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'It's the least we deserve' | Emma Duggan on Meath reaping rewards after gritty win

Meath player Emma Duggan and manager Eamonn Murray joined Joe Molloy on Monday's Off The Ball fo...



'It's the least we deserve' |...
Football

'It's the least we deserve' | Emma Duggan on Meath reaping rewards after gritty win

Meath player Emma Duggan and manager Eamonn Murray joined Joe Molloy on Monday's Off The Ball following their historic win in the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork. 

In one of the most incredible comebacks of all time, Meath, trailing by 2-08 - 0-07 with less than five minutes to go, scored two goals late on to force extra-time, before securing their place in the All-Ireland final for the first time in their history.

It has been a long road for this Meath side, but given the circumstances inherited by Murray and his team, their progress has been remarkable.

"Things were desperate", Murray told Off The Ball. 

"No team in the country would even play us in a challenge, it wasn't worth their while."

To have come from that to an All-Ireland semi-final against a juggernaut like Cork, it would have been easy for the heads to drop for Meath in the final few minutes.

"My Dad was in Croke Park physically, but his mind was probably out the gate at that stage.", Emma Duggan says.

"At 2-08 - 0-07 with just over a minute to go against Cork, you're probably never going to tip Meath. It really shows the heart and determination in the team. I'm really proud to be a part of it.

"I'm so glad the girls got over the line, I think it's the least we deserve."

Similar to the men's semi-final, there were two contrasting sides in this game. Cork, the favourites, who were experts in finishing out games, and Meath, who knew they would need to be brave in order to get something out of the game.

"Cork are a side that are more than capable of keeping the ball for seven or eight minutes, and when you're seven points down you can't really afford to stand off them.", Duggan said of the final quarter of the game.

"We pushed up a little bit and thankfully it paid off."

When asked of the similarities to the men's game the night before, Murray joked, "The only difference is Mayo had 35 minutes to get their seven points back, we only had a minute and a half!"

Meath will go on to face Dublin in the TG4 All-Ireland final on September 5th.

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