Offaly's bid to return to the Joe McDonagh Cup final remains on track after a five-goal mauling of Meath in Trim, the result piling on the misery for the beleaguered Royal County.
Former Under-20 star Charlie Mitchell helped himself to 1-07 as the visiting Faithful County made it back-to-back wins.
A week after leaking a neat half century tally to Laois (7-29), also in Trim, hosts Meath were always going to be up against it and ultimately slipped to a 21-point defeat.
But they did give Johnny Kelly's side a few nervous moments, particularly approaching half-time when Nicky Potterton, who top scored for Meath with 2-05, blasted a couple of stoppage time goals to leave just five points in it at the break.
That gave the Royals, under the interim management of Kilmesan's Steven Clynch, renewed hope having trailed by 12 at one stage during the opening half.
But a strong third quarter from Offaly put them back in pole position and they hit the afterburners again in the final 20 minutes or so with sub Adam Screeney, an All-Ireland U20 runner-up last year like Mitchell, proving influential.
The result leaves Offaly in a strong position to nail down a top-two finish and a final place as they seek to go one better than last year's final defeat to Carlow.
But Meath, the Christy Ring Cup holders, are in a tricky spot now after three straight defeats and they will view their clash with Westmeath next time out as a massive encounter in the context of the relegation battle.
Offaly, beaten by Laois in round one, never looked like slipping to a loss here despite Meath setting up with James Kelly as a sweeper and opened up a 1-04 to 0-02 lead after just seven minutes, thanks in part to Oisin Kelly's goal which was set up by full-forward Mitchell.
Mitchell, Dan Bourke and free-taker Brian Duignan, under the watchful eye of his father and Offaly chairman Michael, then added points before Offaly registered their second goal in the 26th minute through Killian Sampson.
It was all Sampson's hard work this time as he surged clear, lost possession of the ball but used his craft to finish to the net with a one-handed swipe.
With 35 minutes on the clock, Offaly led 2-17 to 0-11 and already looked to be home and hosed but Meath suddenly kicked into top gear and cut the deficit right back with those two Potterton goals in the 36th and 37th minutes.
Potterton's first came from play after an interception at the back and his next was a cheeky strike from a free that struck the net, leaving Offaly just 2-17 to 2-12 clear at half-time.
Kilcormac-Killoughey talent Screeney was brought on at half-time and immediately impacted the game with his wizardry, pinching a point. Offaly scored the first six points of the second half to re-establish their authority.
Mitchell added Offaly's third goal in the 46th minute and Screeney played in Dan Bourke for their fourth major before sniping one himself after a turnover on the Meath goalkeeper's puck-out in the 53rd minute.
In the closing minutes it was a case of would Offaly reach the 50-point mark as Laois had done at the same venue a week earlier. They came close, amassing a 46-point haul in the end with Eimhin Kelly among the scorers and Donal Shirley becoming the 11th different scorer for Offaly in stoppage time.
Offaly: Mark Troy; Ben Conneely, Ciaran Burke; Cillian Kiely (0-01); Donal Shirley (0-01), David King (0-02), Sam Bourke; Cathal King, Eimhin Kelly (0-02); Killian Sampson (1-02), Brian Duignan (0-06, 0-05fs), Eoghan Cahill (0-06, 0-03fs); Oisin Kelly (1-00), Charlie Mitchell (1-07), Dan Bourke (1-03).
Subs: Adam Screeney (1-01) for O Kelly (ht), Luke Watkins for S Bourke (ht), Dara Maher for Sampson (44-47, blood sub), Maher for Duignan (53), Paul Cleary for D Bourke (60), Jack Clancy for C King (67).
Meath: Charlie Ennis; Jarlath Ennis, Shane Whitty, Daire Shine; James Kelly (0-01); Kris Gorman (0-02), Sean Geraghty, Simon Ennis; David Murtagh (0-02), Niall McLarnon (0-01); Sean Martin, Tom Shine (1-02), Mark Horan (0-01); Eamon Og O Donnchadha (0-02), Nicky Potterton (2-05, 1-05fs).
Subs: Mickey Burke for J Ennis (30), Sean Quigley for Martin (33), Domhnall Rogers for S Ennis (55-56, blood sub), Rogers for O Donnchadha (57), Damien Healy for McLarnon (63), William Gleeson for Murtagh (68).
Referee: Conor Daly (Kildare).
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
