By Frank Shouldice

Dublin 0-10 Tyrone 0-11

Floodlit football came to Croke Park on Saturday night in front of over 81,000 fans, but in the end Tyrone’s newcomers showed enough grit to overturn a game that looked safely in Dublin hands.

Played on a crisp evening without any breeze, the stadium was a magnificent spectacle. Using a yellow ball for visibility, the pitch’s dewy surface added pace and Dublin adapted quickly. Diarmuid Connolly tapped over a free for the first score of the game after six minutes and Owen Mulligan opened Tyrone’s account four minutes later.

Missing a number of senior players, Tyrone’s front six got no change against an excellent Dublin back line. The home forwards also moved smoothly, linking with midfield and half-backs to open up clear scoring opportunities.

Connolly was particularly impressive, and Alan Brogan repeatedly found Conal Keaney with well-placed passes. Tyrone struggled despite a huge performance by midfielder Sean Kavanagh. He kept pushing forward with typically strong running, but his forwards were blotted out and Gerard Brennan kept a tight rein on Mulligan.

The Dubs were coasting five points ahead by halftime, and the introduction of Kevin Hughes (for Michael Murphy) gave Tyrone a huge boost at midfield. Full-forward Colm Donnelly also gave way to Colm McCullagh, and suddenly Mickey Harte’s team had a purpose that was sorely lacking in the early stages.

Alan Brogan got through for a shot on goal, but his drive was well blocked by Pascal McConnell. It was a crucial save because slowly Tyrone reeled in the deficit.

Mulligan converted a couple of frees and Cavanagh hit a fine point to keep the momentum going. Declan O’Mahony and Darren Magee folded completely at midfield –- replaced by Bryan Cullen and Shane Ryan -– and Tyrone took over. Mulligan leveled it at 0-9 apiece with 10 minutes remaining, and only a series of bad wides prevented the Ulstermen from running amok.

Once again Dublin’s substitutions failed to address problems on the field, and when Raymond Mul-grew hit a glorious score from the right wing Tyrone were in front for the first time. Mulligan extended the lead and despite a neat Kevin Bonner reply Dublin threw away a chance to level it. Connolly lined up a free from 50 yards but went for a short pass and when the chance fell to Collie Moran he shafted it under intense pressure.

Ryan McMenamin got a red card for kicking Bonner in the closing minutes and Tyrone closed out the game in a bad-tempered finish. As a ground-breaking event Saturday night winter football proved a winning experiment; for Dublin boss Paul Caffrey, the tactical lessons of last year’s defeat by Mayo remain a work in progress.

“We will be very disappointed that we had the last two chances to get a draw out of it and we didn’t materialize on either option. That is a big disappointment,” Caffrey said.

Mayo 1-11
Kerry 0-11

Mayo exacted a little revenge for last September’s humiliation by beating Kerry at Castlebar. Captained by Kevin O’Neill, Mayo edged 0-6 to 0-5 at the end of a tight first half.

Crucially, midfielder Kieran Donaghy collected a second yellow card eight minutes after the restart and Mayo nudged further ahead through Alan Dillon and Peadar Gardiner. Pat Harte sealed it, crashing a fine goal high to the roof of the net eleven minutes from time. Trevor Mortimer also got the line late on but Kerry were too far behind to deny John O’Mahony a morale-boosting win.

Cork 2-7
Donegal 1-12

A goal apiece by Kevin O’Sullivan and Donnacha O’Connor helped Cork to a first half lead at Páirc Uí Rinn, but Kevin McMenamin’s reply before halftime set up Donegal’s comeback in a bad-tempered match.

James Masters and Nicholas Murphy got sent off in the second half, and Donegal played out a two-man numerical advantage before Brendan Devenney also got red carded in injury-time.

Watched by a small crowd on Saturday night, Cork felt the absence of Graham Canty and Anthony Lynch in defense. However, Donegal took time to settle and only after conceding a second goal did they find their rhythm.

Kevin Cassidy might have hit a third quarter goal, but when Masters was dismissed in the 55th minute it had a big bearing on the outcome. Murphy followed him five minutes later.

Barry Monaghan stole upfield for an inspirational point and Brian McIvor’s team held on before Colm McFadden wrapped it up with the last score.

Kildare 0-12
Armagh 0-10

Johnny Doyle produced a master class by scoring 11 of his side’s 12 points in a creditable win at Newbridge.

Armagh were understrength but could rely on Steven McDonnell to lead their forward line. After an even first half the sides were balanced on 0-5 apiece, but with Doyle unerring as marksman and notable debuts from Mark Scanlon and Tomas O’Connor, Kildare edged home in the second half.

Louth 2-14
Down 1-13

Louth made an auspicious start to Division One football with a good win over Down at Drogheda. Goals by Darren Clarke and Shane Lennon paved the way for victory but a strong third quarter, in which Louth hit six points without reply, put clear daylight between the sides.

Clarke struck first for his goal but when Aidan Carr converted a penalty just before the break Down held a one-point advantage. Louth’s big restart turned the game on its head before Lennon dispatched a penalty to make it safe.

The Fermanagh vs. Limerick fixture was postponed due to fog.

Galway 0-7
Derry 0-12

Conleth Gilligan made a star return to Derry’s first team by shooting five points in his side’s visit to Salthill.

Galway struggled without the Meehan brothers, although they took an early lead through Derek Savage and Cormac Bane. Derry got their noses in front by 0-7 to 0-5 by halftime and with Gilligan and Paddy Bradley tormenting the home defense they extended that lead to six after 51 minutes.

The Tribesmen will be strong when they have their full complement but Derry clearly signaled their intentions for this year’s NFL.

Carlow 1-9
Clare 0-17

A winning start for Paidi O Se, with Clare taking full value at Dr. Cullen Park. His team were comfortably ahead after a strong first half, leading 0-10 to 0-5, but Carlow rallied well to level it with points from Mark Nolan, Brian Kelly and a goal by Derek Heavin. It fell to Michael O’Shea to swing it back Clare’s way with three crucial points to sink the home side . . .

Elsewhere in Division 2A, Monaghan saw off Roscommon by 2-11 to 1-10, helped by goals from Tomás Freeman and Ciaran Hanratty . . . LONGFORD ran up the biggest score of the weekend, thrashing London by 5-19 to 0-8, while Leitrim provided the surprise of the day by beating Offaly 0-11 to 0-10 at Cloone.

Westmeath 1-11
Laois 1-9

It was a game that should never have been played but Westmeath overcame dense fog to achieve their first NFL win over Laois since 1983. Dessie Dolan played a captain’s part notching 1-3 in the first half. Laois got back into it when Beano McDonald pounced on a poor kickout by Gary Connaughton to fire to the net.

Westmeath led 1-8 to 1-5 at halftime and kept ahead through a very competitive third quarter. Laois closed the gap through McDonald, Paul Lawlor, Brian McCormack and Ross Munnelly but they squandered chances to equalize before Denis Glennon raced in to fist the last score in injury time.

Wicklow 4-9
Antrim 1-10

A HAT-trick by Tommy Gill opened Wicklow’s Division 2B campaign in fine style at Aughrim. Keith Byrne hit their first goal after 15 minutes and corner-forward Gill hit three goals in the second half to put Antrim away.

Paddy Cunningham kicked six points for the Saffrons and Chris Lynch’s late goal took the bare look off their scoreboard but on this showing Mick O’Dwyer’s team will be pushing for promotion to Division One . . .

TIPPERARY and Sligo finished level (1-12 to 0-15) in a tough contest at Ardfinnan. Sligo looked to have the points in the bag before Hugh Coughlan’s late goal, and a point by former all-star Declan Browne gave Tipp a share of the spoils . . .

BRIAN Farrell’s late goal earned Meath a draw at Breffni Park (2-7 to 0-13), a result which will disappoint Cavan fans. The home team looked comfortable despite losing Jonathan Crowe to a red card after just five minutes. Former Fermanagh marksman Rory Gallagher showed well for Cavan but they failed to put Colm Coyle’s Royals away and Farrell popped up to salvage a draw . . .

WATERFORD recorded a surprise win over Wexford at Dungarvan (2-13 to 1-12).

FEBRUARY hurling might not set the season alight, but Tipperary showed plenty of grit to take the Waterford Crystal Cup for the first time. They conceded an early goal to Diarmuid O’Sullivan after just three minutes and were then shook by a Jonathan O’Callaghan strike 21 minutes later.

However Eoin Kelly, as ever, kept Tipp bubbling up front with a personal tally of 0-9, six from placed balls. Paul Kelly found Danny O’Hanlon with a deadly pass to set up Tipp’s goal and give them a 1-8 to 2-4 halftime advantage.

The Kelly brothers were central to Tipp’s second half performance. They registered 0-13 between them and were a constant threat to the Rebels’ rearguard. O’Sullivan, switched from full-back to full-forward, also got through a lot of work at the other end and gave Philly Maher a difficult afternoon.

In a rousing second half, the sides were level on three occasions before Tipp pulled away. The Kellys spearheaded a 13-minute blitz that yielded seven points and even though Niall McCarthy narrowed the gap before the finish Babs Keating’s side were good value for the win.