Peter Canavan: Meath have a glimmer of hope of reaching an All-Ireland semi-final
Tuesday 16 July 2019 16:36, UK
Sky Sports analyst Peter Canavan examines the state of play in Group 1 of the Super 8s.
In fairness to Meath, the nine-point margin flattered Donegal on Sunday. With 15 minutes to go, Meath were a point up and in the ascendancy all over the field.
They will be disappointed with both the defeat, along with the margin.
But I think there is a glimmer of hope for Meath.
Their final game is at home to Kerry, who could already be qualified for the All-Ireland semi-finals by the time they come to Navan.
We saw last year when Monaghan beat Galway, the Tribesmen already had their business done and were merely playing to decide whether they finished first or second in the group. That's not the same as playing knockout football. It's not do or die.
First up for the Royals, they face a Mayo team coming off the back of a heavy defeat. Confidence will be low in James Horan's camp. If Meath can replicate their performance levels in Ballybofey, bring it to Croke Park for 70 minutes next Sunday and are economical in front of goal, they have a chance.
Mayo become unstuck
Did playing four weeks on the bounce take its toll on Mayo?
When teams don't win, it's used as an excuse. If they get the victory, people are hailing it as a good thing - noting their momentum.
The fact of the matter was that Kerry were the hungrier team in Killarney. They had their homework done on the Mayo kickouts. There were questions about Kerry's defence, a lot of people were expecting Mayo to go down and win.
Kerry weren't short of motivation after the league final - they were waiting for this game in the long grass for quite a while, and they just couldn't wait to pounce
At times, it was a breathtaking performance in terms of their quality of forward play.
I said at the start of the year, if there's one team capable of taking on Dublin, it's Kerry.
If they win the midfield battle, which they did on Sunday, they're capable of blowing any team away.
Kerry and Donegal set for mouthwatering battle
Sunday's meeting in Croke Park will give us a better idea of where two of the main challengers to Dublin are at right now.
Kerry won't enjoy the same midfield dominance as they did against Donegal.
Tír Chonaill made it difficult for the Meath kick-out. They've four or five big, physical players in the middle third.
The Ulster champions weren't as impressive last Sunday as they were in their provincial campaign.
They need to be more ruthless up front. Defensively, they weren't as compact. Meath were able to break them down more so than any other team this year. The Royals scored 1-13, they had a number of one-on-ones and could have easily finished the game with three or four goals, and 15 or 16 points.
However, Shaun Patton's kick-outs remained excellent. Whenever Donegal needed to win possession after a Meath score, Patton delivered. The target once again was Michael Murphy, and he lorded the skies.
It will be fascinating to see how they match up with the Kingdom on Sunday.
Sky Sports' live GAA coverage continues on Saturday, with Tyrone vs Cork and Dublin vs Roscommon in the Super 8s.
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