Meath regain their sense of urgency

Meath 1-15  Laois 0-7: Don't look now. Meath are creeping up behind you. On a balmy afternoon in Portlaoise - the venue for the grimmest double bill since the last John Carpenter season - the masters of opportunity destroyed all scope for optimism in Laois.

It was a victory that bore the familiar hallmarks of Meath on the verge of a winning season. The necessary elements were in place. The Ollie Murphy-Graham Geraghty axis, unorthodox and unstoppable, finally clicked here to the obvious distress of the Laois full-back line.

Paul Shankey led his colleagues in what was a marauding and effective half-back performance while the established back three appeared to have rid themselves of the uncharacteristic butterflies evident at Croke Park.

The sense of urgency energised Trevor Giles and although he has yet to fully apply his gifted read of the game, he was busy and effective all day. He was also at the heart of an audacious soccer move with Murphy that Rivaldo and Ronaldo would have applauded.

And, in a typically Meath reaction to adversity, Richie Kealy continued to respond to the flat form of a month ago with a blistering, free-scoring hour. Meath looked a different team to that which fell against Dublin.

But they were also playing a different quality of opposition. It is hard to over-estimate just how dramatically Laois bottomed out in front of an expectant home support.

Even through the first 20 minutes, when they shared an uneasy stalemate with Meath, there was a scared look about them.

Their day got off to an ominous start when Michael Lawlor trod on a nail some hours before the kick-off. The influential forward started but retired soon afterwards and from then, the home team's fortunes just went downhill.

Meath, more than any team, sense when the opposition is ailing and they floored Laois with the speed we have become used to. On 22 minutes, Geraghty landed a peach of a point to give them the most slender of leads and was fouled two minutes later. Kealy converted. Then they really began opening the shoulders.

Ian Fitzgerald spilled a ball during a tentative Laois attack and Meath steamed forward, with Geraghty, Shankey and Kealy working a ball for Murphy to fire another score. Scarcely had the Laois supporters time to absorb the immense danger of the situation than they were, to all intents and purposes, out of the championship.

Shankey won a ball around the half-back line, flicked it to Evan Kelly and he played a long, perfect ball to Murphy, who was standing unmarked on the edge of the square, the very picture of innocence. And guess what? Murphy didn't go for the point. His shot was clean and devastating and Laois looked punch drunk.

Meath then simply boarded up the doors and windows, another eviction complete. Their point on the 30th minute was so eerily recognisable, similar to the kinds of scores they have been working for the past half decade.

First Darren Fay and Mark O'Reilly descended on Stephen Kelly and after a wolfish few seconds stripped him of the ball and possibly his pocketwatch also. Giles was poised to hurry the play along and they moved it through the lines in seconds for Geraghty to score. Simple and unstoppable.

Laois, blunted totally in open play, were also enduring nightmare problems with frees. They landed 13 first-half wides and went 14 minutes without scoring before Kelly converted a relatively simple free.

Perhaps influenced by the dispiriting circumstances of the earlier Kerry-Fermanagh episode, nobody had the imagination enough to anticipate a comeback in this game. It is well known anyway that Meath don't really believe in comebacks from teams other than themselves.

Geraghty might have had another goal just before half-time and following the break, they quickly rattled over another few scores to leave the scoreline at 1-9 to 0-3.

The next half hour made tough viewing for everyone but it must have been particularly galling for Laois manager Colm Browne and his selectors. Laois did nothing that reflected their ability and the time and preparation designed specifically for a day like this, with a marque team vulnerable and in their backyard. It could have been one of the more famous days in Laois football history. Instead, it was one of the sorriest. There is the sense now that many counties will rue Louth's failure to finish Meath when they were on their knees.

It was as if Meath's football life flashed before the players and reminded them that winning is what they are best at. There is no argument they have again tapped into that traditional elixir. It remains to be seen if it still works against the dream team from the west or the revamped boys in blue.

But it would take a brave man to bet against them.

HOW THEY LINED OUT

MEATH: 1 C Sullivan; 2 M O'Reilly, 3 D Fay, 4 C Murphy; 5 P Shankey, 12 N Nestor, 7 P Reynolds; 8 N Crawford, 9 J Cullinane; 10 E Kelly, 11 T Giles, 17 R Kealy; 13 O Murphy, 14 G Geraghty, 19 A Kenny.

Subs: N McKeigue for C Murphy (57 mins), S Kenny for P Reynolds (62 mins), D Crimmin for G Geraghty (65 mins), R McGee for O Murphy (65 mins).

Booked: C Murphy (15 mins), D Fay (30 mins), O Murphy (50 mins).

LAOIS: 1 F Byron; 18 D Brennan, 3 T Kelly, 4 D Ryan; 5 D Conroy, 6 K Fitzpatrick, 7 J Higgins; 8 N Garvan, 9 P Clancy; 10 I Fitzgerald, 11 C Conway, 12 G Ramsbottom, 13 S Kelly, 14 M Lawlor, 15 B McDonald.

Subs: D McEvoy for M Lawlor (28 mins inj.), P McDonald for D Ryan (29 mins), G Kavanagh for G Ramsbottom (half-time), K Kelly for I Fitzgerald (53 mins), J Kelly for N Gravan (61 mins).

Booked: S Kelly (15 mins), C Conway (39 mins), P Clancy (57 mins).