Spirited Carlow refuse to submit

LEINSTER SFC QUARTER-FINAL: Meath 1-12 Carlow 1-12:THE SCRIPT looked familiar. The plucky underdogs mustered one last assault, seeking salvation in the time allotted for stoppages at the end of the game when only a goal would suffice if they were to force a rewrite and a replay.

Sport doesn’t often doff its cap in the direction of those chasing the improbable but on this occasion Carlow penned an unlikely escape clause.

A number of things conspired to facilitate the draw that their performance merited.

Keith Jackson looked to have elected to shoot prematurely, from fully 25 metres, but his low strike bounced just in front of Meath goalkeeper David Gallagher. He needed to smother the ball. Instead it ricocheted off his legs and fell kindly for JJ Smith, who lashed the ball to the net.

There was still a minute left to play but Meath, as they had done for most of the second half, were imprecise in their distribution and allowed Carlow to steal the ball back about 35 metres from the latter’s goal. The game ended with a Carlow free.

The replay will see the teams return to O’Connor Park, Tullamore next Saturday night (7.0).

Carlow’s late heroics were achieved with just 13 players; centre half forward Paul Reid (67 minutes) and substitute Derek Hayden (71) received straight red cards for a petulant challenge and an unnecessary swipe, borne of frustration, ironically having won the initial free. Meath had lost midfielder Conor Gillespie to two yellow cards (29 and 53 minutes.)

It looked though as if Carlow’s chippy resilience would be undone by a series of missed frees at the start of the second half and a couple of unfortunate injuries. They forced the early departure of two key players in Daniel St Ledger (torn hamstring) and the excellent Brian Murphy, who received a knock in the second half and was never the same galvanising influence before being replaced.

Others though stepped into the breach and none more so than Brendan Murphy who pushed the physical barriers to get on the ball and surge forward. He was equally diligent in defence and it was appropriate that it was his cussedness in harrying Joe Sheridan that forced the final turnover: this despite the fact that he spent virtually the entire game on a yellow card, harshly awarded.

Eoin Ruth also stood out, while the general work-rate of the Carlow defence in which corner backs Padraig Murphy and Brendan Kavanagh were especially tenacious, was impressive. Darragh Foley was a central figure in breaking ball to colleagues as Carlow dominated the cluttered midfield areas in the second half; a fine and selfless effort considering he had suffered a family bereavement on the Saturday.

The remit for Meath, from quite an early stage in the game, was straightforward; get possession to Brian Farrell and Cian Ward. When they accomplished this, the corner forwards kept the scoreboard rolling. Stephen Bray was a late withdrawal, replaced by Paddy Gilsenan, but even in Bray’s absence, Meath had a surfeit of ball.

The main shortcoming was that they were ponderous in possession, overplaying the ball and self indulgent to the point where they racked up some horrible miscues.

On four occasions in the first half they hit a post when it appeared easier to take a score. They dominated midfield during those 35 minutes but it was an edge they had lost before Gillespie’s departure.

Manager Séamus McEnaney summed it up succinctly when he ventured: “We let Carlow build far too easily out of defence. We weren’t moving the ball quickly ourselves. We allowed them dictate the midfield in the second half; they won 90 per cent of the breaking ball where we were winning that in the first half.

“It’s not good enough at all. We dominated the midfield in the first half of the game; dominated the game for long periods but we didn’t take our scores.”

Meath led by a couple of points at the interval. One can imagine McEnaney impressing on his players the need to keep their discipline because five of Carlow’s seven-point tally in the first half had come from frees.

The Meath goal, in their tally of 1-6, came from humble origins. Sheridan’s cross-field ball caught Pádraig Murphy looking in the wrong direction. By the time he reacted, Ward, had secured possession, turned inside his opponent, and raced 30 metres before finishing powerfully.

Carlow missed a number of opportunities at the start of the second half, including a good goal chance, and it appeared that consolation would be verbal.

Meath continued to play fitfully and Smith’s late intervention underlined what can happen to teams that don’t manage to translate superiority into more tangible assets on the scoreboard.

The teams kicked the same number of wides, conceded an identical number of frees and on the day that symmetry extended to the scoreboard too.

Carlow earned their second chance.

MEATH: D Gallagher; D Keogan, K Reilly, B Menton; D Tobin (0-1), S McAnarney, M Burke (0-1); C Gillespie, B Meade; A Forde, P Gilsenan, G Reilly (0-3); B Farrell (0-4), J Sheridan, C Ward (1-3, two frees). Subs: J Queeney for Forde (44 mins); M Collins for Gilsenan (50 mins). Yellow cards: C Gillespie (29 mins), M Burke (32), J Queeney (67); Red card: Gillespie (53).

CARLOW: T O'Reilly; P Murphy, C Lawlor, B Kavanagh; K Nolan, S Redmond, T Bolger; Brendan Murphy (0-1), D Foley (0-1); Brian Murphy (0-3, two frees), P Reid (0-1), E Ruth, JJ Smith (1-5, four frees), S Gannon, D St Ledger (0-1, free). Subs: D Hayden for St Ledger (36 mins); B Lambe for Bolger (51 mins); K Jackson for Foley (60 mins); C Murphy for Brian Murphy (67 mins). Yellow cards: B Murphy (6 mins); D Foley (23 mins); C Lawlor (31 mins); E Ruth (31 mins); D Hayden (64 mins). Red card: P Reid (67 mins); D Hayden (71 mins).

Referee: B Cassidy (Derry).

Att: 10,471

‘Never-say-die attitude’ a real plus for Dempsey

Meath’s Séamus McEnaney didn’t couch his feelings in the traditional web of anodyne strands to which manager’s often default in times of stress.

“We’re lucky to be still in the Leinster Championship. I’m delighted that we got a draw out of here today. We looked in serious trouble when that goal went in – with Brendan Murphy still on the field, anything could have happened; he is a serious player.

“We knew exactly what we were facing here today. There was no word of complacency. Carlow had played Cork and Dublin in challenge matches and went to Cork for a training camp. We knew they were a seriously well-prepared team and would come here with all guns blazing. It wasn’t good enough on the day and unless we improve it won’t be good enough next Saturday night.

“There was a period of the game when we went four points up and we missed five handy scoreable chances. That’s unacceptable at this level. I’m telling you now that we are damned lucky that we weren’t only two points ahead when that last ball went in. We are back next Saturday and we have it all to do. We were only one point up when we went down to 14 men, pushed that to three but didn’t seal the game. . .”

Carlow manager Luke Dempsey was proud of the character and quality shown by his team. “We really put our hearts and souls into it for Carlow. Our players showed no inferiority whatsoever. That’s what I was proud about.”

He wants to look again at the sendings off of Paul Reid and Derek Hayden to see if it’s worth appealing the two red cards, but back to the game. “I thought it was gone. I thought the time had run out. Keith Jackson had come on as a sub for Darragh who had a marvellous game under the circumstances; his grandfather died yesterday. He was marvellous to come out and put on such a performance.

"I thought we had missed our chance at the start of the second half when we missed a lot of frees and chances that could have been fisted over, but the never-say-die attitude has been present since the end of the league. I think Carlow supporters can now feel that their team is there to be supported for very sensible and logical reasons and that they will come out in force next Saturday evening." John O'Sullivan