Luke Mitchell kicked six points in helping Meath to overcome Dublin by 1-13 to 2-8 in their Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Football Championship Group One encounter at Páirc Tailteann on Wednesday night.
The visitors started on the front foot thanks to early points from Liam Dunne and Conor Hennessy and they received a further boost as talented dual player Luke Swan found the net in the eighth minute.
Meath responded admirably to this setback with Bryan McCormack’s point augmenting a brace from the lively Luke Mitchell.
Dublin managed to keep their noses in front with Seán Foran and Mark Lavin adding to their tally but Meath finished the half on a high and after Mitchell and Kelly had restored parity, McCormack's goal in added time handed them the luxury of a 1-7 to 1-4 interval advantage.
That lead was enhanced upon the restart as Kelly, David Bell and Mitchell landed scores to double Meath's lead with Dublin opening their second-half account thanks to Conor Murray in the 40th minute.
Swan, who scored a hat-trick against Kilkenny for Dublin's hurlers last Sunday week, gave hope to his side with his second goal in the 44th minute but despite late points from Enda Cashman and Malachy Codd, the visitors failed to reel in their opponents who secured victory through a 60th-minute point from Matthew Costello.
Elsewhere in Group One, Offaly enjoyed a 1-12 to 1-9 victory over Westmeath at O’Connor Park with Aaron Kellaghan’s fourth-minute goal setting them on the road to victory.
In Ardee, goals from Eoin Darcy, Johnny Keogh, Matthew Ging and Kevin Quinn helped Wicklow share the spoils with Louth on a 5-12 to 6-9 scoreline.
At Netwatch Cullen Park, Jack Smyth kicked four first-half points as Kildare eased past Carlow by 1-13 to 0-2 with Aaron Kennedy adding a late goal for the visitors.
The remaining fixture saw Laois repel a late Wexford comeback, holding on to a 0-11 to 2-3 victory at Innovate Wexford Park.
