Derry 1-18 Tyrone 1-12

Derry opened their NFL Division 1 campaign with an eye-catching 1-18 to 1-12 win over Ulster rivals Tyrone at Celtic Park tonight.

James Kielt (0-06) and Eoin Bradley (0-04) led the scoring for a Derry side missing the injured Paddy Bradley, Enda Muldoon and Niall McCusker.

But Damien Cassidy's men showed their considerable strength in depth as the likes of NFL debutants Charles Kielt and Andrew McCartney stepped up to the mark.

The hosts hit the front through a long range effort from Mark Lynch and points from McCartney and James Kielt make it 0-03 to 0-00.

The game was 12 minutes' old when Kyle Coney, another league newcomer, opened Tyrone's account and they hit their stride, notching four points in-a-row after Wilkinson had split the posts at the other end.

Tommy McGuigan, Martin Penrose (0-02) and Aidan Cassidy all pointed as Mickey Harte's side moved ahead - but only briefly.

Charlie Kielt quickly replied for Derry and it was the home side's turn to dominate then, as Eoin Bradley, Lynch, James Kielt and Wilkinson rattled off successive scores.

Although Penrose converted a free before half-time, Tyrone were left trailing by 0-09 to 0-06 as the sides headed for the dressing rooms.

Derry continued where they left off when the second half got underway. Indeed, they went up another gear when Gerard O'Kane, substitute Declan Mullan and James Kielt tagged on points.

Kielt and Seamus Bradley were involved in a botched goal-scoring attempt as Derry looked set to pull further ahead, and Harte reacted with a treble substitution.

The fresh legs had the desired effect, yielding two McGuigan points, but Derry had a firm grip on centre-field as Fergal Doherty and company hoovered up a number of breaking balls.

Derry made certain of the home win on 56 minutes, when Mullan cracked a pinpoint ball in on top of the Tyrone defence and Wilkinson swooped on it to stab a scrambled shot to the net.

Kielt pushed Derry's advantage out to ten points and while Tyrone responded strongly with a Colm Cavanagh goal, following a rebounded Eoin McCusker shot, and points from Penrose and McCusker, the night belonged to an industrious Derry outfit.