Tyrone take ‘great step forward’ as they burst Donegal’s bubble in Ballybofey

All-Ireland SFC Round One: Donegal 0-20 Tyrone 2-17

As the Ballybofey evening took shape, black clouds moved in from the Bluestack Mountains to give this one a fitting stage.

Winter was firmly back in the air after a prolonged absence.

Sheets of rain teemed down as Jim McGuinness’s proud record at the old venue was washed away by Tyrone.

Tyrone stormed Sean MacCumhaill Park to hand McGuinness a first loss in 16 Championship or League outings by the Finn.

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Seanie O’Donnell netted two goals in the first half to send Tyrone on their way, but a game of inches came down to a tense final when, ultimately, Tyrone had the greater composure.

“One of the most pleasing things was that, when the game looked to be going away from us on a couple of occasions, we just held our composure,” Malachy O’Rourke said.

Donegal's Shane O'Donnell with Tyrone's Rory Brennan. Photograph: John McVitty/Inpho

O’Rourke is the only Ulster manager to have beaten McGuinness in Championship football. In a former incarnation, he lowered the colours of Donegal’s then All-Ireland champions in the Ulster final of 2013.

“We held our nerve, worked really hard for each other and got some quality scores.

“We were waiting for a display like that to be honest. We knew that it was going to be a really gritty performance as well as a quality one to get something.

“We went behind a couple of times in the second-half, but they simply refused to give in – and that was the most heartening thing.”

The pendulum looked to have swung towards Donegal when Michael Murphy and Michael Langan – who contributed 15 points between them – kicked quick-fire two-pointers in the 52nd minute.

Sub Patrick McBrearty fired Donegal in front, 0-20 to 2-12, but they wouldn’t trouble the scoreboard thereafter, while Tyrone added five points – including a brilliant two-point effort from Peter Harte.

Donegal had just two weeks to shake off a bruising and breathless Ulster final win over Armagh. That extra-time win came at something of a price for Donegal.

Goalkeeper Shaun Patton unable to start due to an ankle injury picked up in the final. Patton had been in a protective boot since and the St Eunan’s net-minder was ruled out with Gavin Mulreany deputising here.

Tyrone threw an early cat among the pigeons when O’Donnell pounced for a goal in the eighth minute. Caolan McGonagle couldn’t hold possession when he got under a dropping ball from Michael McKernan. The well-placed O’Donnell made no mistake in fisting home.

Tyrone's Mattie Donnelly attempts to block a kick from Donegal's Michael Langan. Photograph: John McVitty/Inpho

Ten minutes later, he was at it again. Conn Kilpatrick’s surging run created the chance and O’Donnell hammered it to the River End net.

McGuinness said: “There was blood in the water and Tyrone sensed that and they pushed more and more and more players on,” McGuinness said afterwards.

“We were in a position to win the game and we should have won the game.

“We couldn’t get our hands on the ball and when we did get our hands on the ball we didn’t take care of the ball. Even at that we were two points up with seven minutes to go and we gave the ball away and we never got the ball back again.”

Michael Murphy rolled the years back – again. Murphy and Michael Langan hit 15 points between them and carried the fight to Tyrone.

Murphy nailed a pair of monstrous two-point frees to bring Donegal level by the 30th minute. The Glenswilly man, back in Championship action this year after a winter U-turn on retirement, belied the conditions with one effort off the ground from 50 metres.

Tyrone might have wobbled, but Darren McCurry landed a two-pointer to give the visitors a 2-7 to 0-11 lead at the break.

At the outset of the second half, Thompson arrowed over for Donegal, but four wides in swift succession looked fatal for the home side.

That notion heightened when Tyrone scored four-in-a-row, three of them from McCurry, but Murphy and Langan – who had an early goal chance turned over by Niall Morgan – each posted two-pointers within a minute of each other.

Down the stretch, in a game that may well have been defined by its wides at some stage – Donegal had 11 and Tyrone eight – Harte found the magic potion.

“A great step forward,” O’Rourke nodded.

DONEGAL: G Mulreany; F Roarty, B McCole, E Gallagher; R McHugh (0-0-1), C McGonagle, C Moore; H McFadden, M Langan (0-0-7); D Ó Baoill, C Thompson (0-0-2, 1f), S O’Donnell; C O’Donnell, M Murphy (0-3-2, 3 tpf, 1f, 1 ’45), O Gallen.

Subs: O McFadden-Ferry for McGonagle (31 mins), E McHugh for Ó Baoill (h-t), P McBrearty (0-0-2) for McFadden (42), P Mogan for O’Donnell (50), O Doherty for Gallagher (60).

TYRONE: N Morgan; C Quinn (0-0-1), P Hampsey, N Devlin; M McKernan (0-0-1), R Brennan, K McGeary (0-0-1); B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; S O’Donnell (2-0-0), M Donnelly, C Daly (0-0-1); D McCurry (0-1-5, 1tpf, 2f), M Bradley (0-0-1), D Canavan (0-0-2, 2f).

Subs: B McDonnell (0-0-1) for Kennedy (h-t), P Harte (0-1-0) for Donnelly (53 mins), E McElholm for Bradley (55), F Burns for Brennan (57).

Referee: M McNally (Monaghan).