Meath show calm heads to add Galway to their list of scalps

Irish Times

6 days ago

All-Ireland SFC semi-final: Meath 2-16 Galway 2-15
On a weekend when the curtain came down on the Sam Maguire aspirations of several leading contenders, Meath planted a flag in Croke Park as the 2025 championship's dragon-slayers added another scalp to their list.
Meath's progression to a first All-Ireland semi-final appearance since 2009 ended in a scene of utter joy and despair.
In his post-match interview on the pitch, man of the match Jordan Morris leaned forward to the microphone and let out a guttural roar, 'Up the Royaaaal'.
Over his shoulder the forlorn Galway players were traipsing off the pitch with growing doubts as to whether this group will ever get over the line.
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But this isn't a story of Galway's demise but rather a tale of Meath's defiance – a day some old Meath qualities put down roots in a new Meath team.
A Conor Gray goal was the spark for Meath to push ahead and lead by six points in the 55th minute. Galway were taking on water and last year's All-Ireland finalists looked all out of ideas.
And then in the space of just over three minutes they scored 2-3. In that whirlwind spell the Connacht champions moved three ahead and the entire momentum of the contest swung in their favour.
If ever there was a moment for a group of footballers to play the role of deer caught in headlights, this was it for Meath. But Robbie Brennan's men have been ripping up scripts all summer long.
Eoghan Frayne popped over a point on the hour mark to steady matters before Morris made real on that concept about forwards being the first line of defence. When Connor Gleeson went short with a kickout to Johnny McGrath, Morris smelt blood. He hared in, popped the ball out of McGrath's hands and suddenly Galway were exposed.
Galway's Cillian McDaid scores his side's first goal in the All-Ireland semi-final against Meath. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
A rapid hand-pass move followed involving Seán Coffey and Mathew Costello, ending with Morris palming the ball home, 2-13 to 2-12. He'd both created and executed the opportunity. Galway's surge had been repelled.
'There's a touch of genius about Jordy,' smiled Brennan afterwards.
His first three shots of the game went wide but Morris refused to allow those misses knock his confidence. Instead, he spent most of the game wreaking havoc in the Galway defence with his jinks and sidesteps and general unpredictability. He didn't miss again and finished the game with 1-6.
But this was no one-man achievement. Not for the first time this year Meath showed ravenous hunger and intent on breaking balls around the middle third; they were ferocious in their tackling and desire but more than anything they played with real poise and calmness, belying the fact they were competing in the Tailteann Cup two years ago.
Meath looked like the team that had contested two of the last three All-Ireland finals, not Galway.
Meath's Conor Gray scores his side's first goal despite the efforts of Galway's Seán Fitzgerald. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
'We just didn't get to the energy levels of the game, didn't really perform the way we should be performing,' sighed Pádraic Joyce afterwards.
'We were very poor first half in general and Meath probably left us in the game. Then when we came back, we went three up and we probably thought that our experience might get us over the line but we gave away a short kickout, got dispossessed too easily and another goal. I think we conceded 2-6, 2-7 in turnovers.'
Joyce refused to be drawn on his future but it's hard to know how Galway go rebuilding from here.
The first half was a cagey, pedestrian affair – Galway led 0-7 to 0-6 at the break but the Tribesmen had been guilty of continuously making basic errors, losing possession with bad solos or mishit passes. As a team they looked out of sync.
Meath made their move midway through the second half.
The strength of Galway's bench had been pinpointed as a possible game-winning area for the Tribesmen but Meath's subs actually wrestled the contest in favour of the Royals.
Meath's Ruairí Kinsella and goalkeeper Billy Hogan block Dylan McHugh of Galway's goal-bound attempt. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
Gray's introduction had a huge bearing on the result, he used all of his strength to bull through for a 54th minute goal – and while it won't win any goal of the season awards Meath haven't scored many more important ones at Croke Park in recent years.
Gray was also brilliant in the aerial war around the middle of the field during the last quarter.
When Morris followed up Gray's goal with a point to make it 1-12 to 0-9, Meath looked to have Galway on the ropes. But then full back Seán Rafferty – who had been outstanding marking Shane Walsh – went off injured and the whole affair almost unravelled for Meath.
It turned out Rafferty's injury was not as bad as initially feared and he was quickly ushered back on – but in the six minutes he was off the pitch Galway scored 2-3.
'I'd say 90 per cent of the country wrote us off there and then,' said Meath forward Ruairí Kinsella.
'It shows the character in the team, the belief we have, how hard we've worked all year, we just stayed calm, looked after the ball and we went again.'
Calmness. It has been a trait of this Meath team. A refusal to panic.
Meath manager Robbie Brennan celebrates after the game with Donal Keogan. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
Meath had built up a three-point lead with two minutes remaining but Shane Walsh fired over a brilliant two-pointer to set up a grandstand finish. However from there Meath denied Galway another shot at goal.
From the resulting kick-out, Billy Hogan found Donal Keogan hugging the Hogan Stand sideline, unmarked. Galway needed to have that avenue closed off. They didn't. It summed up so much of Galway's day.
Meath worked the ball up the field, won a free and ultimately kicked it out over the endline as the hooter sounded. Galway had been added to their list of vanquished All-Ireland contenders.
'Like, you know, we're probably lucky,' smiled Brennan. 'Isn't that what everyone says? We keep getting lucky. We were lucky against Dublin, we were lucky against Kerry. And I guess we were lucky again today.
'The Leinster final was a massive learning. I think we've put a lot of those learnings from that Leinster final in place. We're the last team from Leinster now and we'll keep the flag flying.'
They certainly planted one at Croke Park on Sunday.
MEATH:
Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Seán Rafferty, Ronan Ryan; Donal Keogan (0-0-1), Seán Coffey (0-0-1), Ciarán Caulfield; Bryan Menton (0-0-1), Adam O'Neill; Mathew Costello (0-0-4, 1f), Ruairí Kinsella (0-0-1), Conor Duke; Jordan Morris (1-0-6), Keith Curtis, Eoghan Frayne (0-0-1).
Subs:
Cathal Hickey (0-0-1) for Curtis (42mins); Conor Gray (1-0-0) for O'Neill (46mins); Brian O'Halloran for Rafferty (55mins); Seán Rafferty for Lavin (61mins).
GALWAY:
Connor Gleeson; Johnny McGrath, Seán Fitzgerald, Jack Glynn; Dylan McHugh, Liam Silke (1-0-0), Cian Hernon; Cein Darcy, John Maher (0-0-1); Matthew Tierney (0-0-2), Seán Kelly (0-0-1), Peter Cooke; Robert Finnerty (0-0-3, 2f), Shane Walsh (0-2-1, 1 2ptf), Matthew Thompson (0-0-2).
Subs:
Paul Conroy for Hernon (42mins); Cillian McDaid (1-0-0) for Cooke (44mins); Daniel O'Flaherty for McHugh (51mins); Damien Comer (0-0-1) for Tierney (51mins); Kieran Molloy for Kelly (64mins)
.
Referee:
Martin McNally (Monaghan).