Meath became the first winners of the Cremartin Shamrocks U-21 FT played at Cremartin on Saturday by defeating Armagh in an exciting final. Meath 1-11 Armagh 0-10 It was what both teams wanted in their build up to their championship games. The Cremartin Shamrocks Club is to be congratulated in their running of this tournament and in such a professional way and giving all the teams that took part much needed competition. Meath opened the scoring with a Cian Ward point from a free. Armagh then had 3 shots off target before Cian Ward got another point from a free. Michael O'Rourke pulled one back for Armagh from a free before Barry Regan got a point after a pass from Cian Ward. Meath could have extended their lead further, but Maurice Kennedy's shot on goal was deflected for a 45, which Meath failed to convert. A Gary Reel point had one point between the sides again, but a Dean Barrett point extended Meath's lead once again. Armagh's Jonathan McGeeney reduced the deficit again. Meath's Aaron Ennis got what was to be the crucial score of the game when he shot to the Armagh net after a pass from Dean Barrett. Kieran Tiffney got a point for Armagh, but Meath replied with points from Rory Maguire and Andy Hayes. A Peader Toal point from a free reduced the gap for Armagh just before the break. H/T: Meath 1-6 Armagh 0-5 Another Peader Toal point from a free reduced the gap further on the restart. Meath were off target on 3 occasions before Dean Barrett got Meath's first score of the second half. Two more points from frees by Peader Toal had just 2 points between the sides. Cian Ward added to Meath's tally with 2 more points to extend Meath's lead again. Meath were then reduced to 14 men when Barry Regan was sent off for 2 yellow cards. Armagh had a goal chance and exerted a lot of pressure on Meath, but the Meath defence held out. Both sides traded points on two occasions before the final whistle. It was a good victory for Meath and they hope to build on this success for their championship game with Kildare on Saturday week in Newbridge. Meath - Johnny O'Connor, John Kelleher, Caoimhin King, Ciaran Kenny, Eoin Harrington, Brian Ennis, Bengi Smith, Brian Meade, Maurice Kennedy, Barry Regan (0-1), Andy Hayes (0-1), Aaron Ennis (1-0), Rory Maguire (0-1), Dean Barrett (0-2), Cian Ward (0-6). Subs - Brian Clarke for Hayes Tweet

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