DESPITE injuries, it was Meath who emerged Unscathed from yesterday's relegation play off at Clones. After a bright start, Tyrone faded alarmingly and must face Cavan next Sunday to determine who will lose their tenancy in Division One of the Church & General National Football League.

It was a good win, before a crowd of 8,248, for the All Ireland champions They will now withdraw into private session until their June 15th clash with Dublin in the Leinster championship.

Yesterday showed all the established virtues intact - a doggedness under pressure; slick short movement, yet with good direct play into the full forward line; and another fine contribution from this year's captain, John McDermott, at centre field.

The only blemish was a succession of wides which left them vulnerable at the end when they should have been out of sight.

The Tyrone manager, Danny Ball, will be frustrated at his team's uneven display. Between a dominant burst in the opening quarter and an injury time spree of 1-1, the team managed only three points.

Tyrone have problems everywhere. Centre field was wiped out both Ciaran Corr and Enda Kilpatrick were replaced. The attack dulled quickly after a bright opening Peter Canavan looked short of match practice and in the corners, Kevin McBride and Matt McGleenan failed to impose themselves when the team needed respite in the second half.

Both sides showed changes before the start. Tyrone brought in Sean McLaughlin, Stephen Lawn and Matt McGleenan for injury affected Paul Devlin, Gerard Cavlan (the under 21 captain injured in the county's win over Armagh at that grade on Saturday) and Brian Gormley.

Meath brought in Jody Devine and Stephen Dillon for Brendan Reilly and PJ Gillic.

The Ulster champions can argue that they were more weakened than Meath by unavailability but with Ball's first choice 15 still a matter of speculation, it's difficult to be definite. Nonetheless, compared to last year's All Ireland semi final, Tyrone had six of their starters from that day whereas Meath fielded 11.

Shadows from that controversial encounter were, thankfully, faint - apart from Peter Canavan's playing his first match since - although when frustration set in during the second hall, Martin O'Connell was sullenly booed by a section of the Tyrone support.

The same section would have started the match in more buoyant form as Tyrone began in lively fashion and by the 12th minute, led by 0-4 to 0-0. Using the ball inventively at close quarters, they got within range and took their scores.

Pick of the sequence was the solo and medium range point which came from a raid down the right by Noel Donnelly. The wing back has been missing from the county scene for a while due to injury. Yesterday, he provided an isolated plus for Tyrone with a good defensive display which left Graham Geraghty the only Meath forward not to score.

The early pattern continued but Tyrone's strike rate deteriorated and Meath began to ease themselves into the match with a couple of frees from an otherwise subdued Trevor Giles. The score was 0-5 to 0-2 for most of the final 10 minutes of the first half.

During this phase, the main distract ions were the recognition of the centre field crisis by Tyrone and the consequent introduction of Ulster Railway Cup hurler Vinnie Owens in place of Corr and a curious 24th minute episode where Tommy Dowd's retaliation against a Chris Lawn foul earned the Tyrone defender a joint booking that he didn't otherwise look like getting.

In the 29th minute, the match turned. Giles fed the ball into Dowd's path and he found himself in what was to become familiar territory for Meath's full forwards - free and unaccompanied in space.

Dowd chipped goalkeeper Joe Cassidy, and the shot came back off the woodwork for Dillon to volley a goal. Although Owens, rounded off an eye catching four man move to give Tyrone an interval lead, the trend of the match was now running against the Ulster team.

By the close of the third quarter, the match was over. Early points by Giles, Evan Kelly and Jody Devine moved Meath into the lead and in the 44th minute, Kelly scored Meath's second goal. Dowd was again instrumental. Taking receipt of a quick free from Enda McManus, he lofted a clever pass in behind the Tyrone defence and Kelly ran in uninhibited to slip the ball home.

It then seemed only a matter of the winning margin. Tyrone tinkered with their ailing formation but Seamus McCallan had no more of an impact on the rampant McDermott than his predecessors. To emphasise the point, the Meath captain galloped through, unhindered by any marking, to pot a point in the 50th minute.

In the 58th minute, Dowd, well enough marked for much of the match by Lawn, rounded off an effective second half performance by hoisting over a sideline ball from the left wing.

It may have served only further to frustrate Tyrone but the team staged an unlikely comeback in injury time. With the score at 2-9 to 0-8, Eoin Gormley whacked home a loose ball engineered by McGleenan's challenge and a minute later substitute Loughran kicked a point.