It was a pleasure to have been in Pearse Stadium last Sunday to watch the brilliant display of forward play by Caltra’s Michael Meehan.
He was in phenomenal form and hit 1-9 at his ease while terrorising the Donegal defence for the entire 70 minutes. Three different opposition players were assigned to try to nullify his influence and each failed utterly.
Meehan who only turns 25 next December has been on the senior inter-county scene since 2003 and he is rapidly becoming the complete forward at the height of his powers.
Based on his stunning display against Kerry in the All-Ireland quarter-final last August and what he has been producing in the NFL thus far, the only better forward in the game currently is Kerry’s Colm Cooper, and some of Meehan’s supporters would argue the toss on that view-point too.
What was most impressive for me about Michael last weekend was the quality of some of the points he scored off his right foot. We have all seen him shoot the out with his left peg over the past seven years at colleges, u-21, club, and county senior level, however he has done some huge work on becoming a two-footed player and it makes him practically unstoppable unless he is double marked.
Now he can jink one way and if the defender doesn’t cover either foot he can double back and send it over from either side which makes such a difference as a forward. Of course he is a very strong man too and if he gets the right supply very few defenders would fancy 70 minutes in his company on a championship Sunday. Some people - and perhaps they have a point - have complained about the price of going in to see the league games with work and money gone so scarce around the place, nevertheless if you were guaranteed to see genuine quality forward play like we got last Sunday, you would never hear any such complaints.
It was also great to see Damien Dunleavy back in action and hopefully the Kilkerrin man can go on a run of games without suffering any injuries which have stifled his inter-county career. His first point was a super effort and showed great confidence and self-belief. He was a major loss for last year’s championship, and all Galway supporters should keep their fingers crossed or light a candle or something in the hope that he will stay injury free.
Matthew Clancy also got a run and if Galway are going to win some major silverware this year and compete with the likes of Tyrone and Kerry, they need as many options up front as possible.
