Battered and bereft of stars, Red Hands bow to inevitable

TYRONE travelled to Portlaoise like a punch-drunk and ageing fighter that had made it this far thanks only to their reservoir of experience.

Bereft of men like Brian McGuigan and Brian Dooher and with Sean Cavanagh and Stephen O’Neill operating far below optimum levels, even some of their own were waiting for them to hit the canvas, but few expected Laois to be the ones that would throw the final blow.

Rumours from within the Tyrone camp over the last few weeks suggested that even some of the players themselves were resigned to surrendering their All-Ireland title but Mickey Harte rejected the notion that any Tyrone player would entertain such a thought.