<notforsyndication>Read Séamus Leonard's text commentary on the game here.</notforsyndication>
Kerry qualified for their sixth successive All-Ireland SFC final with a four-point victory over Meath to set up an all-Munster decider against Cork.
It wasn't vintage Kerry, but while just four points separated the teams at the end, the scoreline flattered Meath, who scored their goal through Cian Ward deep into stoppage time.
In front of a crowd of 50,770 at Croke Park, Kerry got off to the sort of start that propelled them to a big quarter-final win over Dublin, rocking their opponents with a goal after just three minutes.
Darran O'Sullivan slipped as he kicked, but still managed to beat Paddy O'Rourke with the penalty awarded for Anthony Moyles' foul on Colm Cooper.
And the Royals suffered another setback on six minutes when they lost skipper Stephen Bray with a shoulder injury.
With greasy underfoot conditions hampering both sides, scoring opportunities were squandered, particularly by a wasteful Meath side, who shot ten first-half wides.
Kerry fared little better, and while Cooper and Darran O'Sullivan slotted over points, they also struggled to inject any fluency into their game.
After a few disappointing efforts, Cian Ward came good in the latter stages of the first half, hitting three points, one of them a superb effort from sideline ball under the Hogan Stand.
That reduced Kerry's lead to a flimsy two points, and the Leinster men were still very much in the game at the interval, trailing by 1-03 to 0-04.
Jack O'Connor had introduced Tommy Walsh to the action just before the break, and the big Kerins O'Rahilly's man did exactly what the boss had requested, rising high to pluck Tadhg Kennelly's delivery out of the air and blast to the net within a minute of the restart.
That was the beginning of the end for Meath, who found themselves constantly stretched by a familiar Kingdom momentum.
Walsh made quite an impact, adding a couple of stylish points to his tally, and Kennelly also hit the target twice as the Munster men pulled comfortably clear of the struggling Royals.
Meath trailed by eight, and had managed just two second half points before they hit 1-01 in stoppage time, with the hard-working Sheridan pulling the ball back for Ward to beat goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy with a low finish.
Kerry: D Murphy, M Ó Sé, T Griffin, T O'Sullivan, T Ó Sé, M McCarthy, K Young, D Ó Sé, S Scanlon, P Galvin, T Kennelly (0-02), D Walsh, C Cooper (0-03, 2f), Declan O'Sullivan, Darren O'Sullivan (1-01, 1-00 pen).
Subs: T Walsh (1-02) for D Walsh (28), A O’Mahony for Young (50), M Quirke for D Ó Sé (60), P O’Connor for Cooper (60), B Sheehan for Declan O’Sullivan (66)
Meath: P O'Rourke, C O'Connor, A Moyles, E Harrington, S Kenny, C McGuinness, C King, N Crawford, B Meade, P Byrne, J Sheridan (0-01), S Bray, D Bray, B Farrell (0-02, 1f), C Ward (1-04, 0-02f, 0-02 sideline).
Subs: M Burke for S Bray (6), J Queeney for Kenny (45), N McKeigue for D Bray (49), M Ward for Crawford (53), K Reilly for King (57)
Referee: G Ó Conámha (Galway)
