Kildare 0-15 Meath 1-11 Of the many memorable images from Croke Park on Saturday evening, one that sticks vividly in the mind is of Seán Boylan
After a beautiful game of football, where Kildare had delivered the purest and most effective performance of the summer and probably their own best in five years, it was the sight of Boylan, wondering if he could rise his Meath team one last time, which is most enduring.
In part it was because Kildare had caught his team - and most of the 29,630 crowd - by surprise, throwing league form out the window in a tactic pioneered by Boylan. Mostly though, it was the realisation Kildare were now in the position to win something, while Boylan could only look one more time at the cards he's holding, and hope the hand lasts one more round.
Afterwards Boylan took his time, a good 30 minutes, to address his team. "I just told them that we were beaten," he said, "by a team that played great football on the day. But it's very important for them to realise that they're still in the All-Ireland series, and still as good as most of the teams that are there."
Kildare attacked at full stretch and took the meaning of total commitment to a new level. Padraig Nolan had taken on the task of reinventing the team after Mick O'Dwyer, some said foolishly, but this result goes beyond any recent comparisons.
The game was largely won in an incredible closing sequence to the first half, where Kildare hit 10 points without replay but it was a sequence that deserved to win any game. And while the second half was played out like a high-speed car chase, with Meath eventually drawing level with about 10 minutes to play, Kildare showed their ability to stick together until the end. And this from a team still learning to recognise each other.
"Well it's brilliant for the younger lads in there to come this far," said Nolan afterwards. "We were all getting a bit of criticism back in March, but sure that comes with job.
"And we know Meath could have gone 3-3 up before we got our second point. So you have to put things in the balance.
"We won by a point. We had one goal chance and missed it. They had three goal chances and missed. And it was their third match in three weeks. They were flat, and still very nearly pulled it off."
Clearly part of Boylan's tactics was to put Kildare away early. Daithí Regan opened their run with the first of his five-point contribution and Trevor Giles followed by converting a penalty on seven minutes, the result of a foul on Graham Geraghty.
By then all the Kildare backs were having to ride the storm. Hank Traynor popped up for a point to make it 1-3 to 0-1 and on the 20-minute mark Meath created two glorious goal chances. First John Cullinane had his effort saved by Enda Murphy, and then Evan Kelly's shot was cleared off the line by Andrew McLoughlin.
Nolan, however, wasn't unduly concerned. "Sure I knew we had 65 minutes to come back. Anything can happen, and there's no guessing where I learnt that", he says, with a gentle nod towards the Meath dressing-room.
At times Kildare were playing a new brand of football, with a greater mix of attacking formations. They only hit six wides, shooting only when assured of the point. So five of the six forwards scored, none more consistently noticeable than John Doyle and Tadgh Fennin.
Killian Brennan's emergence at the heart of the Kildare midfield is complete, and behind him Mick Wright and Karl Ennis provide the perfect partnership to the still remarkable Anthony Rainbow. Brian Lacey was the best of the full-back line until injury (a dead leg) ended his game but Damien Hendy kept an equal hand on Geraghty when introduced.
After turning the half 0-11 to 1-3 in front, Kildare had to endure some nervous moments as Meath, led largely by Regan and Geraghty, fought back. Even when they drew level, Kildare clipped in front once more with a Doyle free, and as the clock ticked out the last chance to even it again fell to Regan, but his 20-metre free from the sharpest of angles drifted right and wide.
So can Boylan lift his team once more? "Well I hope we can. But we'll just think about the effort we've put in. The lads have had 83 training sessions so far. That's a lot of sacrifice. You like to see them get some reward for it, but at the end of the day, only four counties will win provincial titles. And only one team will win an All-Ireland."
For now though, Meath are still in there for the big prize.
KILDARE: E Murphy; B Lacey, D Lyons, A McLoughlin; M Wright, K Ennis, A Rainbow (0-2); A Barry (0-1), K Brennan; P Murray (0-3, two frees), J Doyle (0-4, three frees), R Sweeney (0-2); D McCormack, S McKenzie-Smyth (0-1), T Fennin (0-2). Subs: D Hendy for Lacey (half-time, inj), P Hurley for Barry (52 mins), K Donnelly for McKenzie-Smyth (60 mins), G Ryan for Ennis (62 mins), E McCormack for Murray (69 mins).
MEATH: C Sullivan; N McKeigue, D Fay, C Murphy; P Reynolds, T O'Connor, H Traynor (0-2); J Cullinane, C McCarthy (0-1); E Kelly, T Giles (1-2, one penalty, two frees), S McKeigue; D Regan (0-5, two frees), G Geraghty (0-1), D Crimmins. Subs: N Nestor for Cullinane, R Kealy for S McKeigue (both 50 mins), R Magee for Crimmins (68 mins).
Referee: M Hughes (Tyrone).
