The most disappointing aspect of a fairly spirited league final was that there was no closure; from a neutral point of view, it would have been preferable to see a result after an absorbing 70 minutes. I think Michael Curley would have been justified in playing another two or three minutes but, nonetheless, I feel that neither team will be greatly displeased at the prospect of a replay.
The most striking aspect of this game was the level of commitment - it bordered, particularly in the second half, on championship type intensity. In a sense, the ego on both sides possibly made this inevitable - Derry are just on a winning roll and certainly didn't want to end their campaign on a loss. Meath are aware of their kingpin status and were understandably keen to underline it yesterday.
Although Derry will be quite physically sore for the next couple of days, they will be secretly pleased with themselves. For a start, they seem to have come through a heated afternoon unscathed. Also vital is the fact that they need not worry about the psychological baggage of losing the game so close to their championship opener against Cavan.
I was surprised by Derry's early tactics, when they employed the long ball with some immediate returns. Enda Muldoon, in particular, made himself available as a useful target man. I felt where the Ulster side was badly lacking was in both corner forward positions and they sorely miss Joe Brolly's craft and opportunism.
Derry's lack of potential in these areas was highlighted when contrasted with Meath's Ollie Murphy, who represents the classic finisher. Once again Derry's Anthony Tohill looms large. His goal summed up everything about the midfielder's attributes. The fetch from the initial kick-out was one of the best of the day, the pass was perfect but to actually make the space in time to receive the return pass illustrates his attitude.
Another Derryman who stood out for me was Kieran McKeever, who did an outstanding man-marking job on Trevor Giles. One notable aspect of Giles' play was his reluctance to play ball to his inside forwards and this was because Sean Marty Lockhart and Gary Coleman did a terrific job of keeping Meath's front pair bottled up. Giles was forced to seek other avenues and as a result, Meath found Derry difficult to break down.
That said, the Meath goal, which arrived at a crucial time, was down to a Derry error. It was unfortunate for Coleman who ought to have fisted the ball away. He was perfectly positioned, but Ollie Murphy's body-strength forced the break of the ball and once he had it a goal was always likely.
In the second half, Derry seemed to revert to the long ball and this, I thought, played right into the hands of the then swarming, tigerish Meath defence. These defenders are past masters at closing down short-ball avenues and initiated many of their attacks after negating Derry build-ups.
Graham Geraghty's dismissal only served to highlight Meath's real gritty character. In a way, it wasn't a huge blow to them; they like to keep men pressed back anyway and finding themselves a forward down, they harried with extra vigour and tenacity. And the equalising free was a testimony to Trevor Giles' nerveless composure under pressure.
One thing that surprised me was that Derry did not bring on more substitutes at an earlier stage, which might be suggestive of a lack of strength in depth. But they are a solid-looking team and this game has done little to suggest that they can't engineer a long summer for themselves. Meath will also welcome another competitive game. Derry are still a stride ahead of Meath when it comes to match fitness but that may have changed when the teams meet again in a fortnight.
For the replay, it all still hangs in the balance. Geraghty is a calibre player and his loss will be felt by Meath but Lockhart had done a tremendous job on him up to then and Meath coped anyway. But that's the key to Meath. Now, Derry have to rise themselves and cope with a fresh situation in Ulster next weekend.
(In an interview with Keith Duggan)
