Gaelic Games

Meath Under-21s advance to last four in Leinster

Royals can now look forward to meeting Offaly in a semi-final

Meath’s Neil Shortall is put under under pressure by Robert Curran and Wayne Campbell of Louth during last night’s Leinster Under 21 Football Championship quarter-final replay at Páirc Tailteann, Navan. Photograph: Cathal Noonan/Inpho
Meath’s Neil Shortall is put under under pressure by Robert Curran and Wayne Campbell of Louth during last night’s Leinster Under 21 Football Championship quarter-final replay at Páirc Tailteann, Navan. Photograph: Cathal Noonan/Inpho
Wed Mar 12 2014 - 23:03

Meath 1-13 Louth 0-10

After being denied in the closing seconds last week, Meath made the second bite of the cherry count to advance to the last four in the Leinster Under-21 football championship at the expense of neighbours Louth in Wednesday night's replay at Páirc Tailteann.

The home side did so despite losing county senior player Eamon Wallace early on, the forward hobbling off injured after 10 minutes.

Much of the first half was pedestrian and it took 24 minutes for the first score from play, a Louth point from Conor Grimes, to arrive.

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Substitute Séamus Mattimoe replied for Meath and then Joey Wallace, younger brother of Eamon, fired to the net to boost the Royals to a 1-4 to 0-4 interval advantage.

With Grimes sending over two more points, Louth reduced the deficit to the minimum (0-8 to 1-6) before Bryan McMahon’s first score from play and Mattimoe’s third restored the interval advantage.

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Just when extra-time looked on the cards again, Meath clicked into a higher gear in the closing stages with five unanswered points seeing them through comfortably.

The Royals can now look forward to meeting Offaly in a semi-final tussle at Parnell Park on Wednesday next.

In the other semi-final Dublin will play Longford.
MEATH : A Colgan; S Carty, C McGill, D McQuillan; B Power, S Melia, S McEntee; C Sheridan, A Flanagan; N Shortall (0-1) , B O'Brien, P Harnan; E Wallace, B McMahon (0-6, four frees), J Wallace (1-0). Subs: S Mattimoe (0-5, two frees) for E Wallace (10 mins), H Rooney for Sheridan (42 mins mins), C Finn for Power (51 mins), B Dardis (0-1) for J Wallace (59 mins).

LOUTH : N Cooney; E Lafferty, D Campbell, K Lenaghan; D McMahon, P Reilly, S Thornton; D Brodigan, W Campbell; R Quigley, J Stewart, C McKeever; C Doyle(0-1), C Grimes (0-3), R Burns (0-6, five frees). Subs: R Curran for Thornton (18 mins), C Ward for Brodigan (black card, 43 mins), R Carr for McKeever (51 mins), K Harty for Doyle (60 mins).
Referee : G Whelan (Wicklow).