Meath produced a brilliant second-half performance to defeat Cork by 1-22 to 2-17 at Croke Park this afternoon and capture the Allianz Football League Division 2 title.

Having trailed by two points at half-time, Robbie Brennan’s men overcame the concession of an early second-half goal by drawing level with a terrific Jack O’Connor strike in the 41st minute and dominated large portions of the decider’s final quarter at headquarters to take home the silverware.

Paul Walsh had opened Cork’s account with a point inside the opening two minutes before Ruairi Kinsella sailed over back-to-back two-pointers for the Royals.

John Cleary’s men got it level by the 16th minute ahead of Jordan Morris’s point being backed up by a Sean Brennan free from beyond the arc for the Leinster outfit.

The remainder of the first-half would see the Leesiders outscoring their opponents by 0-6 to 0-2 however, with Steven Sherlock grabbing four of those scores, including a two-pointer, which sent Cork in with a 0-12 to 0-10 advantage.

The Royals win the Allianz FL Division 2 Title@OfficialCorkGAA 2-17@MeathGAA 1-22
Watch the highlights here 👉🎥#AllianzLeagues #CORvMEA pic.twitter.com/ekMrIf567R

— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 29, 2026

O’Connor squared things up with a two-pointer inside the first minute of the resumption, but the next attack would see Chris Og Jones rounding Brennan in the Meath goal and firing into an empty net for the game's first goal.

Colm O’Callaghan stretched the Rebels’ lead to four prior to a Brennan ‘45’ being backed up by O’Connor’s rocket to the roof of the net.

Cork moved back up by three points over the next seven minutes, however Brennan’s charges would find their purple patch at the ideal time in hitting eight answered points, including a hat-trick of frees from skipper Eoghan Frayne and as many from play from James Conlon.

Trailing by 1-21 to 1-16 with the clock winding down, Cork reduced their arrears to two after a Sherlock point was backed up by Brian Hurley’s goal but the Royals held on to ensure they move up to the league’s top tier as Division 2 champions.

Bronnadh an corn ar captaen na foirne, Eoghan Frayne!🏆@MeathGAA

BEO/LIVE AR @TG4TV 📺@AllianzIreland #AllianzLeagues #GAABeo pic.twitter.com/M5g8hd4CYh

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) March 29, 2026

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