Sheridan's cruel twist denies Louth
Joe Sheridan, right, Meath, celebrates after scoring his side's late goal with team-mates Caoimhin King, behind, and Seamus Kenny. Photo: David Maher / Sportsfile
The greatest injustice for many a year in Croke Park?
It's hard to disagree with that sentiment given the circumstances of Louth's 53-year famine, the timing of the central talking point and the dominance they enjoyed throughout a tense and dramatic second half of this Leinster football final.
Meath have been involved in so many great escapes in their history as a modern force in Gaelic football, from the survival acts of 1991 against Dublin to 2001 against Westmeath and a year later against Louth. They have escapology down to a fine art. But this surely takes it to a new level, not one that will necessarily sit easily with them.
Perhaps it's best to review the scene of the crime first before drawing conclusions. With the three signalled minutes of added time being allowed by referee Martin Sludden already elapsed, Meath pressed hard for an equaliser after absorbing the shock of JP Rooney's 62nd-minute goal, which put Louth within touching distance of the Delaney Cup.
salvage
Graham Reilly, the star of the first half for Meath with four points, pumped an inviting ball into the Louth goal-mouth in one final, desperate attempt to salvage something.
Ironically, one of the smallest players in the action, Meath's Seamus Kenny, rose highest to field quite spectacularly and with a neat sidestep took himself to within a yard of salvation.
A punched point was an option but Kenny saw an inviting goal and prodded with his left foot. But Paddy Keenan's block was heroic and as the ball spun into the air, Louth's full-back Dessie Finnegan looked to have it under control. Time would surely have ended if he had cleared it.
But, critically, he spilled it, allowing Joe Sheridan -- Jamie Heaslip-like -- to bundle in and, under pressure, he clearly carried the ball over the goal line, an illegal movement that should have merited a free out. Only after the ball had crossed the line did Sheridan's boot appear to make contact.
Then the mayhem kicked into overdrive. The umpire best placed to monitor the melee didn't raise a green flag instantly. Sludden moved in to consult with his umpire as Louth players surrounded him.
What happened next is open to some conjecture. Louth manager Peter Fitzpatrick claimed afterwards that Sludden told him he was going to award a penalty. In the end, the goal stood. It was the worst possible decision open to the officials and within seconds the match was over and the trophy had slipped from Louth's grasp.
The scenes that followed were among the worst witnessed at any GAA championship match in recent memory. On one hand, Louth's frustration and anger is perfectly understandable. The goal should not have stood and having dominated the second half as they did, a first provincial title since 1957 should have materialised.
If the referee did feel it was a penalty, as Fitzpatrick suggested he did, then he should have had the conviction to award it. From the vantage point of the press box and in subsequent TV footage shown, the case for a penalty was slim.
For the large Louth support in the 48,875 crowd, the heartbreak and bewilderment was palpable.
When you have waited so long for a Leinster final appearance, battled so hard, put yourself in a winning position and then lose like this, it's tough to take. But the reaction of some supporters and, indeed, players in challenging the referee as they did afterwards brought further shame on the game and a full investigation promised by Croke Park will result in heavy penalties. There's a line that can't be crossed.
Few in Louth will care about that this morning. Hopes of a replay will be quickly killed as the championship rolls relentlessly on. There is no facility for it in the rules and even if Meath were to offer it -- something most unlikely -- it would fall on deaf ears.
Meath manager Eamonn O'Brien and captain Nigel Crawford rightly pointed out afterwards that it would set a dangerous precedent by revising incidents in GAA matches where the right calls have not been made.
The incident and the scenes at the end raise further issues, the use of technology being one and the introduction of legislation to keep supporters off the pitch being another.
When the dust settles, Louth will realise that they have let a glorious opportunity slip, regardless of the injustice of Sheridan's goal.
They trailed at the end of a nervous, edgy first half by 0-8 to 0-5 having spurned gilt-edged goal chances through JP Rooney after only 52 seconds and Shane Lennon on 20 minutes. Reilly's running and positioning was Meath's main weapon as Nigel Crawford provided a decent foothold at midfield and Kenny worked slavishly again on breaks.
But Louth took control in the second half with Ray Finnegan's foraging around the middle their main source of possession. Crawford visibly tired and Louth poured through, but their lack of killer instinct was galling.
Midfielder Brian White was responsible for four second-half wides, three from frees, including one in the 71st minute that would have restored a two-point lead.
Rooney's goal, a perfect piece of opportunism after Brian Meade had spilled a Mark Brennan free in his own goalmouth, opened the gates to glory for Louth but Meath hung on through two Cian Ward frees.
Meath must be credited for battling on when nothing was going right for them. They led through Anthony Moyles, 0-10 to 0-9, but were almost paralysed by fear and the attentive marking of a Louth defence that pulled the shutters down on their sharpest forwards.
The absence of triumphalism among the Meath players in their reaction afterwards was clear, even if Sheridan's belief that his goal was "perfect" was off the mark.
Scorers -- Meath: G Reilly, C Ward (0-4f) 0-4 each, J Sheridan 1-0, S Bray 0-2, A Moyles, N Crawford 0-1 each. Louth: JP Rooney 1-1, B White 0-4 (0-3f), C Judge 0-2 (0-1f), P Keenan, A McDonnell, A Reed 0-1 each.
Meath -- B Murphy 7; E Harrington 4, K Reilly 7, C O'Connor 7; C King 5, A Moyles 6, G O'Brien 6; N Crawford 7, B Meade 6; S Kenny 7, S Bray 7, G Reilly 8; C Ward 5, J Sheridan 5, S O'Rourke 5. Subs: C McGuinness for Moyles (66), P Byrne for O'Rourke (69).
Louth -- N Gallagher 7; E McAuley 6, D Finnegan 7, J O'Brien 6; R Finnegan 8, M Fanning 6, R Greene 4; P Keenan 6, B White 6; A Reed 6, A McDonnell 7, M Brennan 6; C Judge 6, S Lennon 5, J P Rooney 6. Subs: S Fitzpatrick 6 for Greene (31), A Hoey 6 for Fanning (53), P Smith 5 for Lennon (58), D Byrne for Reed (62).
Ref -- M Sludden (Tyrone).
- colm keys
Irish Independent
