Sean Boylan has never shown such post-match anger even though his team had shared the spoils with Derry at Celtic Park yesterday.

The Meath manager directed his disgust at the decision by referee Eddie O Gormain to show Ollie Murphy a red card moments after the the All Star corner forward had scored a crucial goal five minutes from time.

"A great injustice has been done to a great player. I wish to make it clear that he did not head-butt, ask Sean Martin Lockhart if he was head-butted. All we ask for is fair play and look what we got," said an ashen-faced Boylan.

The incident sparked off a number of scuffles among the players and Murphy himself was singled out for much barracking from the hostile crowd as he went to the dressing-rooms. Armagh referee O Gormain's handling of the match, which threatened to boil over towards the end, also warranted criticism. Derry's Gary Coleman eventually snatched the equalising point in the second minute of injury time and denied Boylan the satisfaction of what had seemed likely to be Meath's first league win over Derry since he took charge in the 1980s.

Murphy's goal was a stunner and put a resurgent Meath on level terms in the 65th minute. Boylan's team had struggled in the opening minutes of the second half while playing with the advantage of a strong wind.

Derry, playing against the strong wind were boosted by inspirational points from Johnny McBride, Ronan Rocks and Pat Bradley to go seven points clear within four minutes of the second half. Meath's position looked precarious at this stage even though wind-assisted. They were now without Trevor Giles, who had supplied their only first-half scores, three pointed frees. The Skryne man was forced to retire with a pulled muscle at half-time and his absence was severely felt.

But Meath fought back in typical fashion. "We were put to the pin of our collars to get back into the game and the fact that we did so against a Derry team who were repeatedly coming at us says a lot for this side," said Boylan, who added: "I am disappointed we didn't get the win we deserved." The quality of the first-half play ambled between poor and worse as the sides struggled in the difficult conditions.

Derry led by 0-8 to 0-3 at the interval. It didn't seem enough with which to start the second half against the wind. The match certainly gathered in tempo and excitement towards the end. Substitute Jody Devine found Murphy with a long ball from midfield.

The Carnaross man won possession, veered to the right and sent a well-placed shot into the far corner to give Owen McCloskey no chance. Derry manager Eamonn Coleman disputed the goal. "But he pushed his man before gaining possession," he claimed.

Just before the 70 minutes were up, Graham Geraghty, who seemed prepared to cover every inch of the pitch from the full forward spot, had a sensational lead point from a 65-yards free out of his hands. It would have been a great winner but Derry were determined to salvage the day and Coleman's equaliser realised that aim.

"We stopped playing when we had a six-points lead early in the second half and you can't do that against Meath. We were lucky to get the point in the end," said team boss Coleman.

Anthony Tohill played an inspiring role in midfield for Derry and kicked huge points, four in all. Paul McFlynn at wing back, one of three Derry players booked along with Tohill and Lockhart.

Stephen Dillon did well in midfield for Meath as replacement for the unavailable Nigel Crawford, while Geraghty was relentless in trying to coax the best from his colleagues up front.

Derry: O McCloskey; D O'Neill, SM Lockhart, G Coleman (0-1); K McKeever, H Downey, P McFlynn (0-1); A Tohill (0-4, 3 frees), D Heaney (0-1); D Dougan, J Niblock (0-1), R Rocks (0-1); P Bradley (0-1), J Cassidy, J McBride (0-3). Subs: F McCusker for Cassidy (30 mins), B Gillis for Dougan (65 mins), S McLarnon for Bradley (70 mins).

Meath: C Sullivan; P Shankey (0-1), D Callaghan, C Murphy; N Traynor (0-1), A Moyles, R Kealy; S Dillon (0-2), I McManus; E Kelly, R Fitzsimons (0-1), T Giles (0-3, frees); O Murphy (1-0), G Geraghty (0-2, frees), D Curtis. Subs: M O'Reilly for McManus, R Magee for Giles (both halftime), R Farrelly for Fitzsimons, J Devine for Kelly (both 61 mins).

Referee: E O Gormain (Armagh).