Meath marched into the third round of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers as they accounted for Fermanagh in front of a bumper Navan crowd.
Corner-forward Brian Farrell kicked six points as the Royals outlasted a Fermanagh side that kicked nine wides in the second half.
Ciaran O'Reilly struck three points for the visitors as they trailed by 0-07 to 0-04 at half-time.
But three points without reply from Farrell, Peadar Byrne and Anthony Moyles gave Meath enough of a buffer to see out the win.
The result also brought Charlie Mulgrew's reign as Fermanagh boss to an end as he confirmed his departure in the aftermath of the defeat. The Donegal native said that he had always intended that this season would be his last one at the helm.
Meath's qualifier bandwagon is gathering pace if the numbers that turned out at Páirc Tailteann in support of Colm Coyle's side are to be believed.
The Royals' second round qualifier victory is hard to judge, given that they were facing a Fermanagh outfit that waited a full seven months to open their win account for 2007, but you got the sense that the hosts were always just that step ahead.
Aided by Farrell's six-point contribution, Meath virtually led from start to finish and showed enough to put the recent controversy surrounding Graham Geraghty's axeing from the squad to bed.
It should be noted that Fermanagh's shooting did let them down. A better day out and some of their nine second-half wides may have bisected the posts, but Mulgrew's men, whether lacking in confidence, are well off their 2004 form and have been for some time.
In midweek, Mulgrew called for his side to put in their best performance of the season in Navan and the visitors did get off to a good start, with points from Mark Murphy and Ciaran O'Reilly.
Shane O'Rourke, son of former Meath legend Colm, fisted over the opening point of the night to the delight of the majority of the 12,000-strong crowd.
Murphy levelled before Stephen Bray launched over a stunning seventh-minute point which saw him swivel onto his left foot and score from wide out on the right.
O'Reilly pegged Meath back, but successive points from Farrell after 17 and 20 minutes edged Coyle's men in front. Farrell missed a sitter of a goal chance six minutes later, but the tidy corner forward did make amends with a well-taken point just moments later.
Peadar Byrne also got off the mark as the half came to a close and Fermanagh were left trailing by 0-07 to 0-04.
Team captain Tom Brewster, who was sprung from the bench, crept a free through the uprights on the resumption as Fermanagh, who were 1-12 to 0-09 winners over Meath in the 2003 qualifiers, began the second half well.
However Meath, with their skipper Anthony Moyles ferrying back between the forties, were always capable of hitting the next gear and a telling burst of scores between the 40th and 53rd minutes edged them closer to the win.
Farrell, Byrne and Moyles all found the target before O'Reilly kept Mulgrew's charges in touch. Soon after, Mark Little missed a gilt-edged goal opportunity and while centre-back Shane McDermott darted forward to tag on a point, Fermanagh could ill-afford to waste such chances.
With the rain going away, so too did any hope of a Fermanagh comeback as frustratingly O'Reilly, who top-scored with 0-5, was taken off after missing a close-range free.
MEATH: B Murphy; E Harrington, D Fay, N McKeigue; S Kenny, K Reilly, C King; M Ward, N Crawford; P Byrne (0-02), A Moyles (0-01), N McLoughlin; S Bray (0-01), S O'Rourke (0-01), B Farrell (0-06, 0-03f).
Subs used: C Ward for O'Rourke (46 mins), P Curran for McLoughlin (57), C McCarthy for Crawford (65).
FERMANAGH: C Breen; S Goan, B Owens, N Bogue; P Sherry, S McDermott (0-01), T McElroy; L McBarron, M Murphy (0-01); M Little, J Sherry, E Maguire, C McElroy, C O'Reilly (0-05, 0-04f), R Keenan.
Subs used: T Brewster (0-02, 0-02f) for C McElroy (20 mins), S Lyons for P Sherry (32), S Doherty for Keenan (47), H Brady for McBarron (60), R Johnston for O'Reilly (67).
Referee: Syl Doyle (Wexford)
