Meath captain Graham Reilly saluted his team's composure and drive as they rallied late to edge out Sligo in Saturday evening's Round 2 football qualifier in Navan.
Tasked with overcoming a three-point deficit at half-time, Meath were still trailing into the final ten minutes but a late burst of points from Sean Tobin and Mickey Newman saw them claim a 0-14 to 1-09 over a doughty Sligo side in Pairc Tailteann.
Speaking to RTE afterwards, Reilly insisted that Meath are a confident team in a tight finale.
"In the second half I think we kicked on. In the last ten minutes we really took it to them. With fifteen minutes to go, we knew we were there. That's where we want to be in every game. Against Kildare we were never there," he said.
"We think that (if it's tight) with ten minutes left that we're going to win games. Loads of lads stood up. Sean Tobin stood up towards the end and kicked two or three beautiful scores that we needed.
"Andy said at half-time that it won't be the first five or ten minutes, it'll be the last ten minutes. And he was right. We were there in the last five minutes and we pushed on, thank God."
Reilly, who held himself responsible for the concession of the game's only goal, said that Meath would naturally prefer a home game next week but they were happy to play wherever they're asked.
"We want anybody here in Navan but if we have to travel, we have to travel. That's just the way it is. This game will bring us on a lot."
