Meath produced a devastating late scoring burst to beat Mayo by 2-15 to 1-15 in an exciting All-Ireland SFC quarter-final at Croke Park. Aidan O'Shea's 51st-minute goal seemed to have put the losers in the ascendancy as they led by four points with three-quarters of the match played, but the rampant Royals outscored their shellshocked opponents by 1-7 to 0-1 for the last 15 minutes of normal time to lead by five. When the game was in the melting pot, it was Meath who stepped up to the plate with six super points in the last seven minutes. Mayo - who had bagged the first four points of the match - notched two injury-time points but they were hapless to prevent Eamonn O'Brien's charges from progressing to a semi-final showdown with Kerry. Making little of the absence of captain Stephen Bray, Meath had outstanding performances from David Bray, Joe Sheridan, Anthony Moyles and many others as they bared their championship teeth in traditional fashion. After being run ragged in the first quarter, Meath regrouped well to lead by 1-5 to 0-7 at the break. David Bray's 19th-minute goal was the catalyst that sparked the Royal revival and the menacing Meath full forward line had the beating of their opposite numbers throughout the first half. The Connacht champions started best, while the Royals were anxious in the early stages. This nervousness was typified when workaholic Peadar Byrne dropped the ball while bearing down dangerously on goal around the five-minute mark with his county two points in arrears. A downpour of rain just before throw-in had made handling and underfoot conditions difficult for both sets of players. Aidan Kilcoyne pointed Mayo into an early lead with an excellent point off his left boot after just 38 seconds. Alan Dillon missed a good opportunity to double the gap three minutes later but pulled his shot to the left and wide after creating the space well. On five minutes, Dillon made amends when he tapped over a close-range free following a foul on Kilcoyne. Sixty seconds later, wing back Andy Moran sprinted forward to knock over a third Mayo point: 0-3 to no score. Dillon tapped over another free on eleven minutes after Caoimhin King was guilty of picking the ball directly off the ground close to his own goal. In the 16th minute, Cian Ward finally opened Meath's account with a booming kick from a long-range free, which sailed high and handsome into the Hill end, and this was followed almost immediately by a David Bray point after good work by Byrne. Aidan O'Shea lost his man skilfully to tap over a fifth Mayo point in the 18th minute: 0-5 to 0-2. In the 19th minute, without warning, the Royals drew level. Bray, who was isolated in at full forward, collected a sumptuous pass from centre forward Joe Sheridan, and cut inside Keith Higgins, who slipped. The Navan O'Mahonys clubman kept his composure to slot a cool shot past Kenneth O'Malley to the back of the net. Meath should have gone ahead for the first time in the 23rd minute but Bray inexplicably sent a free wide from his hands after Ward had been brought to ground. In the 24th minute, Trevor Mortimer kicked a superb Mayo point to put the westerners back in front. O'Malley easily gathered a low left-footed shot from Ward, who skated through two challenges, and wing back Gardiner hit Mayo's fourth wide at the other end. Brian Farrell, who was being fouled by Donal Vaughan, also missed a Meath chance, before Sheridan thumped a shot fiercely over the bar when finding himself in a one-on-one with O'Malley. Every time Meath came forward, the Mayo defence was at sixes and sevens. The busy Mickey Burke wasted a chance and there was a suspicion that towering Royal 'keeper Paddy O'Rourke may have inadvertently carried the ball over his line after saving an attempted point from Dillon. Meath survived the Mayo calls for a goal. A braver umpire might have reached for his green flag Kilcoyne edged the favourites back in front with a tidy point moments after Pat Harte almost got through for a goal. Farrell's shot went wide off the outside of an upright two minutes before the interval, but the powerful Sheridan muscled his man out of it before swivelling to kick a wonderful equaliser in the 35th minute. Twenty seconds later, Farrell did equally well against Vaughan and registered a sublime point to put his side into the lead for the first time. The half-time whistle sounded with the Leinster raiders ahead by the minimum, 1-5 to 0-7. Meath made a purposeful start to the second half when Ward chipped over a free from close to goal but Kilcoyne replied within a minute when he danced through a number of tackles to take a fine point off his right foot. Mayo had introduced Conor Mortimer as a half-time substitute and they were back on terms when his brother Trevor ended a flowing team move with an exquisite 39th-minute point. Kilcoyne was forced out of the action with a shoulder problem five minutes into the second half, replaced by Mark Ronaldson. Farrell shrugged off Vaughan to curl over another facile Meath point in the 42nd minute. In the 44th minute, Conor Mortimer had Mayo level again when he collected a high ball in over the top and blazed a stinging shot over the bar. The No.20 would be the first to admit that it could - and should - have been a goal. Sheridan grabbed his third point to propel Meath back in front before Keith Higgins raided forward from corner back to claim a fabulous equaliser. Dillon's free (softly awarded) in the 49th minute put the rejuvenated Connacht champions back on front. In the 51st minute, Mayo made an apparent burst for the winning line when Aidan O'Shea got the better of Paddy O'Rourke to palm Trevor Mortimer's cross to the back of the net at the Hill end. Conor Mortimer had slowed play down, picked out Trevor, and the No.12 may have been going for a point. But his kick went dangerously across the edge of the square and O'Shea beat a hesitant O'Rourke to the hall to make to 1-12 to 1-8. Meath were dubiously thrown a lifeline in the 54th minute when substitute O'Malley was adjudged to have fouled Bray (whose dropkick came back off the crossbar) and Ward - showing remarkable calm - made no mistake from the resultant penalty - an excellent finish. On the stroke of 55 minutes, Bray levelled with a great finish off that trusty left boot. A Moyles foul on O'Shea directly in front of the posts presented Conor Mortimer with the lead point from a free on 57 minutes: 1-13 to 2-9. From here to the end, it was all Meath Brian Meade and Farrell were off target with wides's 7 and 8 for the Meath men as Mayo held on to their slender advantage. Sheridan fisted Moyles' delivery first-time over the bar in the 63rd minute to level the scores for the eighth time and set up a grandstand finale. Six minutes from time, sub Jamie Queeney slotted the lead point for the Royals after O'Malley fisted a clearance that he should surely have caught. A minute later, midfielder Nigel Crawford sneaked forward to kick another point and Meath were two points to the good with four minutes left. Meath had the scent of victory in their nostrils now and further points from Farrell (whose goalbound effort was brilliantly deflected over the bar by O'Malley) and Bray. In the last minute of normal time, Queeney struck yet another splendid Meath point and there were five points between the sides with three added minutes left to play: 2-15 to 1-13. Conor Mortimer tapped over an injury-time free and also claimed a consolation point from play in the third added minute, but there was no way back and the Royal County marched on to the last four with a famous win. Meath - P O'Rourke; C O'Connor, A Moyles, E Harrington; S Kenny, C McGuinness, C King; N Crawford (0-1), B Meade; P Byrne, J Sheridan (0-4), M Burke; D Bray (1-3), B Farrell (0-3), C Ward (1-2, 1pen, 1f, 1'45). Sub: J Queeney (0-2) for Byrne (55), Byrne for O'Connor (66), N McKeigue for Kenny (68). Mayo - K O'Malley; D Vaughan, G Cafferkey, K Higgins (0-1); P Gardiner, T Howley, A Moran (0-1); D Heaney, R McGarrity; P Harte, A Dillon (0-3, 3f), T Mortimer (0-1); A Kilcoyne (0-3), T Parsons, A O'Shea (1-1). Subs: C Mortimer (0-4, 2f) for Parsons (35), M Ronaldson for Kilcoyne (40), L O'Malley for Vaughan (43), BJ Padden for O'Shea (63), Parsons for Heaney (66). Ref - Joe McQuillan (Cavan). Tweet

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