No coaches?
No problem for Meath who still began their Leinster SFC campaign with a 14-point demolition of Carlow to secure a quarter-final clash with Offaly.
Robbie Brennan and his Royals will enjoy home comforts again next Sunday in Navan when they welcome the freshly minted Division 3 champions.
But they can expect a much tougher challenge from the side jointly managed by Mickey Harte with Dublin, most likely, awaiting the winners of that contest.
Still, Meath could only take care of business here and did so with relative ease despite losing high profile coaching duo Martin Corey and Joe McMahon just last weekend.
The match programme listed only Conor Gillespie alongside Brennan in Meath's backroom while Carlow were managed by interim boss Joe Murphy following the pre-Championship departure of Shane Curran.
With 17 National League placings between the teams, Division 2 side Meath were too strong overall and Ruairi Kinsella, one of 11 different scorers, helped himself to 1-05 while captain and free-taker Eoghan Frayne struck 0-07.
Meath, missing injured regulars Jordan Morris and Ronan Jones, led by 17 points after a wind assisted first-half though lost the second-half as Carlow rallied and winced too as both Jack Kinlough and Eoin Harkin picked up fresh injuries.
As for Carlow, the Division 4 outfit will regroup in the Tailteann Cup which begins in mid-May.
Any worries within Meath regarding the impact of the chaotic build up were allayed by a fast start and that whopping 0-22 to 0-5 half-time advantage.
The hosts were aided by the strong breeze blowing straight down the pitch behind them towards the hospital end.
In those circumstances, and with a tall and powerful midfield capable of dominating possession, they were always going to focus on getting into positions to shoot two-pointers.
It was just a case of how many they could rack up with the wind behind them. It took a little while to get their range and Bryan Menton, making his 40th Championship appearance and first since 2022, along with Frayne and Kinlough were all off target with long-range attempts.
But they eventually tuned in their radars and Kinsella, the lively Keith Curtis, Frayne and Jack Flynn shared five two-pointers between them in the first-half.
Menton and Flynn were terrific at midfield initially, preventing Carlow from getting many of their own kick-outs away and pinning the midlanders back for long spells of the half.
Kinlough, a Championship debut for Meath along with full-back Sean Rafferty and Conor Duke, kicked two singles before going off with an injury.
He was replaced by Diarmuid Moriarty who was one of eight different Meath scorers in the first-half as they hit the interval with that 0-22 to 0-05 lead.
Ross Dunphy, a former Tailteann Cup All-Star, struck a terrific solo score for Carlow while Conor Crowley claimed an advanced mark and slotted a point.
But Murphy's crew were living off scraps and were desperate to simply get to half-time when they'd at least have the wind advantage to look forward to.
Carlow's first two scores of the second-half were both two-pointers, from Ciaran Moran and free-taker Kevin Murphy, indicating the significance of the wind.
Carlow ended up shooting five two-pointers in the second-half, just as Meath had done earlier, though they never came close to reeling in the huge deficit.
They needed a goal but despite a series of chances for captain Mikey Bambrick, Dunphy and sub Cormac Lomax they couldn't raise a green flag.
Meath essentially secured the win when they registered their goal through Kinsella in the 49th minute.
The Dunshaughlin man was fed by Sigerson Cup winning captain Ciaran Caulfield who also managed to clip a point himself.
Jason Scully, Meath's 11th scorer, rounded off the scoring with a stoppage time point into the town end for the 2010 provincial winners.
Meath: Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Brian O'Halloran; Eoin Harkin, Donal Keogan, Ciaran Caulfield (0-01); Jack Flynn (0-3, 1tp), Bryan Menton (0-01); Conor Duke (0-02), Ruairi Kinsella (1-05, 1tp), Jack Kinlough (0-02); Keith Curtis (0-02, tp), Mathew Costello (0-04, 0-02f), Eoghan Frayne (0-07, 1tp, 1tpf, 0-02f).
Subs: Diarmuid Moriarty (0-02) for Kinlough 21, Ronan Ryan for Lavin 49, Jason Scully (0-01) for Kinsella 50, Michael Murphy for Harkin 53, Cillian O'Sullivan for Murphy 59.
Carlow: Johnny Furey; Colin Byrne, Mark Furey, Paddy Regan; Shane Clarke, Mikey Bambrick, John Murphy; Ciaran Moran (0-02, tp), Liam Brennan; Paddy McDonnell (0-01), Ross Dunphy (0-01), Conor Doyle (0-05, 1tp, 1tpf, 0-01 45); Aaron Amond, Kevin Murphy (0-04, 1tpf, 0-01f), Conor Crowley (0-03, 0-01f, 0-01m).
Subs: Niall Hickey (0-03, 1tp) for Regan h/t, Sean Murphy for Brennan 49, Mark Mullen for Amond 52, Cormac Lomax for K Murphy 63, Lee Moore for Byrne 68.
Referee: Paul Faloon (Down).
