By 
Tyrone 0-28 Offaly 2-13
IT was a case of job done for Tyrone as they eventually shook off stubborn opposition in the shape of Division Two basement dwellers Offaly to secure a nine point triumph at Dungannon on Saturday night.
After a first half in which they allowed Mickey Harte’s visitors to call the tune, the hosts rallied on the resumption and with fourteen different players getting on the scoresheet they won out with plenty to spare come the final whistle.
With Darragh Canavan in Australia, his younger sibling Ruairi was among those who picked up the scoring baton in his absence weighing in with six points, while Seanie O’Donnell, Ronan Cassidy and impressive second half sub Darren McCuirry each pitched in with a hat-trick of scores.
Another encouraging sight for home supporters at O’Neill Park was the selection of both Peter Teague and Niall Devlin down the spine of the defence, having each been injured of late, and with Kieran McGeary also watching on from the sideline on his return to home shores, Malachy O’Rourke will welcome the additional resources at his disposal heading into those crunch final two matches.
In the first half on Saturday the Red Hands appeared to be still weighed down somewhat by the disappointment of that shock loss to Louth in Ardee, with Offaly dictating the proceedings and bossing possession. However having led by just two at the break (0-12 to 1-7) inspite of the wind at their backs, Tyrone were a much different proposition in the second half as they ran amok.
Livewire O’Donnell drilled over the opener for Tyrone inside the first minute, before Keith O’Neill quickly levelled things up for the visitors.
It was the hosts though who enjoyed the more productive opening as corner back Aidan Clarke struck over a tidy score on the turn and Lorcan McGarrity doubled their advantage with a languid conversion.
O’Neill planted his second of the half at the other end and while the Red Hands were struggling to avail of the elements favouring them Canavan did split the posts with a well-taken two pointer around the ten minute mark, from Ben Cullen’s pass.
O’Donnell knocked over his second to stretch the lead to 0-6 to 0-2, from a blistering and all too rare counter-attack, but Tyrone suffered a scare when O’Neill rattled the underside of Oisin O’Kane’s bar, before the impressive Cormac Egan and Harry Plunkett, from a narrow angle, halved the deficit.
After defender Cormac Quinn registered an impressive point, Offaly swooped for an equalising goal in the 24th minute, midfielder Jack McEvoy finding the net on the rebound with a crisp low finish after Jordan Hayes struck the post initially.
Ronan Cassidy and Marcas Dalton then traded scores as the visitors continued to play keep ball with little in the way of a Tyrone press to disrupt their measured approach.
Canavan struck over a free after O’Donnell was fouled trying to tee up a goal chance for his Trillick colleague Ciaran Daly, yet come the half-hour mark the scores were tied at 0-9 to 1-6 with Darragh Flynn fisted over for Offaly.
An emphatic two point strike by skipper Brian Kennedy was a timely input to galvanise the hosts before Niall Devlin split the posts but an O’Neill free suggested Offaly were intent on hanging around as they went in trailing by just the two.
However Tyrone were a different beast on the restart as they began to incrementally build upon their lead. Cullen, Devlin and Matthew Donnelly each raised white flags inside the first five minutes, capping some enterprising approach work.
Harry Plunkett responded with a neat two pointer off the outside of the foot for Offaly, but with Conn Kilpatrick coming to the fore around centre field, it was Tyrone’s turn to up the ante.
Offaly’s challenge was visibly flagging and the hosts reeled off four scores on the spin via Cassidy, Donnelly, Daly and O’Donnell, while McGarrity rattled the outside of the post after racing through one on one with the keeper Conor Mella.
Rory Egan and O’Neill (free) did quell the bleeding for the Leinster men but the introduction of McCurry off the bench provided the Tyrone attack with a second wind. He looked at his ‘dazzling’ best swinging over three points in the last quarter, including one with his first touch.
With Offaly losing McEvoy to a black card with fifteen minutes remaining after a tangle with Michael Rafferty the writing was on the wall for them.
Tyrone scored at will as they exploited the extra space afforded them, Cullen and subs Michael McKernan and Ruairi McCullagh (free) getting in on the act.
While Darragh Flynn did crash home a consolation goal at the death for the ‘Faithful’ Tyrone were home and hosed long before the final whistle.
Scorers
Tyrone: Ruairi Canavan (0-6,1tp,2f), Seanie O’Donnell (0-3), Ronan Cassidy (0-3), Darren McCurry (0-3), Brian Kennedy (0-2tp), Niall Devlin (0-2), Matthew Donnelly (0-2), Aidan Clarke, Lorcan McGarrity, Cormac Quinn, Ben Cullen, Ciaran Daly, Michael McKernan (0-1 each), Ruairi McCullagh (0-1,f)
Offaly: Darragh Flynn (1-2), Keith O’Neill (0-4,2f), Harry Plunkett (0-3,1tp), Jack McEvoy (1-0), Cormac Egan (0-2), Marcas Dalton, Rory Egan (0-1 each)
Teams
Tyrone: Oisin O’Kane, Aidan Clarke, Peter Teague, Cormac Quinn, Ben Cullen, Niall Devlin, Michael Rafferty, Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick, Seanie O’Donnell, Ronan Cassidy, Ciaran Daly, Lorcan McGarrity, Matthew Donnelly, Ruairi Canavan. Subs used: Joey Clarke for B Cullen (52mins), Darren McCurry for L McGarrity (52), Michael McKernan for C Daly (59), Frank Burns for N Devlin (62), Ruairi McCullagh for R Canavan (65)
Offaly: Conor Mella, Shane O’Toole Greene, Rory Egan, Daire McDaid, Lee Pearson, Cormac Egan, Diarmuid Egan, Jack McEvoy, Aaron Leavy, Marcas Dalton, Jordan Hayes, Keith O’Neill, Harry Plunkett, Niall Furlong, Darragh Flynn. Subs used: Ciaran Murphy for N Furlong (53mins), Conor Dunican for L Pearson (62), Eoin Dunne for M Dalton (60)
Referee: James Molloy (Galway)
