Meath make a point and Kildare provide safety net

With the relegation trap door swinging wildly beneath them, Meath found the courage, determination and application that had been badly missing in other games to salvage a dramatic NFL Div 2 draw with Tyrone at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday. Meath knew a draw would do if both Antrim and Sligo were beaten, but what they weren't aware of was that Sligo pushed Kildare all the way at Newbridge before losing out by a point and ensuring the Royal County survived. A few weeks back Meath manager Seamus McEnaney suggested that if his side managed to survive with the last kick of the ball in the final game against Tyrone, then he would accept that and that is exactly what happened. With Meath leading by a point two minutes into injury-time Tyrone knitted together another string of impressive passes as they sought passage through their hosts rearguard. Mickey Harte's men needed a goal if they were to have any chance of promotion. When Sean Cavanagh won possession 30 metres out he cut a path to goals that looked ominous. Joe Sheridan stepped in and fouled the former player-of-the-year, prevented the goal chance and ensured that Martin Penrose's free would only result in a point and a share of the spoils. After the final whistle the Meath supporters sat silently waiting for news from Newbridge and Belfast, some Tyrone fans vented their frustration at the referee as he made his way under the stand. When the news came through that results went Meath's way it sparked celebrations on the pitch and in the stand. The draw was enough to rescue Meath from the edge of disaster, but on this outstanding performance they deserved so much more. Tyrone can point to a number of refereeing decisions that went against them in the closing stages, but Meath were exceptional and re-discovered the heart and determination that has long been the foundation of football in the county. A managerial gamble also paid off. McEnaney's decision to start substitute goalkeeper Paddy O'Rourke on the edge of the square was inspirational as the giant Skryne man caused Joe McMahon to endure a torrid afternoon. O'Rourke was a tremendous target for the long ball and his willingness to battle for possession inspired those around him. The return of Graham Reilly also proved to be an outstanding success. When Meath were in danger of capitulating after Penrose's 48th minute goal Reilly produced a superb point to settle the nerves. He also applied some brilliant finishing in the last five minutes to score Meath's last two points and cap a magnificent performance. It was a superb display from Meath, but there were also errors. The draw shouldn't paper over some of the cracks that were still obvious. Meath kicked 14 wides, dropped at least four scoring opportunities into Pascal McConnell's hands and there was also careless passing and the odd occasion of weak defending. Tyrone were very physical and Meath found it difficult to knock them from their stride. At times the sea of white and red moved upfield with the fluency of a tidal wave as Meath defenders struggled to keep up. It took some heroic defending by Shane McAnarney and superb awareness from u-21 stars Mark O'Sullivan (pictured) and Ciaran Lenehan to keep the visitors at bay. Nigel Crawford also showed signs of his best form with great fielding and an enormous work rate. With the lessons learned from the Derry game, Meath deployed Paddy O'Rourke on the edge of the square and pumped in long ball. The Skryne man relished the occasion and rose to it like a phoenix as he laid on score after score to keep Meath in touch. Sheridan was also a constant threat, but accuracy deserted him on a day when he was one of 11 different scorers for Meath with 14 points from play. Two of those scorers were impressive substitutes Paddy Gilsenan and Brian Farrell. Gilsenan replaced Seamus Kenny and worked tenaciously and chipped in with a point when he had a goal at his mercy. The early exchanges were tight with Meath missing a couple of chances before Tyrone got off the mark with a fisted point from midfielder Aidan Cassidy. Paddy O'Rourke flicked on to set up a goal chance for Sheridan, but his long range effort was easily gathered by McConnell. From that missed opportunity Tyrone broke again. Owen Mulligan's dipping effort struck the post and fell to Penrose who doubled Tyrone's lead. Paddy O'Rourke continued to be a menace and Meath got their reward when he set up his cousin Shane O'Rourke for a simple point. Sheridan continued to mis-fire as he did well initially to cut out a short kick-out, but managed to lob the ball back into McConnell's hands. Tyrone began to turn the screw and restored their two-point lead when Brian McGuigan held off Lenehan to point. A Penrose free after McAnarney fouled McGuigan made it 0-4 to 0-1 and Meath were fortunate not to concede a goal when Colm Cavanagh's fierce drive drifted just wide. Paddy O'Rourke got off the mark with a fine point after a superb catch, but Tyrone continued to hold the upperhand when Mark Donnelly held off McAnarney before fisting over. There were calls to disallow the score as Donnelly was booked for the robust nature of his hand-off to McAnarney's face, but the point stood. After struggling to find holes in the Tyrone defence, Meath moved from a three-point deficit to a 0-6 to 0-5 lead with two frees from Cian Ward and simple points from Sheridan and Paddy O'Rourke. The Skryne man continued to torment McMahon and was denied a goal by a fine save, but it was Tyrone who finished the half strongest. A Sean Cavanagh free restored parity before Tyrone wasted a couple of goal chances with Damien McCaul flashing an effort across the face of the goals and Sean Cavanagh denied by a brilliant McAnarney block. Penrose edged Tyrone ahead with a super score and before the break Colm Cavanagh pointed to give the visitors a 0-8 to 0-6 interval lead. When Reilly pointed from 45 metres two minutes after the break, Meath fans started to believe. However, that faith was tested when Tyrone responded from a McMahon '45' and a fine score from Conor Gormley to make it 0-10 to 0-7. Crawford displayed his determination with a good point and when Brian Meade chipped in with a score Meath were back in the hunt. However, after all their hard work Meath conceded a goal when Donnelly sailed past McAnarney and had his effort parried by Brendan Murphy which broke to Penrose who palmed to the net. Instead of dropping their heads Reilly led Meath's charge. He kicked a superb point before McAnarney saw his fierce drive clip the crossbar for a point. A careless foul on Penrose allowed the corner-forward restore Tyrone's three-point cushion, 1-11 to 0-11, but again Meath rallied with Bryan Menton ending a fine move with a point and Brian Farrell kicking a free. Tyrone always looked capable of holding on and Cassidy made it 1-12 to 0-13 with 10 minutes remaining, but remarkably Meath hit the next three scores from Gilsenan, Sheridan and Reilly to move into a 0-16 to 1-12 lead. Tyrone hit the upright and were frustrated by a couple of refereeing decisions, but Penrose ensured a tense finish with a point. With seconds left Reilly looked to have won it for Meath with his fourth of the afternoon, but with a goal on their minds Tyrone surged forward. However, they had to settle for a draw with Penrose's late free ensuring their promotion hopes were over and Meath's survival was complete. SCORERS Meath - G Reilly 0-4; C Ward 0-2 frees; P O'Rourke 0-2; J Sheridan 0-2; S O'Rourke 0-1; N Crawford 0-1; B Meade 0-1; S McAnarney 0-1; B Menton 0-1; B Farrell 0-1, free; P Gilsenan 0-1. Tyrone - M Penrose 1-6, three frees; A Cassidy 0-2; B McGuigan 0-1; M Donnolly 0-1; S Cavanagh 0-1 free; C Cavanagh 0-1; J McMahon 0-1, '45'; C Gormley 0-1. THE TEAMS Meath - B Murphy; C King, S McAnarney, G O'Brien; M O'Sullivan, B Menton, C Lenehan; B Meade, N Crawford; S Kenny, S O'Rourke, G Reilly; J Sheridan, P O'Rourke, C Ward. Subs - P Gilsenan for Kenny 43 mins, K Reilly for S O'Rourke 46m, M Ward for Meade 50m , B Farrell for C Ward 52m, A Moyles for Sheridan 72m. Tyrone - P McConnell; M Swift, J McMahon, D McCaul; D Harte, C Gormley, R McMenamin; K Hughes, A Cassidy; C Cavanagh, B McGuigan, S Cavanagh; M Penrose, M Donnolly, O Mulligan. Subs - S O'Neill for Harte 48 mins, B Dooher for C Cavanagh 53m, P Harte for Mulligan 60m, REFEREE Derek Fahy (Longford).