'I'm just gutted for the girls. The game was nearly over at half time' - Meath boss McCormack
MEATH MANAGER SHANE McCormack holds his head in his hands before facing the press. The 12-point All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin is hitting home.
“I’m just gutted for the girls, to be honest,” he begins after the 2-16 to 0-10 loss.
“We were always doubted, even at the start of the year before a ball was thrown in, to even get to a quarter-final stage. But we did believe within our circle that we would achieve it.
“We (previously) played Dublin three times this year. A 16-point trimming in the league wasn’t good so we sat down that week and had a chat among ourselves and we kind of worked on different tactics. And in fairness to the girls with the Leinster campaign, obviously we lost to Dublin in the Leinster final but we were gutted because Dublin got the last eight points without a reply from us.
“So coming into today’s game, we knew what was going to happen but the game was nearly over at half time. In fairness to our girls, they battled to the end. I think we were 11 down at half time. In the second half, pretty pleased that we came out of the blocks quick enough. I think we lost the second half by a point. But I’m just gutted for the girls because they’re a fantastic bunch.”
It’s Meath’s first All-Ireland senior final defeat in their history. The Royals won their first in 2021, ending Dublin’s Drive for Five, and backed it up in 2022.
Two consecutive quarter-final defeats to Kerry followed, before they turned the tables and dethroned the 2024 champions in this year’s semi-final. That was a huge performance — a stark contrast to today as they trailed by 13 points at one stage in the first half, and failed to score from play until after the restart.
“Dublin were a little bit hungrier, to be honest,” McCormack continues, rueing “small margins” like Vikki Wall’s spurned goal opportunity when they trailed by one point early doors.
“In the first five or 10 minutes, they hit the blocks running. But there were a few passes that went astray with our girls. Obviously if the goal chances went in, I’m not saying it would have changed the result but we would have been in a different position at half time. It’s very hard going in at half time in an All-Ireland final when you’re 11 points down. The positive would be for our girls that they came out quick enough there in the second half.”
“When any Dublin team get ahead, they’re very hard to claw back,” the former Kildare goalkeeper adds. “But credit to Dublin today, they’re a super team with multiple All-Stars and All-Ireland medal winners.
“We had 16 new girls onto the panel from last year and this year. I think nine girls got their first-ever senior start in an All-Ireland final today, so there are a lot of positives. It is healthy, even with the Under-20s winning the Leinster the other night as well. So it’s very positive for Meath ladies football.”
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