The Meath minor footballers have won the 2021 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship after a one-point victory over Tyrone.
Meath wing-forward Shaun Leonard wriggled into space to fire over the winning point in the final minutes of the game to give his county a first minor football crown since 1992.
Tyrone’s strong start was not maintained and the Leinster champions fought back to take the minor crown after a huge battle in Croke Park.
Several wides cost the Ulster champions as they failed to pull away from Cathal O Bric’s side.
The teams were tied eight times throughout the biggest match on the minor football calendar before Leonard sealed the win for the Royals.
Tyrone captain Cormac Devlin found the net in the eighth minute to give his side a four-point lead.
However, O Bric’s side responded well and the two teams were level at 1-04 just six minutes after Devlin’s opening goal.
Meath had the lead after the first half – a slender one-point margin in their favour.
The Royals increased their lead to three after substitute Conor Owens had tied things up at 1-08 a piece.
Oisin O Murchu scored his final point of the game in that stretch to bring his total to 1-02 in the game – the most of any Meath player.
Owens was involved in the final Tyrone stretch of point-scoring alongside Ruairi McHugh and Ronan Cassidy but the sub could not help his side force extra time after Leonard’s winning strike.
Meath ended a 29-year-wait for a minor football title while the 11-year wait for the Red Hand will go on.
Gerard Donnelly’s side scored 53 points en route to this year’s final and won the Ulster final by seven points.
Their semi-final win over Cork saw the side outscore the Munster champions by 14 to book a date with Meath.
They came in as favourites but Meath had other plans.
