Great stuff so far despite the conditions, back to the intensity of the 86-01 era.
2 shocking refereeing decisions have Meath behind at half time, the goal against them and the one Geraghty had disallowed.
Meath are hitting the Dubs with everything and its starting to tell. Whelo has gone missing again when Meath started to hit them. Gas the way the have picked out Brogan and Moran for âspecialâ treatment.
Fay is giving a masterclass at full back after a sticky start. Ward is giving Magee nightmares again.
Brolly is an utter wanker. Doesnât have the intensity of last Sundayâs effort in the Ulster he reckons. What a wanker. Roll on the second half.
Couldnât believe Brolly said that. It completely pi$$ed all over last week from start to finish. An outstanding and gripping game of football. Fay was magnificent, symbolic too that the final whistle went as he landed with the ball clutched to his chest. Dublin are relatively lucky to escape with a draw because of the 2 goal incidents. I donât think anybody knows the definitive square ball ruling but Geraghtyâs goal looked legitimate to me. Again, Dublin started like a house on fire and then faded away. It really is a perennial problem for them. Itâs just been announced that the replay is on Sunday week, the 17th, with Wexford-Louth on before it. Bring it on.
Take that Brolly you prick. Fantastic afternoonâs entertainment.
Gave Fay the kiss of deathâŚKeaney had 2 points off him before I had got back to my seat.
McStay the shithead kept moaning about Geraghty sniping at Henry. Leave it so you All Ireland medal-less tool.
I think Meath are in pole position now for the replay, theyâll be boosted psychologically after that. Most of those guys have All Ireland colleges and Leinster minor medals so theyâre no slouches in the first place.
Colyerâs hand is all over the Meath performance, with the hard, late and straight arm tackles.
McStay really is the most, whiny, irritating, annoying litte prick. His mock outrage and âwonât you please think of the childrenâ attitude really gets on my nerves. Geraghty gave Henry a cuff on the head and got away with it. Big fooking deal. Then that silly cooont going on about it repeatedly and calling for disciplinary measures to be taken. Let it go and enjoy the spectacle. Hard hitting, high quality championship football. Thatâs back to the Meath I loved as a kid.
Just back from Croker myself. Think the draw was a far result. Didnt think the goal meath got should have been disallowed but Dublin only have themselves to blame for not winning it with two poor wides around 10 from the end. Shane Ryan was Dublins best player I thought with his contribution. Any idea when the replay is.
Cracking game of football and like everyone else who has resorted to the clich I think a draw was probably fair enough.
On the two goal chances Geraghtyâs nudge was minimal and it was a very harsh free out. The Dublin goal was a square ball because thereâs no way Brogan made up that much ground on the ball. Having said that itâs absolutely impossible for any referee or umpire to look at a ball high in the air, judge when it passes over the square and simultaneously look at where the attackers are standing.
Brogan and Keaney showed themselves to be classy forwards but there was much lacking in that Dublin performance. Colly Moran has some nice touches but never any end product and he was criminally lacking at the end in injury time when he had the ball in space and never even made his mind up about what to do before being dispossessed. Could have been much more costly than it was.
Dublin really do lack consistency over 70 minutes. They started brilliantly as is their form over the past few seasons. Keaney and Brogan were getting in front and kicking well. And the half back line (Casey in particular) were beating their men to the ball. Then the pace dropped and too many guys went out of it. I thought Ryan kept it going well himself and at least ran at the Meath defenders but the other two half forwards werenât good enough. And Mossy Quinn needs somebody to coach him on kicking frees. He clearly has the talent to do it but heâs woefully inconsistent which indicates that he lacks the temperament or the fundamental knowledge of his skills.
Some of McStayâs commentary was ridiculous. He reckoned there was a huge mix-up in the Dublin defence when Cluxton came and won a ball on the edge of the square. That was quality goalkeeping. And he did seem to be doing his best to get Geraghty banned. That said I thought Geraghty was out of order. Iâve no problem with a few thumps and hard challenges in these games but Geraghty isnât man enough to go toe to toe with anyone. He had a slap on Cosgrave which was harmless enough but it followed 2 earlier digs that connected - the one on Henry on the ground was particularly sly and cowardly. He also had a wild swing at McConnell that missed completely. Then the prick starts screaming for a penalty when he was robbed of the ball.
I totally accept that Geraghtyâs slaps were sly and dirty but thatâs all they were. Slaps. I really couldnât fathom why McStay kept going on about it as if weâd witnessed something incredibly awful and scandalous. He was booked for the one on Cosgrove so really only got away with one on Henry that was hardly that sinister in the grand scheme of incidents youâll see on any pitch in any sport. After the quality of the the actual game I thought he was being a reactionary prick to keep going on about Geraghty the whole time.