All-Ireland SFC Qualifier/Round Three: Fermanagh 1-12 Meath 0-9 The qualifier route should officially be renamed the treacherous route. There is no such thing as a safe way through, writes Ian O'Riordan in Clones.
Yesterday Meath were the latest county to explore such uncertain territory, and suffer the worst possible consequences. They started the game as favourites, looked good at half-time, but from then on could only sit back and watch as an emotionally-fired Fermanagh extended their championship season.
And long after the Meath supporters had left Clones, those decked out in the Fermanagh's jersey lingered on the streets to enjoy the moment. Playing football well into July is not the sort of thing Fermanagh are accustomed to.
Or more significantly, playing the sort of football that has a Meath team rattled. They outscored their Leinster opponents 1-9 to 0-4 in the second half and during that time had better men in every area of the field.
Yet emotion as much as determination played a role. And not many in the attendance of 14,492 were aware just how much. For manager Dom Corrigan it was hard to contain the tears in the end, when thoughts immediately shifted to his seriously-ill brother. Clearly this victory had a higher meaning to it.
"Well yeah, I think I can say it was the best championship performance by Fermanagh ever," said Corrigan. "The second half was superb. And if we keep producing football like that then we have a great chance of getting to the quarter-final.
"And I've very proud of all those players. We did get a lot of stick after the loss to Down. But it was the players who turned it around. They decided they wanted to do something for Fermanagh that had never been done before. And they produced a championship performance that was as good as anything we've seen in Ulster this season."
Such was Fermanagh's dominance in the second half that Meath closed out the game chasing goals but the Fermanagh defence was watertight. The full-back line of Ryan McCloskey, Michael Lillely and, in particular, Barry Owens were superb.
"Well we were ready for any comeback," added Corrigan, "whatever onslaught Meath were going to do. But I thought our lads were all tremendous. It makes for a brilliant season, and it's not finished yet."
The quality of Fermanagh's football in the second half was so impressive it left their first-half performance seem like a puzzle.
Once Raymond Gallagher scored the game's only goal after two minutes of the second half it seemed Fermanagh were spoilt for scoring options. Gallagher added four points (three frees) before the game was out, and Kieran Donnelly - a half-time substitute who helped set up the goal - also added two from play.
Others, like Tom Brewster, played like men inspired. He floated two 45s over the bar and on 50 minutes he hit a point from play from way out on the sideline.
Stephen Maguire didn't score but was a central playmaker. Martin McGrath and Paul Brewster developed a total grip on midfield. And Kieran Gallagher hardly put a foot wrong at centre back. So when Gallagher hit another free 10 minutes from the end, which pressed Fermanagh further ahead at 1-10 to 0-8, it was game over. Meath didn't have the men, nor the appetite, to find a response.
At the start Meath had gambled on Ollie Murphy's fitness but he lasted only 20 minutes before his shoulder injury resurfaced. Trevor Giles started with his usual authority but faded out of the game. Nigel Crawford never maintained the necessary influence at midfield, and no doubt part of their 0-5 to 0-3 advantage at half-time was down to Fermanagh's inconsistencies.
Hank Traynor again popped up for one of the Meath's better points, but as the game wore on their defence was increasingly taken apart by Fermanagh's will to win. On the day it was unstoppable, and teams as good as Meath might yet suffer the ill-effects of trying to contain it.
FERMANAGH: 1 Ronan Gallagher; 2 R McCloskey, 3 B Owens, 4 M Lilley; 5 S McDermott, 6 K Gallagher, 7 N Cox; 8 P Brewster, 9 M McGrath; 10 T Brewster (0-3, two 45s), 12 R Keenan (0-1), 29 J Sherry (0-1); 13 R McCabe, 14 S Maguire, 11 Raymond Gallagher (1-5, four frees). Subs: 25 K Donnelly (0-2) for McCabe (half-time), 15 C Brady for Sherry (42 mins), S Doherty for Maguire (69 mins), H Brady for Lilley (71 mins), K Keenan for McDermott (73 mins).
MEATH: 1 C Sullivan; 2 N McKeigue, 3 D Fay, 4 C Murphy; 5 P Reynolds, 7 N Nestor, 6 H Traynor (0-1); 8 N Crawford (0-1), 9 C McCarthy (0-1); 11 T Giles (0-2, one free, one 45), 13 J Cullinane, 14 G Geraghty (0-1); 20 O Murphy, 15 D Crimmins, 10 E Kelly. Subs: R Magee (0-2, one free) for O Murphy 20 mins, R Kealy (0-1) for Cullinane (44 mins), B Callaghan for Crimmins (52 mins), A Kenny for Kelly (55 mins), A Moyles for Kealy (67 mins).
Referee: P Russell (Tipperary).
