SPORT NEWS

Dublin simply outclass Tyrone

by Sean Nolan , 06 August 2011

Dublin simply outclassed Tyrone in every department to win their All-Ireland SFC quarter-final in Croke Park on Saturday on a 0-22 to 0-15 scoreline.


Diarmuid Connolly starred with 0-7 but it was a hugely impressive display from the entire Dublin team as they swept Mickey Harte's charges aside with relative ease.

Tyrone got off to a flying start when Mark Donnelly kicked the game's opening point but that was as good as it got for the Ulster side. Dublin 'keeper Stephen Cluxton landed a trademark '45 to open the Blues account but the real damage was done in open play.

The Tyrone full-back line simply left too much space for the Dublin forwards and Connolly and the Brogan brothers had a field day.

Connolly landed five points, all from play, while Alan Brogan chipped in with two in the first-half.

Tyrone failed to make any headway at all for much of the game, with their midfield unit of Kevin Hughes and Sean Cavanagh simply not functioning. Moy's Cavanagh contributed with three frees and a point from play late on but he was virtually anonymous in general play. So too was old enemy Owen Mulligan.

The only surprise was that Dublin only led by five at the break, 0-11 to 0-6.

Harte tweaked it a bit at half-time, removing Brian McGuigan and Peter Harte to introduce Brian Dooher and former Footballer of the Year Stephen O'Neill but it didn't stem the tide.

Dublin continued to rip the McMahon-brother backboned defence to shreds, and in the space of two minutes three goal attempts slipped just wide. If any had found the net, the game was surely up.

Instead, it was the metronomic brilliance of Dublin's point taking that won the day.

Connolly, the Brogans, Cluxton, Paul Flynn and Barry Cahill all landed second-half points in a blistering show of class.

Their passing was accurate, their handling was sure and their defending was good enough.

O’Neill made a difference for Tyrone, scoring some wonderful individual scores, but the frequency of those moments of magic was too far apart to narrow the gap.

In the end the gap was just seven, but the gulf in play was vast.


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