A 58th-minute point by Charles McCarthy gave Meath victory over Dublin in the opening round in Navan yesterday.

While the exciting finish was in keeping with many past clashes between the counties, the rest of the game was rather disappointing with both attacks lacking in finishing punch.

After trailing by 0-6 to 0-4 at the break and by a further point soon after the restart, Dublin went on to have much the better of the second-half but were left to rue a number of missed chances.

Wayne McCarthy was their only scorer in the second-half with three points, two of them from frees. The introduction of Christopher Reynolds gave Meath a boost in the closing stages but they will need to step up on this display if they are to challenge for provincial honours.