History was made at Pairc Tailteann this afternoon when Meath beat Longford 2-1 in a free-taking competition to qualify for next Sunday's O'Byrne Cup final against neighbours Westmeath.

A late 1-1 salvo from Longford's Mickey Quinn saw the sides finish level on 2-16 to 1-19 after extra-time. But instead of the semi-final going to a replay, a free-taking competition that saw five players from each side take frees from the 45-metre line from off the ground or out of the hands was ordered.

In near darkness - Navan no longer has floodlights - Sean Tobin (Meath) and Robbie Smyth (Longford) missed the first kicks before Mark McCabe (Meath) and Sean McCormack (Longford) were successful. Cillian O'Sullivan converted the next kick for the Royals as the remaining five attempts (Joey Wallace, James McEntee (Meath), Paddy Collum, Barry Gilleran and James McGivney (Longford)) were all missed, meaning Andy McEntee's men progressed to the decider.

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