Litmus test awaits in Inniskeen

Meath travel to Inniskeen today for what could be a pivotal meeting with near neighbours Louth in Round 7 of the Allianz Football League.  Aspirations of promotion to the Division 1 are out of Meath hands but the prospect is there should the away side prevail and other results go in our favour.

Ahead of the game, Robbie Brennan and his management team have made two alterations to the starting XV which lined out against Monaghan a week ago.

Returning to the side is Shane Walsh who had lined out from the start in each of the previous five games and he comes back in at full forward in place of Cian McBride.  Brian O’Halloran also returns and the Ballivor clubman comes in to replace Sean Ryan in the half back line.

There is a landmark appearance in the middle of the field for Bryan Menton who is set to make is 140th appearance in a senior jersey for the county.  Bryan made his O’Byrne Cup debut against UCD in 2011, League debut later that season against Antrim and his Championship debut that summer against Kildare.  The breakdown of appearances to date is as follows.

• Championship – 39
• League – 76
• O’Byrne Cup – 24

Billy Hogan who made his Allianz Football League debut in the final round twelve months ago against Donegal will continue in goals and he will have a settled full back line in front of him as Seamus Lavin, Seán Rafferty and Donal Keogan once more line out in tandem.

The returning Brian O’Halloran comes in as a direct replacement at centre half back for Sean Ryan and he will be flanked by Eoin Harkin and Ciarán Caulfield.

Jack Flynn will once more partner Bryan Menton in the middle of the field with Menton set to make that landmark 140th appearance.

Two of the fresh faces in this years side, Conor Duke and Jack Kinlough will once more line out in the half forward line where they will be joined by Keith Curtis who was a late addition to the starting line-up a week ago.

Then in the inside forward line, Jordan Morris and team captain Eoghan Frayne occupy the corner forward positions and they are joined by the returning Shane Walsh.

In total there are are only four players named to start who started the corresponding fixture in Páirc Tailteann last year and five who featured over the course of that game.  The four who started on February 18 2024 were Donal Keogan, Ciarán Caulfield, Eoghan Frayne and Shane Walsh while Brian O’Halloran came on as a second half replacement.

The fifteen who featured thirteen months ago but who aren’t in the starting line-up today are Sean Brennan, Adam O’Neill, Michael Murphy, Darragh Campion, Seán Coffey, Ronan Jones, Cian McBride, Daithí McGowan, Jack O’Connor, Ruairí Kinsella, Mathew Costello, Cathal Hickey, Aaron Lynch, Danny Dixon and Adam McDonnell.

This game is all-ticket with every supporter including children U-16 requiring a ticket for admission and it is advance sales only with no cash taken at the ground.  Tickets are available from selected Super Valu/Centra stores and are also available by scanning the below QR Code or by clicking the link – Meath v Louth Tickets