An Mhi Vs Muineachan

[thejuice]

from todays Meath Chronicle

Monaghan will pose tough questions

SUNDAY`SNFL Div 2 clash with Monaghan at Clones is another one of those vital games where nothing short of victory will suffice if Meath are to harbour any ambitions of promotion.
Relegation now looks unlikely following victory over Cavan two weeks ago, but Meath coach Colm Coyle holds higher aspirations than avoiding a relegation dogfight.
If Meath are to continue the good work that started by winning Div 2 last year then they need to secure promotion, but that will not be easy as the loss to Westmeath has dented hopes, especially with Monaghan and Dublin being the dominant forces in the division.

Both counties are unbeaten this term following a draw at Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon, so if Meath are to secure promotion they will need to win their remaining three games.
The Farney men are riding the crest of a wave. Following their heroics when they should have beaten Kerry in last year`s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final they have taken another step forward by recording league successes over Roscommon, Cavan and Armagh.

That good form continued last Sunday against Dublin and for the first time in a long time Monaghan will wear the favourites tag when they take on a Meath side that has struggled in their three games to date. The Meath players have come in for a lot of criticism following inept displays, particularly against Roscommon and Westmeath, but Monaghan should will still adopt a cautious approach.

Meath had very few attacking options against Westmeath and showed with the return of Cian Ward against Cavan that they are capable of tagging on scores. Ward has been outstanding in the couple of games he has featured in and he will be the key again on Sunday, but he will need greater assistance from those around him.

Stephen Bray showed glimpses of his best against Cavan, but needs to be more of a scoring threat and with Brian Farrell likely to figure at some stage Coyle will be delighted to welcome back last year`s league top scorer. If Meath can utilise their full attacking power of Ward, Farrell, Graham Geraghty, Joe Sheridan, Bray, Peadar Byrne and Alan Nestor then they should have very few worries in that department. Shane O`Rourke is likely to be still absent, but the injuries are clearing up.

It is at the back where Meath need to tighten up. Darren Fay has been exposed on a couple of occasions - Johnny Dunning from Roscommon, Cavan`s Seanie Johnson and Westmeath`s Denis Glennon - he will need to be at his best against Vincent Corey, Tommy Freeman, Ronan Ronaghan or Paul Finlay. Meath will need to be disciplined against the lively Monaghan attack. If they give away too many frees they will be punished by Finlay and Freeman as 12 of Monaghan`s 13 scores against Dublin came from placed balls. Meath always tend to raise their game against better opposition and Monaghan will provide a tough test, but one that Coyle and his charges are capable of passing.

[farniel]

This game has all the hallmarks of being a high scoring physical battle that will go right down to the wire. Brian Farrell will be a huge asset to Meath if he is fit. Monaghan's defensive record against Meath is poor and with Farrell back I think Meath will cause all sorts of problems for the farney backs. Monaghan were pretty disappointing against Dublin, yet again collapsing once we got the spare man. It's a strange thing to say but having an extra man is Monaghan's biggest Achilles heel at present. If Caffrey had kept Ryan in midfield there's no way we would have salvaged a draw. As always midfield is key. We were hammered in that department against the Dubs and a vast improvement is required from Lennon and Clerkin. The former is not 100% fit but the latter can have no excuse for another poor performance on Sunday. Meath must win to maintain their promotion ambitions and with Colm Coyle they have a manager who has expert knowledge on a lot of the Monaghan players. However Monaghan have home advantage and they've impressed in Clones so far. Monaghan to win but wouldn't be at all surprised by another draw.

[Jinxy]

If we had Farrell, Big Joe (or GG) and Bray as our FF line I'd be very optimistic going into this game. We haven't been playing great stuff up to now. The last time the 2 teams played the Monaghan full back line was in all sorts of trouble. I'd say they'll be expecting a bit of aerial bombardment again. Midfield control will be the winning or losing of this game I think.

[Oriel Man]

.... Midfield control will be the winning or losing of this game I think.

Midfield is the winning or loosing of most games.....and this is a department where Monaghan aren't performing well at the moment.
I'm very nervous going into this one.....

Also, just to let everybody know. The game is being shown on TG4 (think differed coverage starting at 3.15pm)

[thejuice]

It remains to be seen how our forwards are recovering. Hopefully we'll have Farrell, Bray and Sheridan back and also Cian Ward can continue to slot the frees over. Mark Ward had a good game at midfield last time out I hear. Perhaps Monaghan will try run through midfield rather than kicking into it.

Hope TG4 show this game online.

[Jinxy]

.... Midfield control will be the winning or losing of this game I think.

Midfield is the winning or loosing of most games.....and this is a department where Monaghan aren't performing well at the moment.
I'm very nervous going into this one.....

Also, just to let everybody know. The game is being shown on TG4 (think differed coverage starting at 3.15pm)

Then how come you weren't hammered by the Dubs?

[Main Street]

Monaghan are top attraction these days
Live again on TG4 on Sunday, everything else deferred.

[Oriel Man]

Then how come you weren't hammered by the Dubs?

Because the dubs played c**p!!
Vaughan missed at least 4 easy points, and the Monaghan swarm defence played quite well ! ! !

Monaghan have no backup for Lennon and Clerkin in midfield. Bringing back Shane Duffy might help on our own kickouts.

[Oriel Man]

Monaghan are top attraction these days
Live again on TG4 on Sunday, everything else deferred.

I hear that Galway Vs Derry was live with Mon Vs Meath differed. Good news if you're right (I have a wedding in Kerry on Saturday, so will miss the game)

[Jinxy]

My point is, I don't think you could afford to lose midfield against us, as we would use it as a launch pad for operation shock and awe (demonstrated to devastating effect in div. 2 semi-final 2007). The Monaghan full back line won't have seen this many high balls since the Harlem Globetrotters visited Clones in the early 80's.

[Maguire01]

Looking forward to this one.  Should be close, but i'm hoping home advantage will help.

We were cleaned out at midfield last week and are very vulnerable in this position if Lennon is out at any point during the year (look at last year's league semi as proof if ever it was needed!).
I think Monaghan need to give Benny McKenna some more game time to get him up to speed.  If we're lucky enough to be comfortable in any of our last 3 games, he should be given a good 20-30 minutes - rather that than have to throw him on for the first time later in the year with no experience.

[The Claw]

I would expect Monaghan to win this by 6 or 7 though it hurts me to say it. Meath drew with Roscommon who Monaghan hammered, and Meath have only improved slightly since then, stumbling over Cavan. Monaghan bring an intensity and discipline to the game that Meath could learn a lot from. That said, on paper, the Meath team looks good, with serious potency in the forward line. I'd expect the Meath team to line out something like:
1. Brendan Murphy
2. Cormac McGill
3. Darren Fay
4. Niall McGloughlin
5. Eoin Harrington
6. Kevin Reilly
7. Caoimhin King
8. Nigel Crawford
9. Mark Ward
10. Peadar Byrne
11. Anthony Moyles
12. Alan Nestor
13. Stephen Bray
14. Graham Geraghty
15. Cian Ward

Interesting dilemma for Coyler if Farrell is fit. He probably won't drop Moyles, will he only have either Farrell or Ward on the field? Ward has been playing really well and Moyles hasn't. Can Moyles play wing forward? Probably not, and Nestor wasn't bad the last day. Tough one...

[Jinxy]

Drop Crawford and put Moyles centre-field.

[GrandMasterFlash]

I know Meath had the Monaghan full-back line in disarray last year but I honestly don't see that happening again. JP Mone is very solid at FB I think. I'm not sure about Dermot McArdle as he has been continually making mistakes in th last few games. Maybe time to get Colm Flanagan back in there or even Donal Morgan who impressed on occasion in the league last year.

And and and, we owe ya one!!

[thejuice]

To be honest I wouldnt be the most confident going into this one. With the exception of the 2nd half against Cavan its hard to pick out many good points about our campaign so far. But you never know on the day, securing some points in the last three games will be vital. Maybe we should send our minors out aginst Armagh next weekend, they had a good win last weekend against said county.