Kelly's heroics earn Royal stamp of approval

When Evan Kelly ventured to the sideline for a hasty conference with the Meath manager Sean Boylan during a break in play in the first half of yesterday's Leinster Senior Football Championship final at Croke Park, it was hardly surprising.

Dublin's nominal centre half back, Jonathan Magee - he started at left half back, swapping with Peader Andrews - was a matter of millimetres behind. Kelly had been an irritant to Dublin during the opening exchanges, dragging Magee across the expanse of Croke Park and kicking a couple of fine points. While Boylan whispered to Kelly, the Dublin half back jostled the pair over the sideline, trying to gatecrash the conversation.

So what was the priceless information Kelly had to convey to his colleagues on his return to the theatre of battle? "That's confidential. It wasn't rocket science or anything. He just had a couple of words for me, a little pep talk, the usual magical words from Sean. Basically, he outlined a few changes he wanted to make."

Apart from kicking three fine points, it was his ability to secure possession and release colleagues that marked his impact.

Dublin manager Tommy Carr released the threat and switched Paul Curran across to mark Kelly, which helped to curb the Meathman's influence. Magee's switch to shadow Richie Kealy permitted the Dubliner a greater input, particularly in the final quarter. Kelly didn't care whom he faced, the broad smile he sported in the dressing-room highlighted the pleasure of a hard fought victory.

"We won today but I'm sure Dublin will be back. It's hard for them because that's three-in-a-row (Leinster finals) that they have lost. It will difficult to build up again. The turning point for me was Richie Kealy's goal. I kept saying to myself, 'we need a goal, we need a goal.' Richie was in the right place at the right time and no better man to take a ball 14 yards out and stick it in the back of the net.

"Donal Curtis got a point just before that from 40 yards out and it scraped over. There were a couple of scores like that that were the turning points, I felt. Your heart is always in your mouth then because a team like Dublin are capable of coming back. We kept an eye on the clock, realised that there must be three or four minutes to go.

"We were holding out for dear life. It was worse than it looked. I think everyone will take three or four days to get over it. The physical pain will heal up an awful lot quicker than the mental pain you feel when you lose."

Boylan paid tribute to Kelly's contribution. "He had a wonderful game and I'm delighted for him. In any final, the unexpected can happen. Evan has a habit of doing it recently. He got the man of the match from the telly but it doesn't matter to him. He just wants to be out there, wants to win the Leinster title. To win the man of the match and not win today would be no use."

Boylan admitted that he considered his side fortunate to win. "We were very, very lucky to win a Leinster final today. Dublin had so many chances in that second half. They threatened to overcome us, overtake us and put us away. We were terribly fortunate to get those goals. I suppose that was the essential difference between the teams. If anything they had more possession than us and we definitely had the rub of the green."

For Dublin manager Tommy Carr, the pain must have been unbearable at times, watching his charges squander possession and wasting gilt-edged scoring opportunities. He was philosophical.

"It was exceptionally frustrating at times. We didn't take our scores and took too many wrong options. We will have to look at why we did that.

"There can be no blame on the players' attitude. They have shown the commitment, loyalty and respect and have done everything they were asked to do. It is a huge test of character for us now but it is time to stand up and be counted."

Meath captain Trevor Giles paid tribute to midfielder John McDermott. "I thought he did exceptionally well for a guy who has played only one championship match in almost two seasons.

"To come into such a pressure laden occasion and perform to the level he did is a tremendous achievement."

Giles conceded that he considered Meath to be fortunate to hang on and paid a special tribute to Dublin's attitude and character. "No one has ever pushed us that hard.

"We were hanging on at the end and they were coming at us in droves. We got our goals at crucial times but Dublin refused to give in and we were forced to hang on."

A chisel would not have the smile from second half goalscorer Richie Kealy's face as he contemplated a wonderful afternoon. "I suppose I was a little surprised when I looked up and saw the amount of space I had. I just picked my spot and struck it well."

Kealy confirmed that he had not scored in championship football prior to yesterday's game, so the goal provided him with a little additional pleasure.