Harte: an Ulster title is always important and particularly in the current climate

“We contributed to making it tough on ourselves but credit to Monaghan as well,” said Harte. “We were in a good position but we put ourselves under serious pressure. We were 16-8 up and we are very disappointed that we didn’t close the game out at that stage.

“That’s something we have to work on.’’

The relief was visible on every Tyrone player’s face afterwards.

All played tribute to a Monaghan team that refused to be cowed into submission when the game threatened to get from them.

Conor Gormley spent much of the afternoon in some degree of comfort before finding himself fighting a blaze that threatened to engulf the entire back line towards the end. He was a happy man to hear the final whistle.

“When you’re marking Tommy Freeman you are always glad to see the final whistle,” said the Carrickmore defender. “He got a couple of scores on me. They sent in a lot of high, direct ball and had guys playing off (Vinny) Corey. They had some good chances at the end. We were very lucky.

“Fair play to Monaghan. They came from eight points down and played most of the football in the last quarter. We had a good start to the game and we relied on that to get us through to the end. Sean Cavanagh got some great scores in the second half and he was man of the match. We’ll have to look ahead to the quarter-final now. We’ve won Ulster but there is a bigger picture. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

The bottom line being all that matters, Tyrone will be comforted by the fact that they dug deep enough to withstand the barrage while the form of Sean Cavanagh was the other big plus.

The multiple All-Star suffered his fair share of injuries in recent years but he was colossal yesterday, particularly in what turned out to be the game-winning period after the interval when Tyrone tagged on five points to their tally.

Two of those came from Cavanagh as well as a third after 57 minutes that was his side’s only score during a period when they shipped serious water.

“He did Trojan work,” Harte agreed. “When it was needed on a number of occasions he produced the goods. That’s the mark of the man. We lived on our nerves a bit. Monaghan had a few goal chances but didn’t quite take them. We had to work hard but we can go home as proud Ulster champions tonight.”

The All-Ireland may be the default setting for their ambition but regaining the bragging rights in Ulster will keep them cooking for now, especially after Armagh ‘s recent dominance.

“An Ulster title is always important and particularly in the current climate of qualifiers. It is important to go through the direct route,” Harte pointed out. “The sense of achievement in winning your own provincial title should not be forgotten either.”