DUBLIN 0-22 TYRONE 0-15
Dublin delivered their best performance of the summer on Saturday night as they outlcassed Tyrone to set up an All-Ireland SFC semi-final date against Donegal in Croke Park at the end of the month.
Diarmuid Connolly was the scorer-in-chief for the Dubs – kicking a magnificent seven points from play – but all over the park the Dubs held the upperhand and could have won by more than the final margin.
Tactically Dublin got it right with the recalled Barry Cahill and Cian O’Sullivan contributing massively to this victory.
At midfield Michael Darragh Macauley and Denis Bastick curtailed the influence of Sean Cavanagh – so often the catalyst of Tyrone’s most t productive spells – while Paul Flynn’s hard-running game was too much for a Tyrone defence who found the pace and movement of the Dublin attack impossible to quell.
Dublin led 0-11 to 0-6 at half-time, Connolly having contributed five points at that stage, but crucially Pat Gilroy’s men got the restart the needed to effectively leave Tyrone with a mountain to climb.
Points from Connolly, Bastick, Flynn and Bernard Brogan edged Dublin 0-15 to 0-6 clear by the 43rd minute.
From there on Dublin contained Tyrone well with Cian O’Sullivan making a superb return to the jersey in a rearguard that defended stoutly throughout.
SCORERS – Dublin: D Connolly 0-7, B Brogan 0-5 (0-1f), A Brogan 0-3, S Cluxton (0-1 ‘45’, 0-1f), P Flynn 0-2 each, D Bastick, B Cullen, B Cahill 0-1 each. Tyrone: S Cavanagh (0-3f), M Penrose (0-3f) 0-4 each, M Donnelly, Stephen O’Neill 0-2 each, P Harte (0-1f), B Dooher, E McGinley 0-1 each.
DUBLIN – S Cluxton; M Fitzsimons, R O’Carroll, C O’Sullivan; J McCarthy, G Brennan, K Nolan; D Bastick, MD Macauley; P Flynn, A Brogan, B Cullen; B Brogan, D Connolly, B Cahill. Subs: R McConnell for Macauley (59), K McManamon for Flynn (66), E Fennell for Bastick (69), P McMahon for Nolan (inj 71).
TYRONE – P McConnell; Sean O’Neill, Justin McMahon, Joe McMahon; C Gormley, M Swift, P Jordan; K Hughes, S Cavanagh; C Cavanagh, B McGuigan, P Harte; M Penrose, M Donnelly, O Mulligan. Subs: D Carlin for Justin McMahon (ht), B Dooher for McGuigan (ht), Stephen O’Neill for Harte (43), A Cassidy for C Cavanagh (53), E McGinley for Hughes (53).
REF – J McQuillan (Cavan).
ATT: 52,661
