Meath and Dublin

the dubs are not good travellers a trip outside dublin could derail their year

patsymc wrote:the dubs are not good travellers a trip outside dublin could derail your shed's contents

True indeed Patsy.....Fixed that for you BTW..

Boxtyeater wrote:

patsymc wrote:the dubs are not good travellers a trip outside dublin could derail your shed's contents

True indeed Patsy.....Fixed that for you BTW..

ha ha very funny

The bean counters have long since rescinded our passports. Used to be that you only lost your travel rights if you were a criminal or on bail - now you lose them if you are making HQ a pile of cash. Mind you a lot of us are criminals or on bail .....

I am amazed at the odds for Meath ie 3/1 . Also Tyrone 5/2 Some double for the neutrals.

Real Kerry Fan wrote:I am amazed at the odds for Meath ie 3/1 . Also Tyrone 5/2 Some double for the bookies.

Fixhed that there so I did.

Real Kerry Fan wrote:I am amazed at the odds for Meath ie 3/1 . Also Tyrone 5/2 Some double for the neutrals.

5/2 for Tyrone is very generous. I wouldn't touch Meath at 3-1.

Would be more than surprised if Meath were to be crowned Leinster champions on Sunday. Granted they beat Kildare and there were some fine Meath performances in that game but Dublin are a bit further down the road in terms of experience and team development, the Dubs aren't playing that well but they are still winning which is always a good team. The Dubs won't get it all their own way but they should have enough in the tank to see themselves over the line.

bocerty wrote:Would be more than surprised if Meath were to be crowned Leinster champions on Sunday. Granted they beat Kildare and there were some fine Meath performances in that game but Dublin are a bit further down the road in terms of experience and team development, the Dubs aren't playing that well but they are still winning which is always a good team. The Dubs won't get it all their own way but they should have enough in the tank to see themselves over the line.

Again BOC Meath wont show fear. Maybe they might snatch it if Dublin display is not top notch. Should be a good one.

I'm with Parouisa on this. I just don't see where Meath have suddenly come from. Kildare were awful, as they have been in the Leinster Championship on previous occasions (Wicklow/Louth). I can only see a Dublin win.

People are naive when it comes to analysing games.

A lot of posters have their heads stuck in imaginary rankings and the idea that every team can only play to it's supposed position in these rankings.

I'm afraid real sport is a little less scientific.

Every game is different. Different day, different conditions, different everything. Most people don't want to appreciate the small margins involved in separating the best teams.

The fact Wicklow beat Kildare in 2008 will have no relevance to Sunday's outcome, and I doubt anyone in Dublin or Meath will be paying much attention to League form.

That's the reality of it. Sunday's game will be decided by far less scientific things. A bit of luck will probably tip it in one team's favour.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:
The fact Wicklow beat Kildare in 2008 will have no relevance to Sunday's outcome, and I doubt anyone in Dublin or Meath will be paying much attention to League form.

No, but it does have relevance when saying that freak results can happen. Meath have had one good result in 2 years. I'll wait until I see another before being convinced that they are challengers. Maybe that will happen on Sunday, but I doubt it...

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:People are naive when it comes to analysing games.

A lot of posters have their heads stuck in imaginary rankings and the idea that every team can only play to it's supposed position in these rankings.

I'm afraid real sport is a little less scientific.

Every game is different. Different day, different conditions, different everything. Most people don't want to appreciate the small margins involved in separating the best teams.

The fact Wicklow beat Kildare in 2008 will have no relevance to Sunday's outcome, and I doubt anyone in Dublin or Meath will be paying much attention to League form.

That's the reality of it. Sunday's game will be decided by far less scientific things. A bit of luck will probably tip it in one team's favour.

I'd agree with you there Loyal, sport is about 5% science and 95% luck. If it were a real science shocks would never happen. And the margins between victory and defeat can be very small. Look at last week few of us expected 1 of the results we had in the championship qualifiers never mind the 4-5 there was.

The Dubs could go out and have a shocker, Brogan could be carried off/sent off, or have one of those days were everything he touches turns to sh1te. The beauty about sport is you just never know......

Come on Boc, 95% luck? Kerry must have had a hell of a lot of luck down the years!

Sport is rarely decided by a 'tip of the ball', as Loyal puts it - sometimes, but rarely. If properly prepared, the better side usually wins. Of course Meath could beat Dublin on Sunday, but if we are going to come on here and attribute everything to luck, we may as well shut up shop and find something else to discuss.

Thomas Clarke wrote:Come on Boc, 95% luck? Kerry must have had a hell of a lot of luck down the years!

Sport is rarely decided by a 'tip of the ball', as Loyal puts it - sometimes, but rarely. If properly prepared, the better side usually wins. Of course Meath could beat Dublin on Sunday, but if we are going to come on here and attribute everything to luck, we may as well shut up shop and find something else to discuss.

TC I've seen some well prepared teams go home with their tales between their legs, fair enough I exaggerated a bit but luck plays a bigger part in sport than most of us would admit too.

It sport were such an exact science the underdog would never win

Between them, Meath and Dublin have shared the last seven Leinster titles. Could today decide who has been the dominant team in the Leinster championship in the last decade or so?

This was a strange game. Dublin won it a couple of times, yet managed to switch off to such a degree that, had there been 5 more minutes, they could well have ended up losing it! Pat Gilroy will feel that the players relaxed too much, but so did he. Some of his substitutions were made too early, while others should never have been made at all (i.e. the very poor Paul Brogan). Gilroy just about got away with it.

Dublin were much the better side, but the battling qualities demonstrated by a young Meath team bodes well for their future. Their game against Laois is an interesting one, and I wonder if Banty can get them refocussed in time. That was always a talent of his while at Monaghan, so hopefully he can have them chomping at the bit again for next week.

Dublin will be pleased. They have negotiated Leinster without playing that well, and Bernard Brogan is returning to form at the right time. Still, they will need Alan fit for what lies ahead.

Meath probably the better side from the twentieth minute to the final whistle bar a freak two minutes before half-time. I think we outscored the Dubs 1-12 to 2-7 from the 20th minute and won the second half convincingly by a scoreline of 1-8 to 0-6.

As I said it all comes down to who is luckiest side on the day. Dublin had it all. Look no doubt about it, Dublin are a good side, well prepared, well organised, diligent and hard-working. The same could be said about Meath but unfortunetely today, the bounce of the ball favoured Dublin. Brogan's goal a prime example. A harmless effort sliding in under the keeper - hardly a classic finish but it was a lucky one. The decisions probably went Dublin's way, not to mention the unexpected introduction a televised replay, and then Meath suffered a couple of crucial injuries. And then the two goals totally against the run of play. Although Meath can only blame themselves for both goals, silly passing and comical defending. Dublin will punish those mistakes.

And ultimately, Meath ran out of time. Or to look at it another way, the clock saved Dublin. Look we won't complain, the scoreboard dictates who the best team is, but on a different day, the outcome could have been different.

Interesting game today in Croker, here's my tactical take on it for anyone interested [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:
Look we won't complain, the scoreboard dictates who the best team is, but on a different day, the outcome could have been different.

Sorry Loyal, on a different day, Dublin would not have gone to sleep when 10 points up, and they would have beaten you by 16.

A brave and game display by the Royals, but this game was never theirs for the winning.

meath were a lot poorer than i ever thought they could be , how low can meath football go they were so slow and tactically well they had none . dublin played at most 70 % it was more like a training match and dublin could easily have had 3 or 4 more goals if they wanted never mind the penalty that was not given . in saying that neither of these 2 teams will not go any further than the quarter finals and the big 3 seem to be donegal , cork and kerry .

Thomas Clarke wrote:

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:
Look we won't complain, the scoreboard dictates who the best team is, but on a different day, the outcome could have been different.

Sorry Loyal, on a different day, Dublin would not have gone to sleep when 10 points up, and they would have beaten you by 16.

A brave and game display by the Royals, but this game was never theirs for the winning.

What exactly constitutes going to sleep? Because I would argue that on a different day, Meath wouldn't have went went to sleep for two minutes at the end of the first half.

I think Dublin deserved their victory but overall plenty to ponder on their display. For most of the game no Meath man put in a serious challenge between the two 45 lines so Dublin were allowed freedom to attack with space. still as we have discovered from the past especially this weekend performances change from game to game. Donegal look the most dangerous team at present.

Interesting to read Comical Ali's observations above .....

Firstly, if Dublin play like that again this year there will be no Sam. I am very concerned about where the players' are mentally. They could not get themselves up for Wexford and yesterday they completely turned off for the last 20 minutes.

They had enough possession in the first half to go in 7/8 points up but after a bright first 15, the movement up front was non-existent. Alan Brogan was badly missed. Then they got the two goals and went in 8 ahead - they should have kicked on from this. But they didn't. Twice in the first half in promising attacking positions they overturned possession very cheaply and Meath came down and scored 2 points. It was sloppy and lazy.

When they went 10 points up Gilroy made a raft of subs - not using Kilkenny which disappointed me. Only O'Gara made an impact. Kevin Mc was totally outplayed by Donal Keogan who did a fine marking job on him. Bernard scored 1-07 but did a fair few stupid things too - as did a lot of his colleagues. For me Bastic should have got MotM.

Meath are a very average side and will do well to beat Laois. It's all very well to lose shape when you are 10 points down and throw everything at the opposition - question is why are you down 10 points in the first place. Whoever wins this game next Saturday will have the provincial champs hoping they draw them.

Agreed about Bastic Par, he was immense in the middle I thought. Brogan was a mixed bag, some classy play mixed with some very poor almost lazy passing. His point after the Meath goal was a fine effort and Dublin really needed it. I was also very impressed with McCarthy at wing back.

Dublin certainly seem to be saving themselves for the bigger tests to come but can they just turn it on at will against a Kerry/Cork?