Dublin 1-17 Meath 0-4: Dubs outgun misfiring Royals
Monday 24 June 2019 12:39, UK
Dublin are Leinster champions for a ninth year in a row, beating Meath 1-17 to 0-4 at Croke Park.
Neutrals around Ireland were hoping for a different game from the Dublin matches they have grown accustomed to in the Leinster Championship over recent years.
In that regard, the 2019 Leinster final was an outlier. Dublin were far from their best, and perhaps would have been there for the taking against a more efficient opposition.
Meath put in an awesome defensive effort. However, the less said about their shooting, the better.
The Royals' backs contained the Dublin forwards for long spells during the first half, cutting out the supply into Paul Mannion and Con O'Callaghan. However, they were undone by their own failures up the other end of the field.
This led to a stalemate in the early stages, with the first score of the game not coming until the 12th minute. But when it rained, it poured from a Dublin perspective, as they rattled off five points without reply.
In the 26th minute, O'Callaghan broke in from the left wing. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he was dragged down by Conor McGill and referee Sean Hurson awarded a penalty. However, Paul Mannion's low effort hit the post, and Meath survived.
Nonetheless, the tide was only moving in one direction, and Meath's inability to get a score was badly hurting them. They accumulated six wides before the break, and several more fell short or collided with the post.
Bryan Menton eventually got them off the mark after 32 minutes, as they trailed 0-5 to 0-1 at the break.
It was much the same story after the break. Meath were too wasteful with their shooting and impatient in their shot-selection. In contrast, Dublin were clinical with their chances up the other end.
Cormac Costello found his range from frees, as Philly McMahon, Mannion and Brian Fenton knocked over scores.
Andy McEntee's charges did have a goal opportunity on the 50-minute mark, but Mickey Newman was on his wrong foot and fired over the bar.
From there, the Sky Blues kicked on. Substitute Dean Rock, clearly with a point to prove to Jim Gavin, rattled off three impressive points as they put daylight between the sides.
As Meath's challenge waned, Dublin began to turn the screw. In the 68th minute, O'Callaghan surged forward and buried it into the net.
Dublin progress to the Super 8s. Meath still have another chance to get there themselves, but will need a much-improved attacking effort.
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Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone)
Attendance: 47,027
Scorers for Dublin: Dean Rock 0-4 (0-1 free), Con O'Callaghan 1-0, Cormac Costello 0-3 (0-2 frees, 0-1 45'), Paul Mannion 0-3, Jack McCaffrey 0-2, Ciarán Kilkenny 0-1, Philly McMahon 0-1, Paddy Andrews 0-1, Brian Howard 0-1, Brian Fenton 0-1.
Scorers for Meath: Mickey Newman 0-3 (0-1 free), Bryan Menton 0-1.
Dublin
1. Stephen Cluxton
2. David Byrne
3. Michael Fitzsimons
20. Philly McMahon
4. Jack McCaffrey
6. Cian O'Sullivan
7. John Small
8. Brian Fenton
5. James McCarthy
10. Niall Scully
13. Ciaran Kilkenny
12. Brian Howard
14. Paul Mannion
15. Con O'Callaghan
11. Cormac Costello
Subs:
Michael Darragh Macauley for James McCarthy (33rd minute)
Dean Rock for Brian Howard (52nd minute)
Kevin McManamon for Cormac Costello (59th minute)
Paddy Small for Ciaran Kilkenny (62nd minute)
Paddy Andrews for Paddy Small (65th minute)
Rory O'Carroll for Jack McCaffrey (68th minute)
Meath
1. Andrew Colgan
2. Seamus Lavin
3. Conor McGill
4. Shane Gallagher
5. Donal Keogan
6. Ronan Ryan
19. Graham Reilly
8. Bryan Menton
20. Shane McEntee
10. Ben Brennan
11. Bryan McMahon
12. James McEntee
13. Cillian O'Sullivan
14. Mickey Newman
15. James Conlon
Subs:
Sean Tobin for Ben Brennan (39th minute)
Ethan Devine for Graham Reilly (40th minute)
Thomas O'Reilly for James Conlon (54th minute)
Barry Dardis for Shane McEntee (59th minute)
Sean Curran for Shane Gallagher (66th minute)
Thomas McGovern for Bryan McMahon (66th minute)
Sky Sports' live GAA coverage continues on June 29, with a crucial double header in the football qualifiers.
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