Senior footballers rescue draw with late flurry of scores

DUBLIN 0-10 TYRONE 1-7

A Dean Rock free in the fourth minute of added time saw Dublin snatch a draw against Tyrone in Saturday night's eagerly contested NFL Division 1 duel at Croke Park.

The Dubs looked to be beaten but were rewarded for their resilience by kicking the last five points of the night to earn a deserved league point in front of a crowd of 28,305 on a wet and wintery night in headquarters.

Dublin found it near impossible to break down Tyrone's defensive shield for most of the night - underlined by the fact that two of Dublin's points from play in the opening half came from members of the full-back line, Philly McMahon and Jonny Cooper.

Tyrone were the better side, with wind advantage, in the opening and were made rue not leading by more than two points at the half-time break.

On the restart Declan McClure edged Tyrone three clear and it was going to be a long night for Dublin.

They were presented with an immediate chance to get back into the game when Paul Mannion was fouled by Seán Cavanagh four minutes into the second half but Dean Rock was denied from the penalty spot by Niall Morgan.

Tyrone were reduced to 14 men in the 51st minute when Mark Bradley was red-carded a minute earlier the Red Hands looked to have got the decisive score when Aidan McCrory finished off a brilliant counter-attack move to see his side 1-7 to 0-5 up.

However, over the remaining 20-plus minutes Dublin kept working to the finish.

Ciarán Kilkenny fired over an excellent point to spark Dubiln's revival. Brian Fenton superb long-range strike off his left foot that came in on the wind added to Dublin's momentum. Two Rock frees set up a grandstand finish.

Dublin were granted one last chance when Michael Fitzsimons was fouled and Dean Rock kept his nerve to convert from 48-metres.

The Dubs have played the last 11 minutes with 14 men also as they had utilised their six subs by the time James McCarthy limped off.

SCORERS - Dublin: D Rock 0-6 (0-6f), B Fenton, P McMahon, C Kilkenny, J Cooper 0-1 each. Tyrone: N Sudden 0-3, A McCrory 1-0, P Harte (0-2f) 0-2, C Meyler, D McClure 0-1 each.

DUBLIN: S Cluxton; P McMahon, M Fitzsimons, J Cooper; J McCarthy, J Small, J McCaffrey; B Fenton, MD Macauley; N Scully, P Mannion, C Kilkenny; C Basquel, E O’Gara, D Rock. Subs: E Lowndes for Basquel (ht), K McManamon for Macauley (44), C Reddin for Mannion (50), D Byrne for McCaffrey (51), J Whelan for Small (57), D Daly for Cooper (59).

TYRONE: N Morgan, P Hampsey, R McNamee, C McCarron; T McCann, P Harte, A McCrory; C Cavanagh, J McMahon; C Meyler, N Sludden, D McClure; D McCurry, C McShane, M Bradley. Subs: R Brennan for McCann (16), S Cavanagh for McShane (ht), J Munroe for McMahon (47), D Mulgrew for Meyler (50), P McNulty for McClure (70).

REF: J McQuillan (Cavan).