Meath's mettle on show

It seemed that the most dangerous thing a Meath player could do at Pairc Tailteann yesterday was to have a cup of tea. Shortly before the match, Darren Fay sat down on a chair to so imbibe when he suffered a muscle spasm that forced him to cry off the team and caused a late reshuffling of the defensive pack.

But that was one of the few worrying moments to hit Meath on a windy afternoon that nevertheless produced decent football and much honest endeavour - and, in the end, Meath coasted with some ease to a victory over the depleted Leinster champions, a win that also lifted them to the top of the Division 1B table. There weren't too many salty tears in the losers' camp, though. Kildare had enough points banked to also make the knockout phase of the competition, and so everyone was happy.

Sean Boylan was happier than most, however. "It's grand to get through," said Boylan, "but the thing that impressed me was that the lads never lost their concentration. That was important with such close combat and in an open game. Overall, I think the panel has come through this league campaign quite well."

With injuries to the likes of Tommy Dowd, John McDermott, Brendan Reilly, and Fay, Meath's strength in depth has reaped dividends, especially yesterday against a Kildare side who were hit even harder by injuries and who struggled, particularly in the half-back line, to stem the Meath tide. Indeed, it was Kildare's full-back line - in which Anthony Rainbow, Ronan Quinn and Ken Doyle excelled - which worked exceptionally hard to keep their side in touch. As the match went on, that workload was simply too great.

Kildare actually started better and held a 0-3 to 0-1 advantage at the end of the first quarter. During this early spell, Dermot Earley and Niall Buckley forged a good partnership at midfield and wing-forward Eddie McCormack looked as if he was ready to turn on one of his virtuoso performances.

McCormack opened the scoring with a lovely left-footed point after five minutes and added his second, and his side's third, in the 15th minute when he outpaced his marker Donal Curtis. Gradually, though, Curtis's persistence curtailed McCormack's influence and Meath flourished in front of the 10,000 crowd. Slowly but surely they closed the deficit and a wonderful four-man move in the 29th minute finished with Jody Devine kicking Meath into the lead (0-4 to 0-3) for the first time in the game. They weren't headed again.

In fact, Meath were stirred by another of those umpiring decisions which seem too commonplace in the game these days when Richie Healy's kick, which appeared good to almost everyone in the ground, was deemed to be wide. Referee Brian White consulted with the linesman on the grandstand side but didn't overrule the man in the white coat - and Meath's reaction was for Graham Geraghty to win the kick-out and, fittingly, Healy was the man who pointed for the home side to enjoy a half-time lead of 0-5 to 0-3.

That disputed "point/wide" ceased to be a factor as the match progressed as Meath increasingly took control, their running off the ball more appropriate for championship days.

Kildare had just two points in the entire second-half, both scored by Meathman-turned-Kildareman Cathal Sheridan. But it was his opposite number, Ollie Murphy, who had an even greater impact. His back-to-back points from frees moved Meath into a comfortable four-point lead and a measure of their freedom of movement and increased confidence was that even corner-back Cormac Murphy ventured forward to get his name onto the scoreboard.

And Geraghty, nowadays with the increased responsibility of captaincy, finished Meath's scoring to steer them into a quarter-final meeting with Kerry when he kicked a really fine point with seven minutes remaining.

Kildare, in fairness, never gave up the chase and Declan Kerrigan's fierce shot in the 56th minute (the final act in a superb move that also involved Buckley and Eddie McCormack) had Meath goalkeeper Cormac Sullivan well and truly beaten but it flashed wide off the upright.

So, a measure of revenge for Meath over their Leinster conquerors of last year - and the prospect of more good days ahead. Even the pre-match shuffling of personnel didn't have any negative impact, with Enda McManus, brought back to Fay's full-back position, having a strong game.

Meath: C Sullivan; M O'Reilly, E McManus, C Murphy (0-1); P Reynolds, H Traynor, D Curtis; J McGuinness, N Nestor; R Kealy (0-1), J Devine (0-1), G Geraghty (0-2); R Magee (0-1, free), N Crawford, O Murphy (0-4, three frees). Sub: E Kelly for Magee (57 mins).

Kildare: E Murphy; A Rainbow, R Quinn, K Doyle; I Keatley, E Mulhall, D Maher; N Buckley, D Earley (0-1); E McCormack (0-2), K O'Dwyer, P McCormack; D Kerrigan, B Murphy, C Sheridan (0-2, one free). Subs: M Lynch for B Murphy (halftime); M Ryan for Mulhall (half-time).

Referee: B White (Wexford).