All-Ireland SFC R1: Gritty Cork triumph

All-Ireland SFC Round One

Cork 0-30 Meath 1-24

By Stephen Barry at Páirc Uí Rinn

Cork repeated their 14-man league success over Meath in front of 8,526 fans at a fired-up Páirc Uí Rinn to move within one match of an All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park.

Back in February, it was Ian Maguire sent off for the final 13 minutes. This time, his midfield partner Colm O’Callaghan was dismissed on a straight red with 19 minutes to play.

Their lead was soon cut to one, but a Steven Sherlock two-pointer, his 14th point of the afternoon, and a last-gasp Conor Corbett point secured the valuable win.

The Royals, who had won their last meeting in the Division Two league final, led by nine points before half-time. After a 12-point turnaround, they head for the last chance saloon.

Robbie Brennan made extensive changes to the Meath team named on Friday. Charlie O’Connor was called up for his championship debut, while Séamus Lavin, Ronan Ryan, and James Conlon were also introduced.

In further changes, Jack Flynn, Ruairí Kinsella, and Adam McDonnell were added to the bench. Brian O’Halloran, Adam O’Neill, Jack O’Connor, and Aaron Lynch switched from the starting team to the subs. A late, fifth change to the starting team saw Kinsella replace Cathal Hickey.

John Cleary settled for one late change as David Buckley replaced Ruairí Deane at wing-forward for his first championship start. Brian Hurley was added to the bench.

Conlon had Meath’s first two white flags before a fluffed short kick-out led to a goal chance, with Kinsella smacking the crossbar as the ball ricocheted over.

The teams traded new-rule frees for Seán Brennan and Sherlock two-pointers before O’Callaghan and a Sherlock free made it 0-7 to 0-5 for Cork.

The first half would turn on a pair of five-point swings. First, Brennan recovered from an intercepted kick-out to tip a Mark Cronin goal chance onto the post. Meath countered for a Kinsella orange flag and Conlon added another. Instead of a five-point Cork lead, Meath led by two; 0-9 to 0-7.

At the other end, Seán McDonnell had a half-chance smothered by Brennan. They trailed by one when their next opportunity arrived. Bryan Menton blocked Luke Fahy’s shot and Meath countered for an Eoghan Frayne two-pointer.

They capitalised on the next two kick-outs, with Ciarán Caulfield exchanging a one-two with Jordan Morris for the 27th-minute goal before a second Frayne orange flag for 1-14 to 0-9.

They ended by sharing four points and two goal chances, with the best opening for Seán Coffey repelled by O’Callaghan’s boot. Meath led by eight, 1-16 to 0-11, at half-time.

The Royals had kicked five two-pointers to one as the breeze stiffened across the first half. Cork exploited the conditions for four orange flags on the resumption to lead by three, 0-23 to 1-17, by the 46th minute.

A Cronin free, advanced to the edge of the arc, and Buckley brought Cork within range. They were ahead when Sherlock lofted over a brace from outside the arc in the space of a minute.

Brennan landed his second two-point free in the next play and it was still delicately poised when O’Callaghan was flashed a straight red card for what Brendan Cawley judged as a strike on Kinsella in the 51st minute.

Conlon’s seventh point and Kinsella’s fourth got Meath level by the 59th minute. A Cronin free nudged Cork back ahead and they appeared to have a goal from Ian Maguire, which was ruled out for a square ball.

A Cronin free was cancelled out by Kinsella before Sherlock’s fourth orange flag separated the sides. Meath had three late wides and one shot dropped short as Corbett countered for the insurance score.

Scorers for Cork: Steven Sherlock 0-14 (3 2pt, 1 2ptf, 5f, 1 45); Mark Cronin 0-5 (1 2ptf, 1f); David Buckley 0-3 (1 2pt); Colm O’Callaghan 0-2; Maurice Shanley, Daniel O’Mahony, Ian Maguire, Paul Walsh, Chris Óg Jones, Conor Corbett 0-1 each.

Scorers for Meath: James Conlon 0-7 (1 2pt); Eoghan Frayne (2 2pt, 1f), Ruairí Kinsella (1 2pt) 0-5 each; Seán Brennan 0-4 (2 2ptf); Ciarán Caulfield 1-0; Jordan Morris 0-2; Mathew Costello 0-1.

Cork: Patrick Doyle; Maurice Shanley, Seán Meehan, Daniel O’Mahony; Brian O’Driscoll, Tommy Walsh, Luke Fahy; Colm O’Callaghan, Ian Maguire; Paul Walsh, Seán McDonnell, David Buckley; Mark Cronin, Chris Óg Jones, Steven Sherlock.

Subs: Ruairí Deane for McDonnell (53), Seán Walsh for Buckley (57), Rory Maguire for Fahy (57), Conor Corbett for P Walsh (62).

Meath: Seán Brennan; Ronan Ryan, Seán Rafferty, Séamus Lavin; Donal Keogan, Seán Coffey, Ciarán Caulfield; Cian McBride, Bryan Menton; Mathew Costello, Charlie O’Connor, Ruairí Kinsella; Jordan Morris, James Conlon, Eoghan Frayne.

Subs: Jack Flynn for Menton (45), Jack O’Connor for Kinsella (52-53, temp), J O’Connor for C O’Connor (54), Cathal Hickey for Frayne (57), Brian O’Halloran for Rafferty (63), Aaron Lynch for Conlon (65).

Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).