A truly awesome show of power

VERY few occasions manage to leave me gob smacked. Yesterday's All Ireland semi final at Croke Park was one of them not so much because Meath actually won, rather the manner in which they accomplished the victory. Such power. Such pace. It is quite amazing how much this team has matured and developed in 12 months.

In particular, Meath's performance in the last 20 minutes of yesterday's game was as close to perfection as you will find on a Gaelic football pitch. Really. What made it all the more unbelievable was the way the young players handled the entire situation. They have blended in so well that it was impossible to decipher between the rookies' and those experienced heads who have been around for years.

Meath were direct when required, and also held on to the ball when the need arose. They did their homework on any weaknesses which showed up in the Leinster final win over Dublin, particularly as regards inside forwards Brendan Reilly and Barry Callaghan. Neither of them put a foot wrong yesterday.

Graham Geraghty, however, was phenomenal. I'd even go so far as to suggest that Geraghty is the best half forward in football since the heyday of Pat Spillane. Yesterday was his day. His initial marker, Ronan McGarrity was in trouble from early on and, then, the decision to put Fergal Logan, effectively a substitute midfielder, on him in the second half totally surprised me. Logan cut out some ball, but there was no way he could mark an out and out athlete, a sprinter, like Geraghty.

It was an untypical Tyrone performance, in many ways. They seemed incapable of finding or using any open space and, despite a large amount of possession early on and at times in the second half, they repeatedly took the wrong options.

Peter Canavan was obviously hindered by his ankle injury but, even so, I couldn't for the life of me understand why Tyrone continually stopped the game when awarded frees rather than opt for quick frees and constant movement.

Tyrone definitely lost the physical game. They were lighter and weaker. Meath hit hard, but fair. And, in man to man confrontation, it is important to stay on your feet. I can't remember ever seeing so many players from a team fall to the ground as occurred in Tyrone's case. Psychologically, it is not good for your team mates to see colleagues hit the deck.

This defeat will hit Tyrone hard, even harder than Kerry were hit by their defeat by Mayo in the first semi final. After all, Tyrone undertook the necessary remedial work in attack after last year's All Ireland final defeat by Dublin. In fairness, Ger Cavlan was their best player yesterday and Adrian Cush and Brian Dooher, along with wing back Sean McLaughlin, worked hard to shore up midfield, where Meath were running riot but, now, Tyrone discover that the defence has too many holes. A nine point defeat in the semi final when the whole county expected Sam's deliverance is a bitter pill to swallow. It will take some character for Tyrone to recover.

Tremendous credit is due to the Meath defence, however. They defended in groups, time and time again. When Tyrone tried to work the ball in for goals, they were surrounded by two, three or four Meath defenders, brilliantly marshalled by Martin O'Connell. I thought Ciaran McBride put in an enormous eflbrt, but the way he was shepherded out to the wings, and away from danger, was typical of the manner in which the Meath defence operated.

In this regard, the contributions of Paddy Reynolds, Darren Fay and Mark O'Reilly were unbelievable. The three newcomers old hands now, I suppose, with four senior championship victories behind them showed tremendous coolness and assuredness. They are great players who possess superb temperament. All have excellent pace and, being nurtured on successful Meath underage teams (it emphasises the importance of such set ups), know what is required to be winners.

Meath's midfield pairing of John McDermott and Jimmy McGuinness won that contest hands down, with Jody Gormley totally at odds with his game and Pascal Canavan overburdened. It ensured some good and constant supply into the forwards and, with Geraghty, especially, in such form, Meath took full advantage.

Getting back to Geraghty, I don't think there is any half back in the country who could stay with his pace, whether moving on or off the ball. Apart from being a major scoring threat, he is also unselfish, as his role as provider for Callaghan's goal emphasised.

Reilly upped his performance hugely from the Leinster final. It seemed he could do no wrong at all yesterday. He is so quick on his feet, breaking away from defenders. He'd be a handful for any full back. However, Tommy Dowd's performance was again disappointing and he only blossomed late on when the match was already won.

The favourites tag has been something of a kiss of death so far this season, but Meath will be obvious favourites now for the All Ireland final. One thing which I don't think will bother Mayo manager John Maughan too much is whether his side should be able to live with Meath physically they should. But the overall pace of Meath's play will, I suspect, worry him.

Where do Tyrone go from here? I don't know. It will take some time for players and mentors to absorb the full implications of this defeat. Meath, though, have taught us all a lesson most of the players have come through successful minor and under 21 teams, and such nurturing of talent has borne fruit. It is something every county should think about.