It was a contest that really came to life in the second half of normal time and kept the crowd on the edge of their seats for the remainder of the contest.
When Meath substitute Darragh Smyth got his side's second goal of the night early in the second half it appeared curtains for Raymond Munroe's charges but they really showed what they were made of to fight back to take the game to extra time.
In the additional time it was point for point but when Tyrone substitute Sean Murphy put his side in front it looked like being the decisive score until McCormack's late intervention on a night when neither side deserved to lose.
Paddy McNeice, Matthew Donnelly, Kyle Coney and Ciaran Gervin all hit first half points for Tyrone but it was still honours even at the interval with Paddy Gilsenan grabbing a Meath goal with defender William Carry also on target for a fine individual point.
Whatever was said by the Meath management at halftime certainly had the desire affect as within ten minutes they had forged half a dozen points clear with efforts from Mark Collins and Jake Regan complimenting that Smyth major. Tyrone though dug deep with points from Conor O'Neill and Ryan Pickering and when Gortin's Diarmuid McNulty palmed the ball to the net they were right back in contention and an O'Neill point took the game into extra time.
McNeice edged the Red Hands in front only for Regan to respond and as we went into the second half of extra time there was still nothing between the two participants. With three minutes left to play Meath midfielder Damian Carroll put his side in front but the drama wasn't finished as Gervin and Murphy turned the advantage in favour of Tyrone. The Leinster lads had one last chance and McCormack duly took it with his fist much to the delight of their players, management and supporters.
Tyrone – Tim Harney, Finbar McQuaid, Sean Warnock, Danny Gorman, Stephen McRory, Gavin Teague, Peter Harte, Paddy McNeice, Matthew Donnelly, Ciaran Gervin, Ryan Pickering, Brian McGarvey, Kyle Coney, Diarmuid McNulty, Conor O'Neill. Subs – Niall McKenna for McGarvey, Sean Murphy for Donnelly, Brian Kelly for Warnock, Aidan Connolly for McNeice
Scorers – Diarmuid McNulty 1-2, Paddy McNeice 0-3, Ciaran Gervin 0-3, Conor O'Neill 0-3, Ryan Pickering 0-2, Matthew Donnelly 0-1, Kyle Coney 0-1, Sean Murphy 0-1
Meath – Padraig Curran, Stephen O'Brien, Sean Curran, William Carry, Enda Nulty, Mark Battersby, John Kelly, David Ryan, Damian Carroll, Darragh McNamara, Michael Newman, Mark Collins, Paddy Gilsenan, Jake Regan, Sean Dalton. Subs - Darragh Smyth for Ryan, David Larkin for Dalton, Mark McCormack for McNamara, Darragh O'Brien for Larkin, Paul Callaghan for Kelly
Scorers – Mark Collins 0-5, Paddy Gilsenan 1-1, Jake Regan 0-3, Darragh Smyth 1-0, William Carry 0-1, Damian Carroll 0-1, Darragh McNamara 0-1, Mark McCormack 0-1
Referee – Gavin Corrigan Down