Ward winds up matters for Meath

Meath 5-8 Louth 2-8:AS HE skipped off to the Meath team bus with his night's work done and a year of gripe and unpleasantness put to bed, Joe Sheridan was chased down the corridor by a 10-year-old autograph-hunter. "Get back here, Joe!" he yelled, programme and pen outstretched. Sheridan turned and smiled and did his duty, even fishing a pair of gloves out of his gearbag for the boy.

Louth folk in search of a bogeyman might want to start looking elsewhere.

Meath rolled through them on Saturday night like a combine through a wheat field. In front of a crowd of 18,243 at Breffni Park, Cian Ward’s constant flow of goals kept pushing the game further and further out of Louth’s reach. By close of business Ward had 4-3 on the board, the first sighting of four goals in a championship game since Dublin corner-forward Johnny Joyce plundered 5-3 against Longford all of 51 years ago.

Sheridan was booed by Louth supporters throughout the first half but so on top were Meath after the break that the jeers had petered out long before the end.

“This could have dragged on a couple of years,” said a relieved Sheridan afterwards, “so I’m glad we faced each other now and got it over with. Thankfully, there was no hassle. I think we’re all mature enough to know that these things happen in games. I’m just delighted that we’re still in the championship. It’s unfortunate for Louth after the year they had last year but we’ve just got to concentrate on our own game.”

Their own game is in decent, if far from spectacular shape. Louth made them look a notch or two better than they are, truth be told. It will be rare they’ll come up against a side who can only offer a single point from play in 70 minutes or, for that matter, a side whose full-back line has three changes in personnel and another in position made by the half-hour mark. On Saturday night they faced both and gleefully made hay, leaving no room for doubt or recrimination. The line was drawn.

“This was a huge match for these players,” said Meath manager Séamus McEnaney. “They wanted, for want of a better phrase, they wanted to put the baby to sleep here. In fairness, they did it in decent style.

“The players really wanted to put this to bed. There was a lot of stuff hanging over since last year’s Leinster final and I think, in fairness to the lads, this doesn’t need to be talked about again. This game has been talked about an awful lot, certainly more by other people than the players.”

Louth’s championship ended in deflation, much as it had begun against Carlow a fortnight earlier. They took advantage of a stiff breeze from the start and actually scored the first three points but as soon as Ward got in for his first goal on 16 minutes to put Meath 1-1 to 0-3 up, it was hard to see how Louth were going to score enough to balance what was bound to be conceded at the back. Ward had already hit the crossbar to serve notice of what he felt was possible. For the rest of the night, aside from placed balls, he barely took a single shot for a point.

His second was probably the pick of them, collecting a deft Paddy O’Rourke tap down before turning inside the last defender and arrowing a shot into the left corner. It was his fourth strike at goal inside the first 31 minutes and it was timely too, coming just two minutes after Clarke had poked home a messy goal up the other end to put Louth into a 1-4 to 1-3 lead. Once Ward’s second went in, Meath had a lead they never gave back.

By now they were slipping into gear. Sheridan was moving very smoothly, processing ball smartly and efficiently. Newly-minted midfielder Shane O’Rourke and centre-back Shane McAnarney gathered plenty of tough possession around the middle and in defence Meath hunted in packs to bottle up Louth attackers and send them down fruitless alleys. The half-time 2-4 to 1-4 lead Meath enjoyed ought to have been more. That it wasn’t owed as much to the wind as anything.

The second half was scratchy stuff, to be kind about it. We didn’t see a score from play until Ward was sent through for his hat-trick thanks to a peach of a ball from Sheridan to put Meath 3-7 to 1-5 ahead. Indeed, the whole second period only offered up a single point from play from either side – a Shane O’Rourke effort in the 70th minute, by which time Meath had put clear water between the sides.

They’ll meet stronger currents before long though. How long they’ll stay afloat is anyone’s guess.

LOUTH: S Connor; J O’Brien, A Hoey, D Finnegan; R Finnegan, M Fanning, A McDonnell; P Keenan (1-0, pen), B Donnelly; D Crilly, R Carroll, A Reid; D Clarke (1-8, 0-7 frees), S Lennon, JP Rooney. Subs: E McAuley for O’Brien (13 mins), D Byrne for E McAuley (31 mins), D Maguire for Rooney (half-time), S Fitzpatrick for Carroll (54 mins), D Reid for Lennon (64 mins).

MEATH: B Murphy; G O’Brien, C King, C O’Connor; J Queeney, S McAnarney, C Lennon; S O’Rourke (0-3), B Meade; G Reilly (0-1), J Sheridan (0-1), S Kenny; P Gilsenan (1-0), P O’Rourke, C Ward (4-3, 0-3 frees). Subs: P Byrne for Queeney (44 mins), E Reilly for G Reilly (57 mins), A Moyles for Kenny (63 mins), M Ward for Meade (66 mins).

Referee: M Deegan (Laois).