Meath 4-13 Wicklow 1-12
Only ‘okay’ was manager Andy McEntee’s blunt analysis of Meath’s performance in Navan but the Royal County still managed to kick their way into the history books.
Jack O’Connor’s goal after just nine seconds is understood to be the fastest ever championship goal, a full four seconds quicker than Dublin’s opener by Dean Rock in the 2020 All-Ireland final.
O'Connor admitted that his first championship goal, engineered by midfielders Bryan Menton and Ronan Jones from the throw-in, is a memory "which I'll hold on to."
And who knows, Jack Flynn’s goal eight minutes from time, also his first in the championship, may yet end up on a highlights reel at the end of this year’s campaign.
A long ball downfield found Jordan Morris on the right wing who, in one move, swivelled his body and placed a kick-pass in front of the onrushing Flynn to palm beyond the advancing goalkeeper.
James McEntee and substitute Mathew Costello scored goals too and with 10 points between the teams for a finish up, you'd imagine that manager McEntee would have been smiling. Not so.
“I thought we were only okay, to be perfectly honest,” he said. “I thought for long spells that we didn’t inject the pace into the game that I’d like us to be doing but we can’t complain. If you’d offered that outcome to me before the game, I’d have taken it.
“I just didn’t think we were going at them. I didn’t think we were asking enough questions of them to be honest and for long enough periods of the second-half too.”
Boss McEntee acknowledged that Wicklow, who hammered five goals beyond Laois in Round One, were a different side to the one Meath mauled by 28 points in 2020.
And yet it appeared after that early O’Connor goal, and even more so after McEntee netted in the sixth minute, that another goalfest could be on the cards.
It didn’t pan out that way and while Meath were never in danger of defeat, they lacked the sort of energy and craft that will be required to take down more substantial opposition next time out.
“I think that’s a fair statement, it wouldn’t be good enough,” nodded the manager.
Still, the promise of players like goalkeeper Harry Hogan - admittedly beaten in a 50-50 aerial battle with Oisín McGraynor for Wicklow's only goal in second-half stoppage time - O'Connor and Flynn, allied with the enduring excellence of Donal Keogan, Conor McGill and Menton, means they can't be written off.
After those two early goals, the best Meath could do was an even split of the next 10 points in the first half, sending them in 2-5 to 0-7 at the break.
In the 10 minutes after half-time, they outscored Wicklow by 1-3 to 0-1 which effectively ended this contest, Costello playing a clever one-two with Jason Scully for his goal.
There were brief flashes of excellence, like a Morris point from the left wing off the outside of his left boot, and that subsequent Flynn goal, but Meath can be plenty better.
As for Wicklow, their young team now heads to the inaugural Tailteann Cup.
"We're keen to give it a good shot," said joint manager Alan Costello who noted the contrasting emotions on consecutive Leinster championship weekends for Wicklow. "Last weekend we were really buzzing coming out of Aughrim, our home venue after creating a bit of history there, beating Laois for the first time since 1986. We felt we could have caused an upset against Meath but it wasn't to be."
MEATH: H Hogan; R Clarke, C McGill, E Harkin; J McEntee (1-0), D Keogan, C Hickey; B Menton (0-4), R Jones; J Scully, T O'Reilly (0-2), J O'Connor (1-3, two frees); J Morris (0-4, two frees), C O'Sullivan, J Wallace.
Subs: R Ryan for Hickey (h/t), M Costello (1-0) for Wallace (38 mins), J Flynn (1-0) for Jones (60), S Walsh for Scully (62), J Muldoon for Harkin (64).
WICKLOW: M Jackson (0-4, three frees, one 45); M Stone, P O'Keane, T Moran; N Devereaux, A Maher, Z Cullen; P O'Toole (0-2), JP Hurley; R Stokes (0-1), D Healy, D Fitzgerald; M Kenny, K Quinn (0-1), E Darcy (0-4, four frees).
Subs: O McGraynor (1-0) for Hurley (47 mins), O Cullen for Stokes (53), A Murphy for Devereaux (64), J Kirwan for Darcy (68), M Traynor for O'Toole (72).
Referee: P Faloon (Down).
