Captain Eoghan Frayne says the Meath panel travelled with expectation rather than hope before beating Dublin in the championship for the first time in 15 years.
Frayne hit 11 points during the game, including two two-pointers, as the Royals downed their city neighbours to book a place in the Leinster final.
It brought a run of nine consecutive defeats, stretching back to 2010, to an end but despite the history weighing on their shoulders, Frayne says the Meath players always believed they could get the win.
"100% - more so than any previous year, this year we knew we'd worked really hard," he told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
"There's something different with this group. We didn't come down here expecting to lose by 10 points and think that's a good result.
"We obviously came down with the plan to win so it's unbelievable.
"We always knew Dublin were going to have a purple patch. We knew the lead wouldn't be big enough, they're an unbelievable side.
"So it's just really sweet. We held on, we tapped over a few scores that were crucial. We still gave up easy possession a lot of the time which you wouldn't like to be doing but they just put serious pressure on us.
"It's sweet now."
Dublin, playing with the breeze in the second, threatened a comeback.
Con O'Callaghan landed a two-pointer immediately after the resumption, while Cormac Costello's goal, and another two pointer by Colm Basquel, had the gap down to two points with six minutes to play.
But it was Meath who would score the final two points of the game to secure a famous triumph.
Frayne says the idea of the Royals blowing a 12-point half-time lead wasn't discussed in the dressing room at the break.
"You can't think like that; if you do, there's a good chance you are going to blow it," he pointed out.
"You just need to keep your head and get your hands on the ball and try slow it down. So we knew they'd come back and we were fortunate enough, we just did enough."
Next up for Meath is a date with their neighbours on the other side, Louth.
Coincidentally, it's same Leinster final pairing as the last time Dublin weren't involved in it. The infamous 2010 final, where the Royals scored a controversial late Joe Sheridan goal, is sure to be referenced plenty over the next two weeks.
And Frayne says Meath are under no illusions over the difficulty of the task facing them on Sunday week.
"We've lost to Louth the last two times we've played them in the league. We know the challenge they'll bring and it's going to be massive.
"It'll take a massive shift and a massive two weeks now. We'll get back to work; a huge opportunity, we'll really go to work now."
For defender Seamus Lavin, he declared the victory something of a changing of the guard in Leinster.
"The times they are a-changing - wow, I never thought I'd see the day," a delighted Lavin said afterwards.
"We came in at half time and knew it was going to take a mammoth defensive effort to get over the line. Dublin threw the kitchen sink at us, credit to them.
"Lads stood up there, man for man, and gave everything they had on the line. Thankfully it was enough."
On his manager Robbie Brennan, who guided Dublin club Kilmacud Crokes to All-Ireland club success in 2023, Lavin added: "He's a great man to instil belief and that's what we needed. There's great players in that dressing room, great quality and we just need to believe - and we did today."
