February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The match was held up for 20 minutes as the Saints waited for their jerseys to arrive. Finally, someone fired them over the fence and soon afterward the match was on.
Meath full forward Brian Newman appropriately got the scoring started. Barnabas gave just about everyone a go at slowing Newman, but it wasn’t happening. Newman scored only 0-3, but he won just about every ball he contested, including two balls he broke that Ciaran Geoghan pointed.
St. Barnabas stayed with Meath in the opening 10 minutes. Full forward Jonathan Daly looked dangerous early, setting up Terrence Flynn for a point, then firing over a great point himself. After Geoghan’s first point, David Callaghan, who had an outstanding match, drove over a 50-yard free.
Then John Smith, Newman and Geoghan combined to get the ball to Shane McAnerney. McAnerney let fly from 20 yards and the Barnabas keeper never had a prayer. Ronan Garvey responded with a magnificent point from a sideline ball and the score was 1-4 to 0-4 in Meath’s favor after 22 minutes of the first half.
Then Meath took charge. Newman set up Geoghan and then popped two over the bar himself. Meath looked to be the physically stronger team, winning 50-50 balls all over the pitch. Callaghan closed out the half with a free and Meath were comfortably ahead by 1-8 to 0-4 at the break.
Barnabas made wholesale changes during the intermission, but to little immediate effect. Callaghan sent a mighty blast over the lathe from a free from close to 60 yards out. A second Callaghan point, this time from play, made it 1-10 to 0-4. A point each from newly minted midfielders Keith McMahon and Ronan Garvey started a St. Barnabas revival that saw them close to within 1-10 to 0-9, as Meath failed to score the rest of the match.
If was, of course, far too little, and much too late, and Meath did enough to earn their place in next Sunday’s JFA final versus Armagh.
Man of the Match: Brian Newman
Meath: Garrett Dooley, Paddy Melligan, Cathan Loughnane, Eion Loughnane, Ed Travers, David Callaghan (0-4, 3 frees), Seamus DeBruin, Shane McAnerney (1-0), Todd Bennett, Ciaran Greene, John Smith, Sean Maher, Ciaran Geoghan (0-2), Brian Newman (0-3), Mickey Rennicks (0-1). Sub: Jamie Shaw.
St. Barnabas: Barry Lynch, Brian Montgomery, Pat Lyons, Keith McMahon (0-1), Tom Kirwin, Ed Greenan, J.P. Kirwin, Dave Garvey, Jack Meaney, Terrence Flynn (0-1), Pat Flynn, Thomas Flynn, Ronan Garvey (0-2, 1 sideline), Jonathan Daly (0-1), Sean Carbin (0-3). Subs: Darren Meaney (0-1), Ciaran Moyles.