Donal Keogan's Response To Star Forward's Injury Sums Up Meath Mentality

Donal Keogan believes Meath's response to the loss of Ruairí Kinsella highlights the strength of the squad mentality Robbie Brennan has built within the county setup.

The veteran defender was speaking after producing a superb display in Meath's 1-24 to 1-20 victory over Derry in Celtic Park, a result that knocked the hosts out of the championship and booked the Royals' place in Round 3 of the All-Ireland series.

Keogan was one of the standout performers on the night, finishing with 1-2 from wing-back, while James Conlon chipped in with an outstanding 0-7 from play.

It was a much-needed response from Meath after successive championship defeats to Leinster champions Westmeath and Cork.

The build-up to the game had also been overshadowed by the devastating news that All-Star nominee Ruairí Kinsella had suffered an ACL injury in training, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.

However, Keogan said the squad had responded exactly as Robbie Brennan would have wanted.

Every man to a man put their shoulders to the wheel, dug really deep. Really three good weeks of training there under the belt. Everyone was fighting for it. Places were up for grabs.

No one was assured, so that's kind of key.

Robbie says every game, every training, every position is up for grabs.

So you have to be on it, and that drives standards.

Keogan felt that competitive environment had allowed Meath to absorb the loss of one of their most important players.

Obviously we were dealt a blow with Ruairí, and I wish him all the best in his recovery. But then it's the next man up, we have a squad. And that's no disrespect to Ruairí, but all the lads have to step up then.

So it's a team game.

Obviously it was unfortunate what happened to Ruairí, but we wish him well.

But that gives a lot of lads opportunities and I think lads stood up there tonight.

The game itself contained plenty of drama.

As the half-time whistle sounded, a pushing and shoving match broke out involving players from both sides.

Referee Seán Hurson took a dim view of the incident and, after consulting with his officials during the interval, black-carded two players from each team before the second half resumed.

Ronan Ryan and Cian McBride were sanctioned for Meath, while Conor Doherty and Gareth McKinless received black cards for Derry, leaving both sides with 13 men for the opening ten minutes of the second half.

James Sargent impressed on his championship debut with 1-2, while Shane McGuigan kicked 0-5, but the Ulster side ultimately came up short on home soil.

For Meath, however, it was a night that breathed new life into their championship campaign.

And judging by Keogan's comments afterwards, the Royals are determined that the loss of Kinsella will not derail their ambitions.