GAA: Clare v Meath Gaelic football betting preview, free tip & TV details

TV details: RTE 2, 2pm Sunday

No beaten Leinster finalists have won their next game in the qualifiers since Kildare beat Wicklow in 2009 but Meath can buck that trend with a wide-margin success over Clare at O’Moore Park.

The two-point handicap is not a fair reflection of Royal County’s superiority.

Not only did Meath win away at Cusack Park in the league, they did so by 1-12 to 1-7 and never looked in danger. They went on to secure promotion from Division 2 and reached a Leinster final afterwards, so progress has been made no matter what happens from this point.

Meath’s record against Clare in the last decade is top notch - they have won the three most recent clashes handsomely.

Had this game been priced up before the provincial decider, the handicap would surely have been four or five points instead of two, but Meath’s drubbing by Dublin has seen the layers change their stance on Andy McEntee’s men. That may be too hasty. There is so much more to Meath than the Leinster final showed.

McEntee made the move of trying to limit the damage in the Leinster final. Knowing that a heavy loss to Dublin had the potential for a serious slump in confidence, he went into defensive mode. It worked for 40 minutes but Ben Brennan’s plethora of missed frees sucked the life out of the Royals and Dublin ran riot.

The fact that Meath restricted Dublin to just five points in the opening period is a clear indication of how sturdy Meath’s defence can be and they could frustrate Clare.

The Banner boys carved out a slender success over Westmeath in the last round of the qualifiers but everything went their way. John Heslin got a dubious black card after just ten minutes and Clare’s goal came as a result of a poor kick-out by the Westmeath goalkeeper.

Bryan Menton and Gary Brennan could cancel each other out in the midfield battle zone and expect more from James Conlon, Michael Newman and Cillian O’Sullivan. That trio were particularly quiet against Dublin.

McEntee could have a trump card in the shape of Navan O’Mahonys clubman Ruairi O Coileain. He missed last year while travelling but was a revelation for the Meath juniors in their recent Leinster final win over Kildare.

If he is used from the start, or introduced from the bench, O Coilean has the potential to unlock the Clare defence with his ball-carrying and impressive array of kick-passing. He has the potential to give this Meath side a new lease of life.

The statistics don’t bode well for Meath but everything else points to a comfortable success for the Royal County and backing them to win by three points or more looks one of the best punting opportunities of the summer.

Recommendations
Meath -2
4pts 11-10 Paddy Power

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