Senior Footballers beat Tyrone and secure spot in Allianz League Final

DUBLIN 5-18 

TYRONE 0-12

A dominant Dublin got the better of Tyrone by twenty-one points in their one-sided Allianz National Football League Division 1 encounter at Croke Park on Sunday afternoon.

The victory secured a fifth successive victory for Dessie Farrell’s men and more importantly, a place in next week’s final against table-toppers Derry.

First-half goals by Colm Basquel and Niall Scully were just reward for Dublin’s supremacy against a weakened and strangely lethargic Tyrone side, whose focus seemed fixed on their upcoming Ulster Championship campaign.

Dublin’s control was even tighter in the second-half and a blitz of three goals inside four minutes before the end of the third quarter helped Dublin move into armchair mode by the final whistle.

Dublin took little time in settling and they should have netted within sixteen seconds but Lorcan O’Dell’s close-range shot was pushed to safety by Niall Morgan in the Tyrone goal.

The hosts did open the scoring in the 3^rd minute through Con O’Callaghan with the visitors levelling matters two minutes later following a Darren McCurry free.

The tightness of the exchanges continued as Colm Basquel and Cathal McShane exchanged scores but gradually Dublin began to click through the gears, as reflected by points in quick succession from Killian McGinnis and Ross McGarry.

While Kieran McGeary replied with an excellent strike from distance in the 12^th minute, Tyrone found themselves facing an uphill battle soon after as fine work from Brian Fenton and O’Callaghan allowed Basquel the chance to calmly slot home past the exposed Morgan.

Basquel and McGinnis added to the home tally as the half evolved with Tyrone offered brief moments of encouragement through a Morgan free and a McCurry point from play.

However, the procession towards their own goal continued unabated as O’Dell and O’Callaghan availed of the generous amounts of space afforded to them to enhance Dublin’s dominance on the scoreboard.

McGarry could have added a second Dublin goal but he blazed over when well placed but the Ballyboden St Enda’s player added a cultured point off his left to move Dublin nine points clear by the 34^th minute.

That lead was stretched to a dozen points three minutes into added time as a swift counter-attack allowed O’Callaghan and Scully to race through unopposed and it was the latter that took his time before firing into the roof of the net.

Leading by 2-11 to 0-6 at the break, Dublin resumed in an impressive manner with O’Callaghan jinking through to pop over a fine solo point within forty seconds.

The stand-in captain added a free four minutes later with Tyrone’s struggles reflected in two presentable free chances being wasted at the opposite end.

Their deficiencies were evident in defence as well and Dublin took full advantage in the 45^th minute as Cian Murphy slotted home past Morgan with the Thomas Davis player found in alarming space close to goal.

Dublin’s slick interplay was a joy to behold at times and they ripped through some shambolic Tyrone defending a minute later with Basquel the beneficiary of some unselfish play from O’Dell.

Basquel returned the compliment with a driving run from the left that allowed O’Dell the chance to hammer home Dublin’s fifth goal in the 50^th minute, and third in five minutes.

The final quarter meandered its way to a conclusion with substitute Paul Mannion popping over two classy points but all semblance of competitiveness had long since evaporated as Dublin turned their attentions to a league decider next weekend.

Scorers – Dublin: C Basquel 2-3 (0-1 mark), L O’Dell 1-2, C O’Callaghan (1f, 1 mark) 0-4, K McGinnis, R McGarry 0-3 each, C Murphy, N Scully 1-0 each, P Mannion 0-2, S MacMahon 0-1. Tyrone: R Canavan 0-4 (3f), N Morgan (1f), D McCurry (1f), C McShane 0-2 each, K McGeary, L McGarrity 0-1 apiece.

Dublin: E Comerford; S MacMahon, D Newcombe, E Murchan; C Murphy, B Howard, T Lahiff; B Fenton, K McGinnis; N Scully, C Kilkenny, R McGarry; C Basquel, C O’Callaghan, L O’Dell. Subs: T Clancy for Newcombe (46), P Mannion for O’Callaghan (47), P Ó Cofaigh Byrne for Fenton (50), B O’Leary for Kilkenny (53), C O’Connor for Murchan (60), S Forker for Lahiff (Temporary Sub, 67).

Tyrone: N Morgan; C Devlin, N McCarron, A Clarke; B Cullen, K McGeary, N Devlin; B Kennedy, J Oguz; A Donaghy, R Canavan, C Cush; D McCurry, C McShane, L McGarrity. Subs: T Quinn for McCarron (half-time), M Donnelly for Cush (half-time), C Daly for McShane (49), S O’Donnell for McGeary (49), T Quinn for McCurry (54).

Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry).