Qualifier experience 'brought us through'

PECULIAR SCENES in the underworld of Croke Park, with Meath lads throwing their gear on to the bus while up on the green swathe, an All-Ireland hurling semi-final has roared into life. Two worlds in one stadium.

The Meath lads looked happy with the outcome of the last football quarter-final of the year, but not particularly surprised. As they promised, they turned up ready to play and made their own luck. “We knew Mayo would be favourites,” explained Nigel Crawford. “They had been very impressive. Any provincial winner will be automatically so.

“The thing we drew strength from was we were battled hardened from four tough games in the qualifiers – particularly against Limerick. I know we didn’t start like that today, but that experience is probably what brought us through.”

There had been much public lamentation about the absence of Stephen Bray, but in the sanctity of the training ground the Meath management turned his suspension into a motivating factor. As Brian Farrell explained, the team has other leaders throughout the field. “We’ve lads there – look at Nigel – I think Nigel that you played in the 1988 All-Ireland, didn’t ya,” he grinned. “Everyone knows what Stephen is capable of and if you had to play well for anyone, it would be Stephen. We didn’t get bogged down. He got suspended and we took it on the chin. We know we are capable of a performance – nobody is giving us a chance but we know we have players on the panel.

“We didn’t get off to the best of starts. Maybe us being a point up (at the break) was not a fair reflection on Mayo’s performance but we kind of knew if we got the ball in, it would start sticking and that we could have Mayo in trouble. Better off making mistakes in the Mayo half than in our own. And thank God it worked. We did work hard on the training pitch – it is unbelievable the intensity in Colm Brady’s training and it is great to be back in the last four in Ireland.

“You keep working on the training pitch and that is where the conviction comes from. And you know, lads like Nigel and Anthony (Moyles) up at 33 or 34 now and still playing away.” “I’m still in my 20s,” Crawford protested but he didn’t seem too bothered.

Meath’s season has been backboned by the astute management of Eamon O’Brien. He declined the invitation to deliver the familiar sermon about having been written off. “Any reasonable-minded person would make that assessment,” he said of the general expectation Mayo would win. “We knew we were in with a good chance and when you have that you are always in with a chance. When we were beaten by Dublin by two points – and probably should have been beaten by more – we went back to our clubs for a few weeks and there was a down period. But the draw was kind to us. If Kerry play as they played last Monday we won’t be able to stay on the same pitch as them. Maybe they won’t play like that. And maybe then we will have a chance.”

Mayo laid the blame squarely on themselves. Andy Moran flatly rejected the cold comfort of hearing the sideline ball that led to Meath’s second goal was wrongly called. “No. We still should have dealt with the ball in. We could have gone nine points up twice. Maybe it was a bit of experience so a little petty sideline ball doesn’t make much of a difference. When we wake up tomorrow morning, it is another day that we left behind. We have no excuses but to look to ourselves.”

Manager John O’Mahony also brushed away the ifs and buts. “Look it, we have to deal in realities and that is Meath are in a semi-final and we are out. It was a funny game of different phases. I have no doubt this group will come out of the right side of some tough games. I have three years done. What we agreed is to come together when the dust settles.”

Meath face a stiff task against a rejuvenated Kingdom and have rough memories of their last semi-final experience, when they never got started against Cork.

“We let ourselves down that day,” said Brian Farrell. “It was a bitter day for Meath football. You see what Kerry did to the Dubs . . . but we’ll turn up. We’ll have nothing to lose and we will give it a lash anyway.”