Senior footballers survive second-half scare to overcome Meath

LEINSTER SFC SEMI-FINAL

DUBLIN 2-16 MEATH 1-13

Dublin fended off a massive second-half comeback from Meath before establishing their authority late on in Sunday's Leinster SFC semi-final at Croke Park.

The Dubs led by 11 points at the interval yet were reeled back to three points in the second period before eventually booking their berth in the provincial decider against Kildare.

First half goals from Cormac Costello, from a penalty after a foul on Brian Fenton, and a brilliant finish from Con O'Callaghan aided Dessie Farrell's men to their strong half-time cushion.

Dublin looked comfortable and used possession efficiently in the first half as they outmanoeuvred their opponents as the half wore on to move further and further away.

"(The) First half there was a lot to be happy about, many pleasing aspects, but it was the exact opposite in the second half for long periods," said Dublin manager Dessie Farrell.

"There’s a lot of experience in that team. They’ve been in those tight situations before and managed that period well.

"Obviously we need to take a look at how we ended up in that situation in the first instance, and we’ll do that, but definitely calm heads prevailed late in the game."

The second half, particularly on the restart, was an entirely different story as Meath opened the second half by scoring 1-4 without reply.

Dublin only tallied 0-2 in the third-quarter as their opponents hit 1-5 to take control to claw back the deficit.

Five minutes from the end of normal time Dublin keeper Evan Comerford denied Meath sub Ronan Jones from close range with David Byrne and then Brian Howard scrambling the danger out, Meath earning a '45' as Dublin were under serious pressure.

Comerford had also come to the rescue in the opening half when stopping a goal attempt from Meath forward Jordan Morris.

But Dublin showed their steel in the dying minutes to close out the game with points from Brian Fenton, Cormac Costello and Ciarán Kilkenny to edge out to a six-point success.

Afterwards Dublin manager Dessie Farell added: "It was the proverbial game of two halves. We were very good in the first half and not so good in the second.

"We made it a contest and to be fair to Meath, they threw everything at it in the second half, which we knew they would.

"We were expecting it so it was no surprise. We found it difficult to deal with though.

"The game was in the melting pot for longer than we would have liked. It was good to see the bit of composure come back into our play at the end.

"We finished quite strongly in the last couple of minutes," he added.

By the first-half water stoppage Dublin led 1-4 to 0-4, with Costello converting a penalty, before Dublin hit 1-6 without reply with Con O'Callaghan rifling to the roof of the Royal County's net in the 20th minute off his left foot.

By the half-time break Dublin looked in total control when leading 2-11 to 0-6 but back came Meath to cut the deficit by 1-4 on the resumption as they brought more intensity and commitment to their play, Matthew Costello showing good footwork to score their goal.

Dublin had a second-half goal chance but Brian Fenton's angled effort was parried by Meath keeper Harry Hogan.

SCORERS – Dublin: C Costello 1-4 (1-0 pen), C O’Callaghan 1-3, C Kilkenny 0-5, D Rock 0-2 (0-1f), P Small, B Fenton 0-1 each. Meath: M Costello 1-2 (0-1f), J Morris 0-3 (0-1f), E Wallace, J Wallace 0-2 each, B McMahon, C O’Sullivan, J McEntee (0-1 45), T O’Reilly (0-1f) 0-1 each.

DUBLIN: E Comerford; M Fitzsimons, D Byrne, S MacMahon; J McCarthy, J Cooper, B Howard; B Fenton, P Ó Cofaigh Byrne; P Small, C Kilkenny, N Scully ; C Costello, C O’Callaghan, D Rock. Subs: T Lahiff for Ó Cofaigh Byrne (ht), S Bugler for Small (51), C Basquel for Rock (62), C Murphy for MacMahon (74).

MEATH: H Hogan; S Lavin, C McGill, D Keogan; C Hickey, S McEntee, F Reilly; B Menton, P Harnan; E Wallace, B McMahon, M Costello; J Wallace, C O’Sullivan, J Morris. Subs: R Jones for Reilly (29), T O’Reilly for McMahon (ht), J McEntee for Hickey (55), E Devine for Costello (59), J Conlon for E Wallace (65).

REF: C Lane (Cork).