This match was the tonic the championship needed. It was clearly the best match of the season and was deepened by the long history and the sense of how much was at stake, which made it really good to watch.

It was a predictable Dublin start. They figured on exploiting Meath's youth and set out to shock them with a sustained blitz. And they did everything right besides taking enough scores. Meath were all over the place for 15 minutes and only Dublin's sheer ineptitude in front of the posts kept them in the game.

The Dublin players seem to have an obsession with going for the goal if they get anyway close to it. Tomás Quinn was guilty of this on a couple of occasions.

It is so disheartening for a back line and midfield to see their good work getting undone further up field. And Dublin will have to rectify this.

Sometimes the simple tap-over point, even with the fist, can be hugely important. By twice rejecting this option, Dublin gave Meath goalkeeper Brendan Murphy the chance to make two really impressive saves and the lift that comes with those sorts of inspirational saves can almost be worth as much to a team as a score.

I would commend the Dublin forwards for their hard running and creating spaces and finding the open man but they must have the finish. And the old failing of not converting big frees has not gone away. When it boiled down to a dual between Cian Ward and Quinn, the Meath man won it with a phenomenal display of free-taking and a sensational sideline shot.

That old Meath tenacity is back in spades. They faced into a Dublin barrage, found they were only five points down and clawed their way back into it. Graham Geraghty settled them down and gradually we began to see that the Meath forwards were actually cuter, more economical and clinical in front of goal.

In terms of the goal debates, I felt Dublin's goal was perfectly legitimate if somewhat fortuitous and that the referee, Joe McQuillan, called it as he saw it in the Geraghty incident. He saw a flashing elbow from the Meath forward and gave the free-out straight away. Overall, I felt the referee did really well - we had a really good flowing game out there.

It struck me the Dublin back three were vulnerable under the high ball. Meath were intent on proving this, with the result they lacked creativity at times. There were several times when Meath forwards were completely unmarked but were not picked out by colleagues.

The Dublin attackers also go it alone too much. They favour high octane solo runs over the quick, incisive pass. Given the dominance of Ciarán Whelan and Darren Magee, the Dublin half forward line was not productive enough.

Diarmuid Connolly looks like he will make progress but overall, they needed a bigger return yesterday.

Dublin have been much maligned for fading in white heat games but this was a considerable test of their mental strength and they stood up to it manfully.

But you look at Dublin playing and wonder if they will ever manage a sustained, even performance instead of the manic ebb and flow to which we have become accustomed.

I often think it is down to concentration because they are a formidably fit team. When Kerry go through lull periods, they at least tend not to concede all that many scores.

But there were periods, particularly in the second half, when the Dublin defenders were so loose it looked as if they were wandering mentally. They make these leads and then let them slip and then come again - it is an old pattern.

But given the slippery conditions, it was a day for big hearts. There were plenty examples of those. However, Dublin are at the stage in their development where they will feel this is a year for challenging for the All-Ireland.

And from that perspective, you must wonder if this was a match where they should actually have beaten Meath, young and upcoming as they may be.

So the big question is whether Meath will take more confidence from this or whether Dublin, coming in from the cold after eight weeks, will have lost whatever inhibitions they brought into the game. Both teams will improve from this and they have had a chance to study each other now.

I think Dublin should win the replay. They needed that game, they were given a stern test and crucially, they did not lose. But the young guys in Meath will take tremendous confidence from that experience.

Much will come down to the desire that the teams bring into the replay.

For the championship, the draw was a blessing and, as always seems to be the case, this tie has generated great excitement.