Pairc Tailteann was packed out on Saturday afternoon, as Meath hosted Dublin in Navan in a competitive game for the first time since 1988.
The Allianz League Division 2 game was hotly anticipated, but it quickly turned into an afternoon to forget for the Royals, as Dublin romped to a ? point victory.
Dublin's brilliance was evident from the early stages, and Meath had no answer to the high pace and energy displayed by the Dubs, who ultimately won by 2-19 to 1-11. In truth, Colm O'Rourke's team were far too open, leaving scarcely believable amounts of space for the Dublin attack to exploit - which they did, ruthlessly.
Dublin lead Meath by 9 points at halftime.
You'd pay good money to hear Colm O'Rourke's halftime team talk after Dublin score goals like thispic.twitter.com/2n5Bwfpg8L— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) March 18, 2023
Meath would have hoped for a better showing for their first home game against Dublin in 35 years, and they now sit on just five points from six games in Division Two.
Dublin v Meath: Colm O'Rourke reacts to heavy Meath defeat
Understandably, Colm O'Rourke wasn't exactly in a jovial mood after the game. Speaking to the media, he admitted that he could not shy away from the fact that his team were hammered on the day.
We got a going over, from start to finish. It just demonstrates the long road ahead for us to be a match for Dublin, who are maybe in the top two or three. We are a long, long way behind.
The Derry and Dublin games in the league have demonstrated that to us. We have a very, very long road to travel.
We can’t make any excuses, we were outplayed. I know they have some of the greatest players we have ever seen playing football, but at the same time it was disappointing that we weren’t able to put up a better fight against them...
When you build a new team, and I’ve seen it myself on many occasions in my own time playing, there can be a lot of very big disappointments on the way to getting there.
We just have to come back from that, put our heads down, get working again. This process isn’t going to be done in weeks or months – it may take years.
Meath have the chance to end their campaign on a high note when they make the short trip to Kildare next week.
Dublin remain on course to bounce straight back to Division One, after their surprise relegation last year. They will face Louth in Dublin next week knowing a win will ensure their return to Division One.
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