Lenihan leveller earns valuable point in Cork
Meath maintained their outside chance of promotion from NFL Div with a last gasp equalising Donal Lenihan point in a 1-15 to 0-18 draw with Crok in Pairc Ui Rinn this afternoon.
Training by nine points on two different occasions in the second-half Meath clawed their back into the game with a Donal Keogan goal in the 56th minute and with just five minutes of the 70 remaining Sean Tobin pointed them in front for the first time since the second minute.
With the wind at their backs Meath looked in a strong position, but they slipped back into the error of their ways that saw them trail by 0-5 to 0-12 at half time and by 0-6 to 0-15 10 minutes into the second period and allowe Cork back into the game.
Cork managed to restore parity in the 68th minute and then went in front again with a Brian O'Drisccoll point as Meath looked to have blown it.
However in one last forage forward Graham Reilly looked to have been fouled close to the square, but as the referee waved away the penalty appeals it was left to Donal Lenihan to clip over the 13-metre free to rescue the draw and keep Meath invested in the NFL Div 2 race.
Meath - Paddy O'Rourke; Donal Keogan (1-0), Conor McGill, Donnacha Tobin; Willie Carry, Brian Power, Padraic Harnan; Bryan Menton, James Toher; Alan Forde (0-2), Cillian O'Sullivan (0-1), Ruairi O Coileain; Bryan McMahon (0-2), Graham Reilly (0-3), Donal Lenihan (0-5 frees). Subs – Eamon Wallace (0-1) for O Coileain 23 mins, James McEntee for Power half-time, Seamus Lavin for Carry, Sean Tobin (0-1) for O'Sullivan both 52m, Shane McEntee for Forde 62m, Joey Wallace for McMahon 67m.
Cork - K O'Halloran; M Shields, Tom Clancy, K Crowley; Tomas Clancy, J Loughrey (0-1), S Cronin; A Walsh, R Deane (0-1); I Maguire, M Collins (0-3 two frees), K O'Driscoll; C O'Neill (0-9 sixfrees), P Kelleher (0-1), P Kerrigan (0-2). Subs – J O'Rourke for Walsh 8 mins, Conor Dorman for Tomas Clancy 56m, B O'Driscoll (0-1) for K O'Driscoll 60m, K Davis for Kerrigan 63m, N Coakley for Kelleher 73m. Black card – I Maguire (replaced by C O'Driscoll 20m)
Referee - Fergal Kelly (Longford).