Tyrone gained ground in NFL Division 1 by edging out their Ulster rivals Donegal in this refixed game at Edendork this afternoon.
After a 15-minute delay due to crowd congestion, the sides were evenly matched during the first half but two points from Enda McGinley had Tyrone leading 0-06 to 0-05 at half-time.
Although Donegal hit the front thanks to efforts from Ryan Bradley and Colm McFadden, the hosts prevailed in a veritable war of attrition with the influential McGinley picking off the final point.
Full-forward Colm McCullagh was a late withdrawal from the Tyrone team, with his partner having gone into labour.
But the Red Hands took to their task well with Tommy McGuigan pointing from the sideline in the second-minute.
With the rain falling heavily, Donegal responded with points from Rory Kavanagh and Kevin Rafferty, while Raymond Mulgrew tied the game up when he fisted over in the 11th-minute.
Ryan McMenamin then burst forward from his defensive station to fire over from 45 yards but two soft frees allowed Ryan Bradley to edge Donegal in front.
Donegal full-back Neil McGee was in the right place at the right time in the 27th-minute to block a goal-bound shot from Collie Holmes, from six yards out, as the Tir Chonaill defence was badly stretched.
The half-hour mark came with Colm McFadden landing a free to push Donegal into a 0-05 to 0-04 lead but Tyrone nipped back into the lead thanks to a McGinley point and one from Niall Gormley.
They stayed ahead for the break with goalkeeper Pascal McConnell denying Donegal's David Walsh when a goal looked on.
Bradley and McFadden raised white flags on the restart as Brian McIver's men, chasing their fourth win, regained the lead at 0-07 to 0-06.
Tyrone, who grabbed their first win last time out against Laois, then registered the next three scores with Gormley notching two more frees and Tommy McGuigan was also successful with a placed ball.
Christy Toye (free) and Michael Hegarty both pointed to draw the sides level again at 0-09 apiece.
But with substitute Brian McGuigan a steadying presence in the final quarter, overs from Tommy McGuigan (66 minutes) and McGinley (70) sealed a hard-fought win for the hosts.
