Cavan and Meath play out dramatic draw

Cavan fought back from the brink of disaster at Kingspan Breffni to rescue a dramatic draw, a result that will go a long way towards securing their Division 2 status for another season.

Trailing by four points at half-time, it wasn't looking good for Raymond Galligan's side who only struck three first-half points, and just one from play.

But a much improved second-half that included four points from Paddy Lynch hauled them back and they led briefly after his sixth point of the evening in the 68th minute.

Meath goalkeeper Sean Brennan hit what proved to be the equalising point in the 70th minute, his third score of the evening from a long-range placed ball following a foul on substitute Adam McDonnell.

Meath came from behind to beat Louth and Kildare in previous rounds and will be frustrated that they couldn't make it three wins on the trot to keep their promotion hopes alive.

Failing to do so has probably ended their outside bid for a top-two finish though, like Cavan, they are unlikely to be sucked into a relegation battle at this stage either.

Brennan finished as Meath's top scorer while Daithi McGowan and the influential Mathew Costello registered two points each. Meath played out the last nine minutes or so of the game with 14 men after Ruairi Kinsella's 66th minute black card.

Next up for the Royals is a home tie against Cork in a fortnight before they head to Donegal in the final round. Cavan will hit the road in Round 6 for a date with Armagh before wrapping up their campaign at home to Fermanagh.

Meath, seeking a first league or Championship win against Cavan in Cavan since the 1960s, were unchanged from the side that defeated Kildare last weekend in Navan but Cavan brought Ryan Brady and Conor Rehill into their lineup.

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