PENS REQUIRED TO WRITE OFF ROYALS
Dublin 1-12 Meath 1-12 DUBS WIN 3-1 ON PENS
DETERMINED Dublin refused to bow to the old enemy at Parnell Park and secured their O’byrne Cup final place after a dramatic penalty shootout victory.
It was a disappointing end for Meath who were facing a Dublin team comprised of fringe men as their main squad are on holidays.
And Meath had their chance to win as they led by five points early on after a great start before being pegged back.
They eventually required a 76th minute Mickey Newman point to level it, forcing the shootout.
Former U21 stars Aaron Byrne, Conor Mchugh and Oisin Lynch all slotted their kicks while Meath missed three of their four with just Sean Tobin converting.
Dublin had an impressive performer in Ryan Basquel who scored 0-4 while Robbie Mcdaid (above) hit their solitary goal. Meath were closer to full strength and lined out with eight players who featured in last year’s Championship.
They dominated the opening quarter and took a 1-4 to 0-2 lead after just 11 minutes.
Graham Reilly scored 1-1 in a matter of minutes having come on as a blood sub in the seventh minute. DUBLIN SCORERS: S Mcmahon (0-1), R Mcdaid (1-0); R Basquel (0-4), A Byrne (0-1), S Bugler (0-1); S Smith (0-2, 2f), O Lynch (0-2), C Mchugh (0-1). MEATH: B Brennan (0-1), D Campion (0-3), M Newman (0-5, 4f, 1 Mark), G Reilly (1-2), J Conlon (0-1).