Limerick and Meath share the spoils

Relegation-threatened Limerick and promotion hopefuls Meath played out a dramatic draw in Division 2 in front of 1,039 fans at TUS Gaelic Grounds on Sunday afternoon.

Level eight times – four times each side of the half-time break - the hosts had taken a 0-10 to 0-06 lead into half-time.

Meath, boosted by second-half goals from Mathew Costello and substitute Donal Lenihan, showed their class and experience in the final 15 minutes and looked likely to grind out the result, but a late flurry of points from Limerick saw the Treaty men secured a well-deserved point.

The result means Limerick need a result at home to Kildare in two weeks to give themselves any chance of survival, but with both Clare and Kildare losing to Cork and Louth respectively, the share of the spoils on Shannonside gives Ray Dempsey’s charges a glimmer of hope heading into the final two rounds.

Meath, on the other hand, need a win against Dublin next week if they are to have any chance of promotion to Division 1.

Fresh from a 24-point drubbing at the hands of Cork two weeks previously, Limerick showed no signs of a lack of confidence in the early stages, and after Jack O’Connor opened the scoring for Meath after just two minutes, Dempsey’s men led by the eighth minute thanks to two quick-fire scores from Hugh Bourke and James Naughton (free).

Both sides were level three times inside the opening quarter before Mathew Costello slotted over his second close-range free of the afternoon to put Meath a point ahead – 0-04 to 0-03 – just shy of the 15th minute mark.

The best score of the opening half came in the 18th minute with Limerick joint-captain Iain Corbett bursting forward from the right half-back position to kick over a superb effort to draw the sides level