KEITH CURTIS booted the ball away with sheer delight as the hooter sounded to celebrate a Royal hammering of Kerry.
The Kingdom — short of six regulars — never raised a gallop.
The omens were not good for the Munster champions as Seán O’Shea was replaced before the start by Tony Brosnan, adding to the five already out injured since the Cork game.
For Kerry, this was as bad as the nightmare of 2001 when Meath turned them over in the All-Ireland semi-final.
However, Jack O’Connor’s men are still in the Championship — with a home preliminary quarter-final next week — while Meath are straight through to the last eight as a result of topping the group.
This was carnage at times as Meath shredded a porous Kerry defence.
Kerry’s talisman David Clifford cut a lonely figure up front though he was still mobbed by Meath supporters at the final whistle in O’Connor Park.
A Kerry midfield without Diarmuid O’Connor and Barry Dan O’Sullivan was cannon fodder for a ravenous Meath outfit while an attack without Paudie Clifford, O’Shea and Paul Geaney was mercilessly devoured by Seán Rafferty, Donal Keogan, Seán Coffey and Ciarán Caulfield.
Meath dominated the opening half as Kerry were unable to win dirty ball.
The Kingdom had led 0-7 to 0-5 after 20 minutes but Meath were winning everything around the middle.
The Royals then went on a scoring spree with two frees from Eoghan Frayne and then a huge two-pointer by the same player was followed by another orange flag by Ruairí Kinsella.
Suddenly Meath were 0-13 to 0-7 in front and Kerry was on the ropes.
David Clifford and Frayne swapped frees and Meath retired 0-14 to 0-8 in front and a county held its breath.
Kerry obviously got the hairdryer treatment from O’Connor at half-time and enjoyed a fruitful 15-minute spell when they more than matched the Royals.
Scores from David Clifford, Dylan Geaney, Killian Spillane — with two frees and one from play — closed the gap.
But Coffey hit back for Meath but a Paul Murphy point and one from Clifford saw the gap close to two, 0-16 to 0-14. But that was as good as it got for Kerry as Meath outscored them by 1-6 to 0-2 in this Tullamore tussle.
Bryan Menton got the goal and a brace of two-pointers from Kinsella and Conor Duke ensured Meath cruised to another big win, having taken down Dublin in the Leinster SFC before falling to Louth in the final.
Kerry’s loss means every side left in the Championship has tasted defeat at least once.
KERRY 0-16
MEATH 1-22
MEATH: B Hogan 0-1 45; S Lavin, S Rafferty, R Ryan; D Keogan 0-1, S Coffey 0-1, C Caulfield 0-1, B Menton 1-0, A O’Neill; C Duke 0-5, 1tp, R Kinsella 0-5, 2tp, C Hickey; J Morris 0-2, 1f, K Curtis 0-1, E Freyne 0-5, 2f, 1tp. Subs: C McBride for O’Neill h-t, E Harkin for Hickey 53 mins, S Walsh for Freyne 58, J McEntee for Kinsella 68, D Moriarty for Rafferty 68.
KERRY: S Ryan; P Murphy 0-1, J Foley, T O’Sullivan; T Morley, M Breen, G White, J O’Connor, M O’Shea, G O’Sullivan, T Brosnan 0-2, M Burns 0-1; D Clifford 0-5, 1f, 1tp K Spillane 0-3, 2f, D Geaney 0-4. Subs: D Casey for Breen 48 mins, R Murphy for Burns 48, C Geaney for O’Sullivan 58, S O’Brien for O’Shea 58, D Moynihan for Spillane 66.
REFEREE: J McQuillan (Cavan).
