Derry edged out Meath in a thrilling All-Ireland Under 21 H B semi-final at Trim on Saturday evening.

Derry ....... 3-16

Meath ...... 3-14

The Oak Leaf County booked their final ticket four unanswered points in the latter stages of a terrific tussle that wasn't without controversy. 

Derry were two points in arrears when Brian Cassidy intervened with three points, a sequence started by a free from his own 65. In the midst of them came a Shane McGuigan effort from play that levelled matters, 3-14-all, in the 60th minute. 

Two efforts in added time (one free) propelled Derry into the All-Ireland decider after the scores were tied seven times. 

Matters might have been easier for Derry if their accuracy was better in the first 30 minutes, during which they had 12 wides to Meath's two. The home side were nowhere near as wasteful. 

However, Meath missed the chance to move three clear in the 62nd minute when Cian Rogers was wide with a free. To his credit the Ratoath man posted 1-5 following his 26th minute introduction.

With Derry looking set to coast to the decider having moved nine points ahead after 29 minutes, a brace of substitutions helped steady Meath. Apart from Rogers, Hugh Smith helped bolster the defence.

Few present would have forecast that Meath would have outscored Derry by 3-2 to 0-1 in the five minutes either side of half-time. 

Within seconds of resumption, Rogers netted the Royals' second goal. When Mikey Mullen fired in the third goal Meath were ahead for only the second time, 3-6 to 2-8, in the 34th minute. 

A magniificent effort from team captain Ronan Ryan made it 3-8 to 2-8 iby the 36th minute. Darragh Cartin's goal got Derry back on terms. The next 22 minutes provided a thrilling tussle with both sides enjoying short spells in the lead. 

While the pendulum swung Derry's was after Rogers' free, there was an element of controversy about some of the refereeing calls that irked the home support, even  the call that led to the first of the visitors' late quartet of scores seemed harsh on Conor Fitzpatrick..  

Both sides fronted matters in the opening eight minutes before wind-assisted Derry struck two goals in three minutes to lead by 2-2 to 0-3 before the opening quarter ended. 

With Richie Mullan, Brian Cassidy and Corey O'Reilly doing most of the scoring the boards read 2-6 to 0-4 with 23 minutes gone. 

Derry tagged on another point before Meath enjoyed a brief recovery in the run-in to half-time. Conor Fitzpatrick pulled a point back then in the last act of the half a Sean Coffey delivery from his own 65 was finished to the Derry net by Daithi McGowan. 

Derry's lead was down to five points, 2-7 to 1-5, at the break. Would the Oak Leaf County regret their tally of 12 first-half wides? It didn't matter on this occasion.

Derry - Eoghan Mulholland; Niall Smyth, Conor Kelly, Eoghan Gilmore; John Mullan, Shane McGuigan (0-1), Ruairi McCartney; Conor McAllister, Eoghan O'Kane (0-1); Darragh Cartin (1-0), Sean Cassidy, Proinsias Burke; Richie Mullan (1-7, 0-6fs), Brian Cassidy (1-4, 0-2fs), Corey O'Reilly (0-3). Subs - Liam Cassidy for Burke (38), Tomas Magee for Smyth (50), Michael McEldowney for O'Kane (60), Odhran McKeever for C O'Reilly (60).

Meath - Aaron Dunne; Iarla Hughes, Cathal Wall, Adam Feeney; Sean McCann, Ronan Ryan (0-1), Sean Coffey; Peter Slevin, Paddy Lally; Brian Dowling (0-2), Daithi McGowan (1-0), Jarlath Ennis (0-2); Stephen Gibbons, Conor Fitzpatrick (0-1), Conor Gorman (0-1). Subs - Hugh Smith for Wall (14), Cian Rogers (1-5, 0-4fs) for Gorman (26), Micey Mullen (1-2) for Gibbons (ht), Jamie Leavy for Feeney (44).

Referee - Gearoid McGrath (Wexford).

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