Meath are coming good.
The Royal County absolutely coasted their way through the group stages of the Leinster minor football championship and the final went exactly to script again.
Indeed, the only game the men of Meath didn’t emerge victorious from in this whole campaign was an immaterial one. They lost to Wicklow in their last round of group games, that win catapulting the Garden County through at the expense of Dublin.
They were back to winning ways in the semis, absolutely annihilating Laois by more than 25 points and the final against Kildare, though expected to be a tighter affair, was similarly one-sided in Tullamore on Saturday afternoon.
The standout feature of this Meath team, on top of them obviously being skilled footballers, is their sheer physical size and strength. Let’s not forget, the minor age group was reduced to under-17 this year. These lads look like a group of fully grown men and would pass for an adult team.
Kildare weren’t able to cope with this blitz of size and skill in the midlands, and they were blown out of the water from the word go.
Meath are now Leinster minor champions headed for the All-Ireland semis with confidence.
They began like a house on fire in Offaly’s county grounds, hitting the men of Kildare for four points without reply in the first eight minutes of the game.
Big Moynalty man Bryan McCormack was to the fore early on as were the pair of Lukes on the inside line, Mitchell and Kelly raising a white flag apiece.
Though the Lilywhites did rally before the break, they were out-muscled and thoroughly overpowered by this powerful Meath train, and they had only one point from play registered by the time the half time interval arrived.
SCORERS
2018 @ElectricIreland @gaaleinster MFC Final
Half time
@MeathGAAjuv: 0-11(11)@KildareGAA: 0-3(3) pic.twitter.com/0i4MQWVcto— Meath GAA (@MeathGAA) July 21, 2018
0-11 0-3 the scoreline at the break, this one was all over bar the shouting.
Meath picked up from exactly where they left off upon the resumption of play, the impressive half forward McCormack sealing the deal as early as the sixth minute of the second half with the first green flag of this game.
From there, it was just a matter of seeing it out with manager Joe Treanor afforded the opportunity to give his substitutes game time.
With all of his six subs made relatively early in that second half, Kildare began to come into the game a little bit, but it was too little too late.
1-15 to 1-7 the final score. Meath unstoppable.
15 minutes to go here in Bord na Móna O'Connor Park in Tullamore and we're all set for the @ElectricIreland @gaaleinster MFC Final v Kildare. #AnMhíAbú #COYBIG #GAAthisismajor pic.twitter.com/zt5bxFAM96
— Meath GAA (@MeathGAA) July 21, 2018
2018 @ElectricIreland @gaaleinster MFC Final
Full time
@MeathGAAjuv: 1-15(18)@KildareGAA: 1-7(10)— Meath GAA (@MeathGAA) July 21, 2018
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