Allianz Football League Division Two

Meath 0-12 Fermanagh 1-9

By Paul Keane at Pairc Tailteann, Navan

National League debutant Eoghan Frayne kicked the equaliser as Meath came from behind in Navan to earn a share of the Division Two points.

The Summerhill man and county title winner was a late addition to the team and took his opportunity with both hands, grabbing five points in all on his first start for the Royals.

Former underage star Frayne was one of five who made their first league starts for Colm O'Rourke's side while several more rookies came on including former AFL player Cian McBride.

Meath had to conjure the last three points of the game to break even with a draw probably the fairest result on a day when both sides got on top for spells without ever managing to ram home their advantage.

Ultan Kelm was terrific in a playmaking role for Fermanagh who will be disappointed that they didn't hold out when they led by three approaching the hour mark.

They will return to action next weekend at home to Kildare while Meath will hit the road for a tricky assignment in Armagh.

It was a new year for Fermanagh without Sean Quigley and both Ryan and Conall Jones who announced their unavailability in the closed season.

Kieran Donnelly's side, showing eight changes from the team that exited last year's Tailteann Cup, took their time to get going too with just two points registered in the first 25 minutes despite playing with the stiff wind.

Meath, playing without injured regulars Jordan Morris, Paraic Harnan, Conor Gray, Ronan Ryan and James McEntee, led by 0-3 to 0-2 at that stage though it was a lukewarm start from both teams who got men behind the ball when defending and attempted to play a patient counter-attacking game.

Kelm struck three wides before eventually coming strongly into the game in the 10 or so minutes before half-time.

The Erne Gaels man, who missed out on an AFL deal with Fremantle in 2021 because of a hip injury, used his blistering pace to great effect with a series of runs from deep.

He scored a point with one and then played in Garvan Jones for another, leaving the scores tied at 0-5 apiece with 34 minutes played.

In the groove now, Fermanagh launched another terrific counter-attack two minutes into stoppage time after rookie Michael Murphy coughed up possession in the Meath defence.

The visitors jumped on the error and great work by Brandon Horan left the Meath defence exposed and Conor McShea in a position to play in Cassidy for an expertly crafted goal.

It was a real blow for Meath who'd moved 0-5 to 0-4 ahead earlier following back to back points from Frayne.

The Summerhill youngster, who has impressed in Maynooth's run to the Sigerson Cup quarter-finals, was getting his first taste of league action. Goalkeeper Sean Brennan, Murphy, Ciaran Caulfield and Sean Coffey were the others.

Brennan, Caulfield and Coffey did feature for Meath in last year's Championship campaign though and lined out in July's Tailteann Cup final defeat of Down.

Fermanagh bowed out of that competition with a surprise preliminary quarter-final loss to Laois though were in a decent position at half-time here, leading Meath by 1-5 to 0-5.

Backed by the elements after the break, Meath set about reeling in the Ulster men and wiped out the deficit by the 49th minute.

Points from Frayne, Tailteann Cup Player of the Year Costello and new captain Ronan Jones, left it 0-9 to 1-6.

Just as Meath looked set to kick on and to reward their home supporters in the 4,000 or so gathering, they were left frustrated by three more Fermanagh points in a row.

Kelm was a central figure in all three scores for Oisin Smyth, Garvan Jones and Aidan Breen, opening up a 1-9 to 0-9 lead.

A second kick from Meath and three more points in a row, this time from substitute Shane Walsh, defender Adam O'Neill and Frayne, tied it up yet again at 1-9 to 0-12.

It was anyone's game now and both teams had opportunities to win it in the final few minutes, Costello dropping a free kick into the goalkeeper's arms with time almost up.

Scorers for Meath: Eoghan Frayne 0-5 (0-1f), Daithi McGowan 0-3, Mathew Costello 0-1 (0-1f), Ronan Jones 0-1, Shane Walsh 0-1, Adam O'Neill 0-1.

Scorers for Fermanagh: Sean Cassidy 1-2, Garvan Jones 0-2, Ultan Kelm 0-1, Lee Cullen 0-1, Shane McGullion 0-1,  Oisin Smyth 0-1, Aidan Breen 0-1.

Meath: Sean Brennan; Donal Keogan, Adam O'Neill, Michael Murphy; Ciaran Caulfield, Darragh Campion, Sean Coffey; Jack Flynn, Daithi McGowan; Eoghan Frayne, Ronan Jones, Jack O'Connor; Cathal Hickey, Mathew Costello, Aaron Lynch.

Subs: Shane Walsh for Costello 45-48 blood, Walsh for Lynch 50, Ruairi Kinsella for O'Connor 54, Diarmuid Moriarty for Hickey 63, James Conlon for Frayne 67.

Fermanagh: Sean McNally; Lee Cullen, Che Cullen, Oisin Smith; Declan McCusker, Shane McGullion, Josh Largo Ellis; Brandon Horan, Joe McDade; Conor McGee, Ronan McCaffrey, Conor McShea; Ultan Kelm, Garvan Jones, Sean Cassidy.

Subs: Cian McManus for McShea 2-5 blood, Aidan Breen for McCusker h/t, Tiarnan Bogue for McGee 63, McManus for Gullion 67, Diarmuid King for Cassidy 67, John Reihill for Jones 75.

Referee: Jerome Henry (Mayo).