Monaghan 2-14

Meath 1-17

MONAGHAN WILL PLAY Division 1 football again next season after they came out on the right side of a final-day relegation scramble.

Mayo’s defeat against Tyrone saw their 23-year stint in the top flight finally broken but the fine margins at play made for a tense finale in Clones as well as Castlebar.

Monaghan dominated the early exchanges against their relegated opponents and were already 1-3 to 0-1 ahead when Micheal Bannigan struck the game’s opening goal in the sixth minute.

But the game was still finely poised at the break, Ronan Jones and Thomas O’Reilly kicking the final two points of the half to send the visitors in at the break just three points in arrears, 1-7 to 0-7.

Meath fired an unanswered 1-2 after the restart to take the lead, Bryan Menton’s goal on 45 minutes making it 1-9 to 1-7.

Conor McManus’s 62nd-minute goal looked to have decisively settled matters in Monaghan’s favour and calmed any nerves.

But Meath rallied to ensure that they would not finish the campaign empty-handed, Jordan Morris reeling off three unanswered points in additional time to earn a point for Andy McEntee’s men.

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