An incredible second half comeback from Meath saw the Royals inflict a 1-11 to 1-09 defeat on close rivals Louth this afternoon and bag themselves a crucial two points in Navan.
It really was a game of two halves as Meath failed to take advantage of a strong first half breeze kicking only five points up to the break.
Louth arguably could have been further ahead at the break with Ciaran Keenan and Conor Grimes both carving out gilt edged goal chances only to be denied on both occasions by the impressive Sean Brennan in the Meath goal.
Louth led by the narrowest of margins at half time and three quick second half points saw them completely in control of the game in every battle and four points to the good against a very flat Meath side.
A stat the Meath fans won't enjoy when they look back on the game during the week is that they went twenty minutes between the 25th and 45th minute of the game without any score for their efforts.
The half-time break came at the right time for Colm O’Rourke’s side but 1-06 in the second period for the home side was enough to see them through with a win.
Matthew Costello and Shane Walsh put in big performances for Meath and were key to their second half turnaround.
Meath enjoyed all of the early ball and were patient in their build up as they probed for an opening score. It was Costello who stepped up making no mistake from close range to get the scoreboard ticking for the Royals.
It took Louth a few minutes to measure up the conditions and the strong breeze they would play into for the opening half. Once they did they looked a major threat to the Meath defence but couldn’t maximize their output from the opportunities that they created close to goal.
Meath with the breeze had chances to extend their lead early on with Costello, Caufield and goalkeeper Brennan all hitting wides for Meath in the first ten minutes.
Walsh then pointed for Meath from play in what started out as a very cagey affair but opened up as the first half progressed.
Two huge goal chances in the space of a matter of minutes fell the way of Louth as they cut right through the Meath defence far too easily on both occasions. Keenan had the first chance with Grimes following up moments later with another glorious effort from close range.
Both efforts were straight at Sean Brennan in the Meath goal and Meath managed to hold firm without seeing their goal line breached.
Two quick scores from Jack O’Connor sandwiched either side of a point from play by Ryan Burns saw Meath lead 0-04 to 0-02 after twenty minutes.
Further scores from Burns as well as two from Sam Mulroy saw Louth lead by the narrowest of margins at the break on a scoreline of 0-06 to 0-05.
Louth, despite playing into a very strong breeze, were the better side for the remainder of the opening half and should really have been further in front at the break.
Ger Brennan's side couldn’t have asked for a better restart with Mulroy pointing a carbon copy of his score just before the break inside the opening few seconds of the second half before Burns followed it up with his third and fourth of the afternoon, with two exquisite scores from play to push the visitors four points in front.
Costello finally ended Meath's scoring drought on 45 minutes to keep them just about in touch with their rivals, Louth leading 0-09 to 0-06 with the elements in their favour for the remainder of the game.
However, Costello’s point proved a real shot in the arm for Meath in terms of confidence as they rattled off the next five scores to crucially give themselves the lead once more as the home support got noticeably louder in an attempt to push their side on.
Louth had another huge goal chance against the run of play as the game entered the final fifteen minutes. Keenan found himself all on his own in attack as Meath continued to push forward and take control of the game. As the Meath defence scrambled back into position Keenan unleashed a powerful effort towards goal but was denied by a brave last ditch clearance from Sean Coffey to deny Louth once more.
Meath, to their credit, were a different animal by now and were stronger in every area of the pitch as they really took the game by the scruff of the neck.
Things went from bad to worse for Louth with Costello rifling an unstoppable shot into the back of the net in the 70th minute as Meath extended their lead to five with the end in sight.
The game wasn’t done yet and an injury time screamer of a goal from Louth’s Tom Jackson ensured a grandstand finish with the deficit reduced to two with one play remaining.
Louth were the ones to win the kickout. Sam Mulroy lobbed a teasing ball right into the goalmouth area in the dying seconds but Meath managed to wrestle back possession and hold on for a crucial two point win.
Incredible drama in Navan in a derby that never fails to disappoint. Meath host Kildare in Navan next weekend with Louth welcoming Cavan to Ardee.
Meath: Sean Brennan; Donal Keogan, Adam O’Neill, Michael Murphy; Ciaran Caufield, Darragh Campion, Sean Coffey; Ronan Jones (captain), Cian McBride; Daithi McGowan (0-02, 1m), Eoghan Frayne (0-02), Jack O’Connor (0-02); Ruairi Kinsella, Matthew Costello (1-02, 2f), Shane Walsh (0-03)
Subs: Cathal Hickey for Ruari Kinsella h/t, Brian O’ Halloran for Michael Murphy 48, Aaron Lynch for Daithi McGowan 62 Danny Dixon for Jack O’Connor 62, Adam McDonnell for Darragh Campion 70
Louth: Niall McDonnell; Donal McKenny, Dermot Campbell, Peter Lynch; Conall McKeever, Anthony Williams, Ciaran Murphy; Conor Early, Tommy Durnin (0-1); Paul Mathews, Ciaran Keenan (0-01), Conor Grimes; Ryan Burns (0-04), Sam Mulroy (captain) (0-03, 2f, 1m), Ciaran Downey
Subs: Dylan McKeown for Ciaran Downey 54, Leonard Grey for Anthony Williams 55,Wayne Campbell for Ciaran Keenan 62, Tom Jackson (1-00) for Conor Early 62
Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo)
