Dubs edge out Tyrone in thriller

All Ireland SFC Quarter Final:
Dublin 1-15 Tyrone 0-13

For once, we can genuinely say it was the end of an era. A new name will adorn the Sam Maguire Cup this year for the first time since 2002 following Dublin’s 1-15 to 0-13 defeat of Tyrone in a thrilling All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park.

With Kerry beaten in the first game of the afternoon, the two dominant forces of the last decade are now out of the Championship. Dublin can now reasonably expect to end an All-Ireland drought that goes back to 1995.

Their manager, Pat Gilroy, however, insists they are in “bonus territory”, conscious now of the hype machine that will crank into gear after a brilliant victory over the Ulster champions. Hype is something that, for once, has not attended the Dubs’ Championship campaign, following woeful performances in Leinster against Wexford and in the five-goal mauling by Meath.

But Dublin have flown under the radar and a run through the Qualifiers has served them well, and their new-look team, reshaped by Gilroy at the start of the year, came of age against Tyrone today.

Level at 0-13 apiece in the 64th minute, previous Dublin teams that have borne the scars of defeat might have folded and been over-run in the final minutes. This new-look Dublin team, however, is yet to experience the psychological trauma of its predecessors, and they kicked 1-2 without replay in the final seven minutes to claim a place in the semi-finals, where they will play the winners of Sunday’s quarter-final between Cork and Roscommon.

Dublin’s winning goal owed much to good fortune, but it was a stroke of luck they probably deserved after Tyrone had squandered a succession of chances – the Red Hands kicked 11 wides in the second half alone – in the closing stages. Bernard Brogan, who filleted Joe McMahon after the break, broke a high ball to Paul Flynn whose shot with the outside of his foot hit a post and fell to Eoghan O’Gara. The bruising full-forward lashed the ball to the roof of the net and the Hill erupted.

Conal Keaney and Michael Dara Macauley added late scores and Dublin had won by five clear points.

“I said it during the week, you never know what will happen if an underdog can give a performance and that’s what happened today – we got the performance,” said Gilroy, the Dublin boss.

“As a group we probably see ourselves in bonus territory now. Maybe beating one of these teams, we weren’t so sure we had enough in our armoury this year, but we certainly expected to be closing the gap and it took us over the line today.”

Bernard Brogan, as he has done all year, played a pivotal role in dragging his side over that line. He contributed 0-9 in total, including four points from play after the break. Tyrone’s old tactic of bringing Joe McMahon into the full-back line for once failed to pay off and the younger Brogan brother was immense.

Tyrone had plenty of chances to hit back in the closing quarter, but their shooting was way off and Owen Mulligan was their only forward who posed the Dublin defence a genuine threat. Seán Cavanagh had an off day, kicking four wides in the closing stages, while old hands Brian Dooher and Stephen O’Neill – a half-time sub – made little impression against a relentless Dublin side.

The first half had little drama. Dublin edged three 0-6 to 0-2 clear by the 22nd minute with Bernard Brogan kicking four frees and goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton adding a ’45.

However, Tyrone finally clicked. Philip Jordan was in superb form, kicking the next five points to take control of the game. With three minutes of first-half injury time played, the Red Hands still had a one-point buffer, but it should have been much more. Martin Penrose, who had kicked 0-4, was played in by Brian McGuigan, but his bullet shot smacked off the crossbar and Dublin were let off the hook.

Jordan was rampant at the start of the second half, scoring his second from play after another raid from half-back and then setting up Mulligan to send Tyrone two points clear.

It was at that points, ten minutes into the second half, that Bernard Brogan began to find space in the full-forward line. In a nine-minute period the younger of the Brogan brothers kicked four points from play and even found the time to set his brother up for another crucial score.

Tyrone kept in touch with points from Brian McGuigan and Mulligan, but their shooting frequently let them down, with Cavanagh the most guilty.

With the sides tied at 0-13 apiece, few expected what came next: Dublin, the underdogs, the team who have underperformed and underachieved year after year, came good and scored 1-2 in the closing seven minutes to win a game few gave them a prayer in. Ye of little faith.

Tyrone: P McConnell; C McCarron, Justin McMahon, R McMenamin; D Harte, C Gormley, P Jordan 0-2; C Cavanagh, K Hughes; B Dooher, B McGuigan 0-1, Joe McMahon; M Penrose 0-5 (0-4f), S Cavanagh, O Mulligan 0-5 (0-2f).

Subs: D Carlin for McCarron ’25, S O’Neill for Harte (HT), E McGinley for Hughes ’61, P Harte for Penrose ’64.

Dublin: S Cluxton 0-1 (0-1 ’45); M Fitzsimons, R O’Carroll, P McMahon 0-1; K Nolan, G Brennan, Barry Cahill; M D Macauley 0-1, R McConnell; B Cullen 0-1, A Brogan 0-1, N Corkery; D Henry, E O’Gara 1-0, B Brogan 0-9 (0-5f).

Subs: C O’Sullivan for Cahill (HT), P Flynn for Henry (HT), E Fennell for Corkery ’43, C Keaney 0-1 (0-1f) for A Brogan ’50. A Brogan for Cullen ’68.

Referee: D Coldrick (An Mhí)

Attendance: 62, 749