Tyrone Masters set up semi meeting with the Dubs

THE Tyrone Masters have taken a significant step towards retaining their cherished All-Ireland title having carved out a hard-fought victory in Saturday afternoon’s play-off over Cork in Roscommon.

The Tyrone lads came out on top of a competitive contest against the Rebels on a scoreline of 0-18 to 1-9, setting up an hugely appetising All-Ireland semi-final clash against Dublin in just over a week’s time.

While Tyrone have claimed some thumping victories in recent matches, this was a much more competitive affair and there was very little to separate the sides in the opening exchanges.

The Red Hands opened the scoring with efforts from Leo Meenan and Barry Daly, but Cork kept them on their toe with a few points before the defining period of the game, Tyrone scoring seven unanswered points as they gained control of the contest.

Finding the target during the purple patch were Daly, Leo Meenan and Stephen O’Neill, though Cork kept themselves in the contest with two late points on the nose of half-time. The Rebels had their moments after the break as well, but points from Meenan and O’Neill left Tyrone in a comfortable position deep into the second-half.

Cork refused to throw in the towel and scored a goal and a point in quick succession to keep their hopes alive, but Tyrone finished proceedings with a flourish with late scores from Martin Taggart and O’Neill to seal their place in the  semi-finals.