Dubs up the pace to see off 14-man Tyrone

Dublin 0-9 Tyrone 0-8

But all agreed that a smaller than anticipated crowd of about 7,000 witnessed a bruising contest in Parnell Park yesterday in the opening round of the Allianz NFL Division 1A.

Dublin beat the All-Ireland champions thanks to an injury-time point from Jason Sherlock and while the

Tyrone manager had no complaints about the result, he pointed to the loss of Stephen O'Neill as having a significant effect on the result.

O'Neill, one of 11 members of the championship winning side to start the game, was somewhat harshly sent off by Tipperary referee Paddy Russell after receiving a second yellow card 15 minutes from time.

A smiling Lyons heaped praise on his team. "We are not going to get carried away."

And what of the rough and tumble? "Anyone expecting it to be any different was going the wrong ground!" he said. "We had to be frenetic. We had to up the pace."

Dublin led 0-4 to 0-2 after the opening 20 minutes . In general, they were more lively around the field, benefiting from a good start at half-back (where Shane Ryan made an early impact) and midfield. And they looked more threatening up front. It was only when the dual champions tightened up at half-back and started to win ball around half-forward (with Brian Dooher typically influential that they looked more competitive. Eoin Mulligan was prominent, as was Stephen O'Neill, arguably their most consistent forward up to the time of his dismissal.

In another ten minutes Tyrone were in front for the only time (through O'Neill), but their lead was wiped out by a free from Conal Keaney, after he had taken over the free-taking from Tomas Quinn.

The sides were level at 0-5 going in at half-time.

Tyrone introduced new captain Cormac McAnallen at full-back, which strengthened their defence even more (after Conor Gormley had excelled there in the second quarter). But, the move of Kevin Hughes from midfield to full-forward yielded no return, with Paddy Christie dominant at full-back and Griffin continuing to play impressively alongside him.

Within ten minutes of the resumption, Dublin opened up a two-points lead for the second time and they would have been more comfortable but for a missed goal opportunity by Sherlock.

But O'Neill's hard work and the opportunism of soccer player Colm McCullagh powered Tyrone back into the game. And, they again showed character when drawing level with a well-kicked McCullagh free in the 67th minute after Cosgrove had regained the lead for the home team.

With O'Neill off the field, Dublin utlisised the extra man before Sherlock wriggled free of several tackles to put over an impressive match-winner. Even more dramatically, the champions missed a relatively easy opportunity of saving a point when McCullagh punched wide from the edge of a crowded goalmouth.

*Paddy Russell came in for much criticism, but I would defend him on the basis that it was a very difficult game to handle.

Scorers Dublin: R. Cosgrove 0-3; C. Keaney 0-2 (0-1 free) and J. Sherlock 0-2 each; C. Whelan and T. Quinn (free) 0-1 each.

Tyrone: E. Mulligan 0-3 (0-1 free); S. O'Neill and C. McCullagh (0-1 free) 0-2 each; B. Dooher 0-1.

DUBLIN: S. Cluxton; P. Griffin, P. Christie, D. Henry; S. Ryan, D. Magee, C. Moran; C. Whelan, D. Homan; C. Keaney, B. Cullen, S. Connell; T. Quinn, R. Cosgrove, J. Sherlock. Subs: D. Lally for Connell (injured, 3rd minute); T. Mulligan for Homan (52nd); J. McNally for Lally (63rd).

TYRONE: P. McConnell; R. McMenamin, C. Gormley, M. McGee; C. Holmes, G. Devlin, C. Gourley; K. Hughes, S. Cavanagh; M. Coleman, B. McGuigan, B. Dooher; C. McCullagh, E. Mulligan, S. O'Neill. Subs: C. McAnallen for Coleman (second half); P. Jordan for McGee (48th); E. McGinley for Hughes (50th).

Referee: P. Russell (Tipperary).