Meath manager Mick O'Dowd focussed on the positives after they narrowly missed out on promotion to Division 1.

O'Dowd's charges shaded their Division 2 local derby against Cavan by two points and finished level with Roscommon on nine points but the head-to-head rule sees John Evans' side make the step up at their expense.

"It was a bit anti-climatic, but as we said before the game it would have been a killer if we hadn't done our business and other results had gone our way," O'Dowd said to The Irish Independent.

"We could only do control winning the game and it was only in the last five or six minutes that we sorted that part out, but we can't have regrets.

"We had eight players making their first appearances in the National League (this season), five or six of them were out there today.

"We also got players like Kevin Reilly, Shane O'Rourke and Conor Gillespie back from injury so it has been a really good league in loads of ways.

"Compare it to two years ago when Cavan came to town and they destroyed us. There is an evolution to this team that we have to take the good from the league and not have regrets.

"It will be a tough Division 2 next year with Derry, Tyrone, Armagh and Fermanagh all coming in. We are learning the whole time, but I keep going back to the evolution of this team.

"The average age of the team today was 23 and they are mad to learn and are working incredibly hard."

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