with Roscommon and Cavan both playing teams who have nothing to play for they will win also which means its advantage Roscommon. 9 Points better off on score difference is huge as I cant see us beating Louth by a wide margin, they still scraping for survival. thelutch (Meath) - Posts: 1086 - 22/03/2025 18:21:52 2597820 Link
Replying To bdbuddah: "What's the scenario tomorrow?. I think if 2 teams finish level on points it will come down to who won the game between the 2 teams. Say Meath/ Roscommon/ Cavan finish level on points would Meath be promoted based on beating both Roscommon and Cavan?." No if 3 or more teams finish on the same points it goes to the best score difference. All Meath can do is win and if that's good enough great but if not its important we win and restore pride after the last trip to their home ground in Monaghan mmc (Meath) - Posts: 292 - 22/03/2025 18:36:42 2597824 Link
Replying To thelutch: "I'm almost certain if three teams finish on the same points it comes down to score difference. Only head to head on two teams finishing on same points but I stand to be corrected. I expect Meath to win tomorrow but with Roscommon and Cavan both playing teams who have nothing to play for they will win also which means its advantage Roscommon. 9 Points better off on score difference is huge as I cant see us beating Louth by a wide margin, they still scraping for survival." Cork absolutely have something to play for tomorrow. They need a result to guarantee they won't be playing in the Tailteann cup Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1063 - 22/03/2025 22:36:18 2597873 Link
Getting walloped by a poor Louth team without Mulroy, what can you say. Defense so open. NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 34 - 23/03/2025 14:11:05 2597948 Link
It's the hope that kills you! GenderNeutral (Meath) - Posts: 121 - 23/03/2025 14:56:15 2597958 Link
What a lazy limp performance. Miles off it in what was a promotion game. Meath played like a Junior B team. We won the toss and chose to play against the wind? Why. Did they not learn a lesson against Monaghan? I cannot believe how naive we actually were both in attack and defence. The boys must be gutted but can't have any excuses. Alarm bells were there since Westmeath game. A win that papered the cracks. I fear any of the positive steps in the campaign have been reversed with the last 3 performances. It was like watching last years team - headless and rudderless. Hope Morris is OK but I'd fear his season is over. Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 781 - 23/03/2025 15:20:14 2597962 Link
Replying To Royalio11: "What a lazy limp performance. Miles off it in what was a promotion game. Meath played like a Junior B team. We won the toss and chose to play against the wind? Why. Did they not learn a lesson against Monaghan? I cannot believe how naive we actually were both in attack and defence. The boys must be gutted but can't have any excuses. Alarm bells were there since Westmeath game. A win that papered the cracks. I fear any of the positive steps in the campaign have been reversed with the last 3 performances. It was like watching last years team - headless and rudderless. Hope Morris is OK but I'd fear his season is over." Morris injury could be very bad alright, he seemed distraught and in serious pain. Going on results today its a massive opportunity missed to taste division 1 football and perhaps try improve but I think we all know we are nowhere near the top ten teams in the country. Ill say it again , Jones and Coffey have been massive losses the last 3 games, they were linking up so well. Good to see Costello back, made a difference when he came on. Game lost in the first half , way to open and loose against the strong breeze. Was always going to be a struggle away from home chasing an 11 point lead. Never looked like closing the gap as Frayne and (Hogan in first half) unfortunately had a bad day at the office on the frees. Overall 4 wins out of 7 is more than maybe some of us thought at the start of campaign, with the exception of Monaghan we competed well and grinded out wins in games that we would have lost the last number of Years. Offaly and Kildare coming up, Derry and either Armagh/Tyrone coming down will leave division 2 even tougher next year. No disrespect to Carlow but the game against Offaly is going to be huge now, hopefully win and get a day out against the dubs with everyone fit and see where we stand then. thelutch (Meath) - Posts: 1086 - 23/03/2025 15:50:53 2597980 Link
Replying To Royalio11: "What a lazy limp performance. Miles off it in what was a promotion game. Meath played like a Junior B team. We won the toss and chose to play against the wind? Why. Did they not learn a lesson against Monaghan? I cannot believe how naive we actually were both in attack and defence. The boys must be gutted but can't have any excuses. Alarm bells were there since Westmeath game. A win that papered the cracks. I fear any of the positive steps in the campaign have been reversed with the last 3 performances. It was like watching last years team - headless and rudderless. Hope Morris is OK but I'd fear his season is over." If Morris is out for the season you can write Meath off. He is the only forward we have who is elite. TigerKing (Meath) - Posts: 42 - 23/03/2025 15:54:57 2597986 Link
Anyone that saw us against Westmeath and Monaghan shouldn't be a bit surprised with today's result. We have no Midfield and no half backs teams just run through us . I'm shocked he has persisted with Menton and Flynn they have struggled big time especially tracking the opposition midfield and our Halfbacks seem to be always ball watching . They can't win any breaking ball and then caught in no man's land when the opposition win the loose ball and run at them . This was a dreadfully poor Div 2 it's hard to take many positives out if it mmc (Meath) - Posts: 292 - 23/03/2025 16:32:33 2597997 Link
Best wishes to young Morris. Sad to see anyone going off on a stretcher. Hope it's not a season ender as he's a dangerous forward. ged (Louth) - Posts: 313 - 23/03/2025 17:42:05 2598029 Link
Replying To Kepak10: "You can thank Tommy Durnin for that." Don't think anything malicious really. Morris was following through and Dornin and another louth player was after attempting to block. Innocuous but unfortunately looks really bad for him. He was by far our most threatening forward and was our only outlet for rescuing game. Frayne had a complete off from play and frees and was lucky to remain on field. Really concerned about backup quality and the importance of players injured such as Coffey and Jones. Another concern has been the complete slump in form of Menton. Looks completely gassed out and I just wonder is he at the condition necessary given he was the sort of player that relied on his engine and fitness. Similar to Monaghan game our half backline was abject. Keoghan head and shoulders our best player. Flynn did some good things but also some bad. Need to figure out best team and hope we show something in Leinster and sort out alot of sloppiness. winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 619 - 23/03/2025 19:41:23 2598109 Link
Replying To MeathAbroad: "A must-win match in front of a packed house, the lads obviously wanted it and have shown a great attitude all through the campaign (look at the way they kept at it against Westmeath) so I think it's harsh to question their attitude. Against Roscommon the tackling was unreal, some great turnovers, dogged defending and kept things tight, or as tight as is possible under the new rules. So I think the lads do have that capability and Sunday was a system breakdown rather than an attitude problem. Agree that the scores conceded is very worrying. 1-20 in a single half, even in old money that's 1-15 and would be game over. Think that can come though. It's still just the sixth competitive match under this management. Beyond working on breaking ball, kickout strategy, closing down distance shots and stopping deep runners, a simple thing they can do this week is having the nous to slow things down and break momentum. When Meath went 5 points down, before the goal or the glut of two pointers, there should have been a single for someone to go down, to regroup, maybe make a switch. That's I'll pin on management and players, it's a basic thing to do when overrun. But everything else I think they require patience and understanding." So do you still think it's a system breakdown. Westmeath was bad, Monaghan was awful but today was totally dreadful. 11 points down at half time against Louth without Lennon and Mulroy. Again for the third game in a row halfbacks continually trying to chase shadows, midfield totally blown away. No playmaker at centre forward. Morris the only threat and now he's gone. Frayne was very poor. The question is are we any better than 12 months ago. The stats would say probably not. Will the panel get cut now, who will be dropped. They have tried a few new faces but are they any better than who was there. From what I've seen over the past month I'm not very confident of beating anyone. latouche25 (Meath) - Posts: 548 - 23/03/2025 23:11:27 2598173 Link
If Morris had of scored with his last kick it would have been a 2 point game, with all the momentum going meaths way. As it happened there was a long stoppage and we got caught for a silly technical infringement and at that the game was lost. What killed us yesterday was the wayward shooting in the first half, that kills drive in a team. We sorely miss Jones, hopefully he is back for the Carlow match. We draw a line under it and move on. atta (Meath) - Posts: 705 - 24/03/2025 08:35:50 2598186 Link
Replying To latouche25: "So do you still think it's a system breakdown. Westmeath was bad, Monaghan was awful but today was totally dreadful. 11 points down at half time against Louth without Lennon and Mulroy. Again for the third game in a row halfbacks continually trying to chase shadows, midfield totally blown away. No playmaker at centre forward. Morris the only threat and now he's gone. Frayne was very poor. The question is are we any better than 12 months ago. The stats would say probably not. Will the panel get cut now, who will be dropped. They have tried a few new faces but are they any better than who was there. From what I've seen over the past month I'm not very confident of beating anyone." I think that's a very doomsday analysis considering the low level we've come from over the past 5yrs. There's no denying the last 3 games were poor but it came down to bad execution & passing in the final third moreso than abysmal performances, if we had taken even 50% of the chances we'd missed in those games we're into division 1 and having very different conversations. Midfield weren't blown away, we fielded more than Louth did it was the soft turnovers in the final third and poor shooting that lost us possession. Morris is a huge blow and hopefully he has a speedy recovery but Frayne & Costello are right up there with him on their day. We are absolutely further on than 12 months ago, if the new rules came in last year we'd be losing games by 20pts as we had no structure or attacking plan whatsoever. As I say if we can increase our scoring percentages back to where they were mid league, defend the arc better & develop some of the 20s to strengthen the panel we'll jump on again. Don't forget the considerable loss Jones & Coffey have been. LowerHogan (Meath) - Posts: 57 - 24/03/2025 09:43:41 2598205 Link
Replying To latouche25: "So do you still think it's a system breakdown. Westmeath was bad, Monaghan was awful but today was totally dreadful. 11 points down at half time against Louth without Lennon and Mulroy. Again for the third game in a row halfbacks continually trying to chase shadows, midfield totally blown away. No playmaker at centre forward. Morris the only threat and now he's gone. Frayne was very poor. The question is are we any better than 12 months ago. The stats would say probably not. Will the panel get cut now, who will be dropped. They have tried a few new faces but are they any better than who was there. From what I've seen over the past month I'm not very confident of beating anyone." I thought they had done enough in previous games to earn the benefit of the doubt. I still think that. At the start of campaign, we were favourites for relegation, and by the end we have 4 wins from a division where, unusually, no team was cannon fodder (eg last year Kildare match was a gimme). Still, yesterday was very sobering. You would have thought we were the team battling relegation, we seemed shorn of confidence. Even when we got it back to 4 points we never looked that strong or confident. And Louth were cannier through, smart fouls, 'earning' frees from light touches, breaking momentum any time we got a score or two in succession. They used the Morris injury time to reset and regroup smartly too. But I still think we're in better position than last year - Morris injury dependent. No league win under COR offered as much promise as that Roscommon match. And there's no point only taking the negatives from losses and ignoring the positives from wins. That win does offer a glimpse of what this group can do with a bit more time together. I loved everything about that performance. But results since then highlighted just how dependent we are on a few key men. The moment I lost any remaining faith in COR was the Louth AI group match last year, we had 6 weeks to prepare after the Dublin loss and there was no evidence of a plan out on the pitch. This year will be a different cadence of games. Two weeks til Carlow, then (almost certainly) one week til Offaly, then (hopefully) two weeks til Dublin. Then (likely) 2-3 weeks until AI group stage. If we still play like yesterday in that first group match then the players and management will deserve criticism. I still think they've earned some patience until then. MeathAbroad (Meath) - Posts: 145 - 24/03/2025 09:45:48 2598207 Link
Morris injury was the worst thing. Such a late tackle feet first is dangerous and dirty. Should be a year ban. Especially when it was well after the ball was gone. We can't judge the Louth player as we don't know what was in his mind. But needs stamping out Ashrules (Dublin) - Posts: 565 - 24/03/2025 10:20:36 2598223 Link
Replying To MeathAbroad: "I thought they had done enough in previous games to earn the benefit of the doubt. I still think that. At the start of campaign, we were favourites for relegation, and by the end we have 4 wins from a division where, unusually, no team was cannon fodder (eg last year Kildare match was a gimme). Still, yesterday was very sobering. You would have thought we were the team battling relegation, we seemed shorn of confidence. Even when we got it back to 4 points we never looked that strong or confident. And Louth were cannier through, smart fouls, 'earning' frees from light touches, breaking momentum any time we got a score or two in succession. They used the Morris injury time to reset and regroup smartly too. But I still think we're in better position than last year - Morris injury dependent. No league win under COR offered as much promise as that Roscommon match. And there's no point only taking the negatives from losses and ignoring the positives from wins. That win does offer a glimpse of what this group can do with a bit more time together. I loved everything about that performance. But results since then highlighted just how dependent we are on a few key men. The moment I lost any remaining faith in COR was the Louth AI group match last year, we had 6 weeks to prepare after the Dublin loss and there was no evidence of a plan out on the pitch. This year will be a different cadence of games. Two weeks til Carlow, then (almost certainly) one week til Offaly, then (hopefully) two weeks til Dublin. Then (likely) 2-3 weeks until AI group stage. If we still play like yesterday in that first group match then the players and management will deserve criticism. I still think they've earned some patience until then." All I'm reading from some of the posters on here is,if if if if Morris scored, if we picked up the breaking ball, if we took out chances. If is not reality, it is looking for hope where there is none. When Colm took over we had a big win against Cork and everyone was singing his praise is this just another false dawn. The application and skill of some of these lads is what really worries me. Lads beaten to easy not committed enough to win the dirty ball and giving up to easily when beaten. The passing kicking and tackling not up to intercounty level. latouche25 (Meath) - Posts: 548 - 24/03/2025 10:37:00 2598230 Link
Replying To latouche25: "All I'm reading from some of the posters on here is,if if if if Morris scored, if we picked up the breaking ball, if we took out chances. If is not reality, it is looking for hope where there is none. When Colm took over we had a big win against Cork and everyone was singing his praise is this just another false dawn. The application and skill of some of these lads is what really worries me. Lads beaten to easy not committed enough to win the dirty ball and giving up to easily when beaten. The passing kicking and tackling not up to intercounty level." I just don't agree with your view that lads are not committed out there or giving up. I'm not certain of the ceiling of this group of players. I hope it's getting to Div 1 and staying there. But even if it's not and they aren't good enough, I'd have very few doubts about their commitment. MeathAbroad (Meath) - Posts: 145 - 24/03/2025 11:03:31 2598245 Link
Westmeath game we got very lucky but I thought it was just an off day.Monaghan game was very sobering we looked way off the pace but yesterday was really poor especially first half.Lets be honest Louth could've easily had another 2/3 goals in the first half opened us up like a knife through butter.They scored a couple of 2 pointers under no pressure again same as last day v Monaghan so where lessons not learned?Our tackling v Roscommon was very good so it's not if we cant do it but last three games we have been poor on that.Our shooting yesterday was shocking now I know there was a strong wind but at least 4/5 shots were nearly rolling back to the louth keeper with no conviction in the shot.Morris the only forward taking his marker on and now will be a big loss.Yes we are missing Jones and Coffey but Louth were missing mulroy and Lennon 2 of their best players.We just look really leggy so maybe clutching at straws but are we in the middle of heavy training for championship last few weeks as we were safe in the league?If I'm honest I dont think so think we just dont have strength in depth at the minute.In defence I would've taken were we finished in the league as I worried we may struggle in the league. Proudroyal (Meath) - Posts: 327 - 24/03/2025 11:29:41 2598255 Link
Yesterday really was a nightmare. The way results went all we needed was a draw. We didn't perform well and still had chances to get something out of it but not to be. Then to top it off we lose our best player so far this year to a terrible injury. Overall the league was much more positive than the previous 3 years leagues. But it's a huge chance missed and the fact that we finished with our three worst performances makes it harder to remember the positives. The Leinster championship is coming up pretty quickly and our injury profile for it isn't good. We are likely to get a decent break then before the all Ireland series when we need to be targeting getting out of that group and into the last 12. One thing I have noticed is that we don't seem to have adapted our attack to the removal of the keeper coming up for the 12v11. Our attack still revolves around getting lads on either wing and taking multiple men on. And we get some brilliant individual scores off it with Morris, Flynn and Costello (in the Cork game and even yesterday winning a 2 point free) who it's suited to. But without the keeper coming up as the extra man it's hard to successfully build a slow attack consistently. We will have to find a way to get some ball winning presence inside and kick the ball more. Maybe as the ground hardens and winds go away it will be help but I think it's a clear area of improvement for us as we nearly get all our scores off running the ball when you don't have to do that as much under the new rules LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1562 - 24/03/2025 11:41:45 2598258 Link