MEATH MANAGER EAMONN Murray said it was the proudest day of his life after witnessing the character shown by his charges to stage an astonishing comeback and qualify for their first ever TG4 All-Ireland SFC final. 

Cork looked set for their sixth All-Ireland final showdown with Dublin in eight years when they led by six points in the final minute but Meath rallied to fire in two goals and force extra-time. 

And they made the most of their escape with Emma Duggan leading the way as the reigning intermediate champions secured their place in the TG4 All-Ireland for the first time in history. 

“Outside of my family it’s the proudest day of my life. They are a very special bunch and I’m a very proud man to be involved with them,” said Murray. 

“We have always told them never give up. Play to your system and don’t give up until the last second. Dreams do come true and there is still another hour of football left in this season. 

“We saw a lot of bad days, days when our hearts were broken. But we saw a lot of good days too, winning 16s and minors but this tops it all off. 

“We had good subs and we had good fitness and we are learning all the time. See what we did at the end? We held the ball. Cork did that for years, over and over, and we did it for a minute and a half or two minutes. And that’s down to a lot of things.

“The coaches we have are top class and the girls never panicked. They are all leaders in themselves, we have a good balance and they drive the system on.  

“We will enjoy this one and worry about Dublin during the week. But we don’t tend to worry too much about the opposition, we try play our own football and look after ourselves than worrying about the opposition. They will have a good day’s work done if they beat us.”