Leinster SFC Quarter-final replay: Meath 1-11 Westmeath 0-5 Enough. Heaven knows Westmeath do not deserve this. They may have suspected it before but Saturday evening brought its own evidence. When you play Meath in summer, it is a godless world.
It is hard to figure out how Westmeath only scored five points from play. Much of the game consisted of maroon jerseys charging forward with the ball. But the abiding image is of those same shirts being engulfed by platoons of men in green shirts. It is frightening to think, but in Portlaoise Meath exhibited an even greater state of ravenousness than ever.
"It's our third year now," rationalised a sombre Luke Dempsey at O'Moore Park. "Maybe next year the championship draw will throw up a different combination. To get beaten three years in a row is tough on our players. It's very hard to take. And this gives a lot of credence to the theory that Westmeath will never beat Meath. I don't concur with it but we still have to beat them."
Dempsey's composure after this loss is a mark of the man. The urge could have been to howl bitterly against the injustices of the world. Just six days after having Meath at their mercy, it all fell apart. As Seán Boylan pointed out later, Westmeath might have scored 1-4 in the opening 20 minutes. But they didn't. They trailed 0-5 to 0-3 after half an hour. Then the excellent Derek Heavin was carried off with a dislocated knee-cap. Two minutes after the break, his half-back comrade Damien Healy joined him, with a broken ankle the verdict.Westmeath had lost the majority of their most potent line.
But Dempsey coached a smart game. When David O'Shaughnessy was introduced, the towering midfielder Martin Flanagan was dispatched to the edge of the square, which Meath's makeshift back line were patrolling with ease. Flanagan's first shot on goal, just two minutes after his arrival, was a lightning flash. Sixty seconds later, he had won a penalty.
There were 16,470 people at the game. So a lot of stomachs churned at once when Dessie Dolan stepped on to what must have been at that moment the loneliest spot on earth. Just six days after his unforgettable miss in Croke Park, Dolan was presented with a chance of redemption. Westmeath trailed 0-5 to 0-8 and were enjoying a good spell.
"Dessie Dolan is an excellent footballer," reflected Seán Boylan later. "And the penalty is the hardest thing in the game."
No. Meath are the hardest thing in the game. Dolan's shot was low but passive and too close to Cormac Sullivan. The next 30 seconds unfolded in slow motion. As Dessie wandered in after the ball, Paddy Reynolds brought him back to earth in every sense with a clattering shoulder.
Meath broke forward and a long ball over the top saw a chase between David Crimmins and Westmeath goalkeeper Aidan Lennon. Crimmins reached the ball first and made a brave connection. The ball rolled in leisurely and Meath were home.
The rest was like the old days. With the Meath faithful trundling back to Nobber and beyond, Seán Boylan added a cautious footnote to the story of another great escape. "What I would say now is remember what happened in 1991 and 2001."
Just then, he spied someone walking past. "Remember Jody Devine, lads?" Jody, one of the unlikely heroes of the Kildare saga in '97, waved at his old boss and the two men laughed.
Boylan's genius is for discovering formidable character in modest men. This night was no exception. Daithí Regan, a wraith of a player, plucked balls from the sky, won frees and converted them himself.
John Cullinane had his finest hour at midfield. Meath's patched-up back line was fearsome, with veteran Cormac Murphy setting the tone. In Charles McCarthy, Meath have found another big-boned and uncomplicated midfielder.
Paddy Reynolds, who seems to have been playing for Meath since the 60s, ran about like a man possessed. Graham Geraghty operated at full forward, helped out at full back, casually fired two points and engaged both linesmen in a 70-minute conversation in which he did all the talking. Trevor Giles directed operations.
"Nothing seemed to go right," marvelled Dempsey. Deep down, he knows why. At best, a team gets one chance a season to put Meath away. Meath is a county that does not understand mercy.
Westmeath, consigned to the dark lands of Ulster, could but watch. "This is just the chance of staying in the Leinster championship," smiled Seán Boylan.
And above the city to the east gathered big black clouds.
MEATH: 1. C Sullivan; 17. C Murphy, 20. A Moyles, 4. N McKeigue; 5. P Reynolds, 6. H Traynor, 7. T O'Connor; 8. C McCarthy, 19. J Cullinane (0-1); 10. E Kelly (0-1), 11. T Giles (0-1, one free), 12. S McKeigue; 13. D Regan (0-6, four frees), 14. G Geraghty (0-2), 15. D Crimmins (1-0). Subs: N Nestor for J Cullinane (70 mins inj.), R Kealy for S McKeigue (70 mins), P Shankey for P Reynolds (70 mins), N Crawford for G Geraghty (70 mins).
WESTMEATH: 1. A Lennon; 2. P Rouse, 3. D Gavin, 4. F Murray; 5. B Morley, 6. D Healy, 7. D Heavin; 8. R O'Connell, 9. M Flanagan (0-1, free); 10. F Wilson (0-2, frees), 11. S Colleary, 12. J Fallon; 22. M Ennis (0-2), 14. G Dolan, 15. D Dolan. Subs: D O'Donoghue for D Heavin (32 mins inj.), JP Casey for J Fallon (35 mins), P Conway for D Healy (38 mins), D O'Shaughnessy for G Dolan ( 51 mins), A Mangan for F Wilson ( 69 mins).
Referee: B White (Wexford).
