Royals’ fate goes down to the wire

goal was fisted to the net by Sean Tobin following a high delivery from Graham Reilly on 49 minutes.

Fermanagh’s only other point was a free converted by corner forward Eddie Courtney. Meath, on the other hand, scored at will, with the lively McMahon taking his tally to 1-3, while substitutes Cillian O’Sullivan and James McEntee also contributed handsomely to their side’s scoring.

Further positive notes from a Meath viewpoint were the displays of subs Mickey Burke and Curraha’s McEntee.

Burke, who had been overlooked in recent weeks, never put a foot wrong when replacing Harnan and showed that he still has plenty to offer at this level. McEntee, on the other hand, continued his comeback from injury and could well be included from the start for the trip to Ennis. MANAGER Andy McEntee didn’t mince his words following the erratic display against Cork and admitted after Sunday’s win over Fermanagh that the performance was a reaction to that indifferent showing in Pairc Uí Rínn.

‘Yes, the reaction was spoton,’ McEntee said. ‘I think from the very start you couldn’t question their workrate. We got a lot of tackles in, a lot of turnovers in, in the first half against the wind and I suppose when you go in eight points up having played against a strong wind it really sets you up for the game.’

According to McEntee, not a lot was said in the build-up to the game.

‘We didn’t have to say an awful lot. Anything that was said was probably said last weekend, to be honest about it. And I think the players themselves were fairly honest about it. They knew that the first-half performance against Cork just wasn’t good enough.

‘The difference between us playing well and playing