Keaney's display is faultless

Dublin ... 2-16 Meath ... 0-10: The couple of hundred people that showed up in Navan yesterday had little cuase to get too excited but at least some got a positive update on the current state of Dublin senior hurling.  Ian O'Riordan reports

Marty Morris has clearly settled in well as new manager and the introduction of some fresh new talent has lifted the enthusiasm of the other players. And if winning breeds confidence then the Walsh Cup is proving to be a useful exercise.

It was known well before the game that Dublin had more to play for than Meath with victory taking them to Croke Park next Sunday to meet Laois in the semi-final - part of a double-bill with the Dublin footballers, who start their league campaign against Armagh.

On that note the desire of the Dublin players was always going to be a little greater. However, their cause was helped by Meath who looked terribly stale on the day. But what ultimately won the game for Dublin were the sparkling performances throughout the field. Conal Keaney was head and shoulders, and maybe a leg as well, above every other player on show and is not far off being the complete hurler.

His 0-5 contribution could easily have been doubled had his free taking been a tiny bit more accurate, but his commitment was faultless. An absent Stephen Hiney meant he played at centre back rather than midfield, and that position provided an equal platform for his huge range of skills.

Other names shone further back in defence, with Darragh Spain always looking the part in his new position at full back, and Keith Elliott - who was making his first competitive start for the seniors - equally solid in the corner.

Keith Wilson also slotted perfectly into the wing back position, while in the forwards there was another encouraging display from dual player David O'Callaghan. What he lacks in size he clearly makes up for in pace, and two of his points were lightening-like in their execution.

The two goals that gave Dublin such a comfortable winning margin came from Keith Horgan and substitute Fergal Armstrong. Horgan's came after just two minutes and followed a brilliant pass from Keaney, while Armstrong helped close out the match with a self-propelled goal.

Meath never got a sniff of the lead, relying almost totally on Nicky Horan's free taking to make an impression on the scoreboard. At times their defence was built like a house of cards, although goalkeeper Mark Gannon did make two impressive saves to deny Dublin further goals.

With Dublin leading 1-9 to 0-7 at half time - and Liam Ryan also deserving credit for the scoring - the game filtered out without much excitement.

DUBLIN: B McLoughlin; K Elliott, D Spain, J Cullen; K Wilson, C Keaney (0-5, four frees, one 65), C Meehan; T Moore, S McDonnell (0-1); E Dunne, L Ryan (0-4), S Martin (0-1); D O'Callaghan (0-3, one free), K O'Donoghue (0-1), K Horgan (1-1). Subs: M Carton for Dunne (27 mins), D O'Reilly for Horgan (56 mins), F Armstrong (1-0) for O'Callaghan (58 mins), R Fallon for McDonnell (65 mins), A Ryan for Spain (66 mins, inj).

MEATH: M Gannon; R Dorran; D Fagan, P Roche; C Keena, C Sheridan, K Dowd; B Perry, D Callaghan; M Cole (0-1), N Horan (0-6, five frees), S Clynch (0-1); E Lynam, D Dorran (0-1), N Reilly. Subs: K Dunphy for Perry, I McCormack for Reilly, P Gannon (0-1) for Clynch (all 56 mins), S Kane for D Dorran (65 mins).

Referee: J McGrath (Longford)