Meath overcame a Tyrone comeback, winning by five points in a helter-skelter encounter at Croke Park.
The Royals’ eight two-pointers and three goals proved decisive in their victory over their Ulster opponents. This win keeps Meath at the forefront of the Division Two promotion race.
O’Connor’s Shooting Exhibition Sets the Tone
Jack O’Connor spearheaded Meath’s long-distance shooting, raising four orange flags in the first half. He also contributed a goal to the Royals’ tally.
Canavan’s Surprise Return Sparks Tyrone
Darragh Canavan, whose plans for a month in Australia were disrupted by the Middle-East confict, came off the bench in the second half. He helped his side reduce a 12-point deficit to just two.
Meath’s Early Goal Stuns Tyrone
Meath surprised their opponents with a third-minute goal. Jack Flynn delivered from deep, finding Jordan Morris, who provided the pass for Aaron Lynch to rifle his shot past Oisin O’Kane.
Ethan Jordan emerged as Tyrone’s brightest attacking spark in the early stages. He forced a save from ‘keeper Sean Rafferty and slotted four ‘45s between the posts to keep his side ahead.
Brennan made another save from Cormac Quinn. Jordan then finished with power and accuracy in the 13th minute to open up a five points gap.
Royals Surge Ahead Before Half-Time
Jack O’Connor brought the Royals back level with three two-pointers in five minutes. Capitalising on turnovers and Brennan’s accurate kick-outs, they moved ahead as Ruairi Kinsella and Eoghan Frayne added points. They out-scored Tyrone by eight to one in a seven-minute spell.
Bryan Menton, Jack Flynn and Donal Keogan gained control in the middle third as Robbie Brennan’s men pushed forward. O’Connor then slotted home their second goal just after the half-hour, extending their lead to six.
Darren McCurry came off the bench to nail a couple of late Tyrone scores, but Meath led by 2-12 to 1-11 at the interval.
Meath Extend Their Lead, Tyrone Mount Comeback
Frayne arrowed over his side’s fifth two-pointer, with Tyrone yet to raise an orange flag. Things worsened for Malachy O’Rourke’s side on 40 minutes when Lynch slid home his second goal after a pass from Ruairi Kinsella.
Kinsella then twice hit the target from far out, extending Meath’s lead to twelve.
Tyrone finally hit their first two-pointer of the game through Jordan in 45 minutes. The introduction of Darragh Canavan, helped to spark a revival after travel difficulties scuppered his planned four-week break in Australia.
Niall Devlin was in the right place to collect a rebound off a post from Peter Teague’s shot to slot the ball to the net, and Malachy O’Rourke’s men began to believe.
CanAvan and Jordan both hit the