Derry 0-10 Tyrone 0-10
Lachlan Murray rescued Derry with a 77th-minute equaliser at Owenbeg as they fought back to draw with Tyrone and secure a place in the Dr McKenna Cup semi-finals.
The Red Hand also went through to set up a last four meeting with Cavan this weekend, while the Oak Leafers will face Down.
Tyrone led by five points going into the final 15 minutes, but were unable to hold on for the win, as the home side switched the emphasis to attack in their time of need.
In front of a crowd of 3,327, Derry started with ten of the side that lined out against Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final, with Tyrone also fielding an experienced outfit.
Derry set up with their tried and tested defensive formation, frustrating their opponents by weight of numbers at the back and breaking through pacey wing-backs Conor Doherty and Padraig McGrogan.
Niall Loughlin sent Shane McGuigan in for their opening score, and it took Tyrone 14 minutes to find a way to break down the cordons of resistance.
It was full-back Cormac Munroe who floated over a long range effort, and when Peter Harte pinged an inch-perfect delivery to Niall Sludden, the Dromore man converted from the mark to give the Red Hands the lead.
Moving the ball to the flanks, they found further openings for Conor Meyler and Cathal McShane to make it 0-4 to 0-1 by the 23rd minute.
And while McGuigan narrowed the gap to one, it was the Red Hand side which finished the half strongly, McShane firing over a couple of points, along with Richie Donnelly's fine effort.
Murray’s lively movement in the Derry attack posed problems, but a couple of Padraig Hampsey turnovers denied the home side, which went in at the break trailing by 0-7 to 0-3.
Strong running, particularly from Conn Kilpatrick, and willing support play helped the visitors push on with scores from Brian Kennedy and McShane, and facing a six points deficit, Rory Gallagher’s side committed extra men forward as they chased the game.
Niall Toner and Conor Doherty flashed over points, but with 15 minutes to play, Tyrone still held a five-point advantage.
Now it was time for the Oak Leafers to bare their teeth, and they threw themselves into the challenge with relish, Padraig Cassidy and Brendan Rogers driving at the Tyrone defence.
They hit the final five points of the game, with McGuigan and Toner (2) converting frees, and Rogers landing a long range score.
It was feisty in the closing stages, and a skirmish resulted in Tyrone captain Hampsey receiving a straight red card, with Derry defender Gareth McKinless sent off on a second yellow.
There was still time for more late drama, and in the seventh minute of stoppage time, Murray sent a delightful long range equaliser sailing between the posts.
Derry: O Lynch; M Doherty, E McEvoy, C McCluskey; C Doherty (0-01), G McKinless, P McGrogan; P Cassidy, B Rogers (0-01); N Toner (0-04, 3f), P Cassidy, N Loughlin; B McCarron, S McGuigan (0-03, 2f), L Murray (0-01).
Subs: O McWilliams for Loughlin (27), D Cassidy for Doherty (38), A Tohill for McCarron (42), N O’Donnell for D Cassidy (60)
Tyrone: B Gallen; N McCarron, C Munroe (0-01), P Hampsey; C Quinn, P Harte, N Devlin; B Kennedy (0-01), R Donnelly (0-01); C Meyler (0-01), C Kilpatrick, N Sludden (0-01, m); C McShane (0-05, 2f), M Donnelly, D Mulgrew.
Subs: M McKernan for Quinn (h-t), K McGeary for Sludden (42), E McNabb for Mulgrew (58), D Canavan for M Donnelly (58), F Burns for R Donnelly (72)
Referee: N Cullen (Fermanagh).
Elsewhere in the McKenna Cup, a strong second-half showing meant Cavan had five points to spare over Armagh, while Monaghan finished strong to edge out Donegal by two points in Ballybofey.
Hosts Cavan began brightly at Kingspan Breffni, with full-forward Ryan O'Neill finding the back of the net and by the 11th minute they opened up a five-point gap, Raymond Galligan’s opening free on his 100th appearance for his county, making it 1-03 to 0-01.
On a wet sod, the Orchard County fought back, with Rory Grugan slotting over a couple of frees ensuring the sides were level at the interval, 1-06 to 0-09.
That was as good as it got for Kieran McGeeney’s men however as they failed to register a score until the 29th minute of the second half when Joe Sheridan raised a green flag as Cavan coasted to victory to seal a last-four date with Tyrone.
Despite claiming the first score of the game courtesy of a Joel Bradley Walsh goal, home supporters at Ballybofey witnessed their side fall to a narrow defeat to Monaghan.
After the the third minute setback, the Farney men played their way back into the contest, and reeled off the final four points of the half through Micheal Bannigan and Shane Carey to hold a 0-09 to 1-04 advantage.
A 58th-minute Luke McGlynn penalty brought Paddy Carr's team back on level terms and it was nip and tuck going down the stretch before the visitors closed out the match with frees from Bannigan and goalkeeper Rory Beggan on a scoreline of 0-15 to 2-07.
In Leinster, Liam Kearns' Offaly triumphed against an experimental Dublin side in Parnell Park, while Longford booked their place in the final after a draw with Meath in Ashbourne.
In wet and windy conditions in Donnycarney, Offaly led 0-05 to 0-03 at the break, all the hosts' scores coming courtesy of Killian O'Gara.
Offaly remained in front for the remainder of the contest, Dylan Hyland winding up with five points in total, 0-02 from play, while both Nigel Dunne and Anton Sullivan struck two points apiece. The home side relied on O'Gara and placed balls from Colm Basquel for scores.
A point deep in injury time from Bernard Allan sealed the win, Offaly progressing to a semi-final meeting with Louth.
A former Dublin stalwart Paddy Christie has guided Longford to another O'Byrne Cup final, the sixth in their history. The midlanders demolished Laois and Carlow in their opening two rounds and led for most of tonight's encounter with Colm O'Rourke's Meath.
Donal Lenihan scored a messy goal for the hosts early on but Longford subsequently took control, David McGiveney's free just before half-time nudging them 0-06 to 1-02 heading into the break.
Scores from Joe Hagan, McGiveney, Darren Gallagher and Daniel Mimnagh gave Longford a three-point lead (0-10 to 1-04) with 15 minutes remaining but on a miserable evening, they couldn't add to the tally.
Late points from Daithí McGowan, Conor Quigley and an injury-time effort from Aaron Lynch rescued a draw on the night for Meath but it wasn't enough to stop Longford reaching the final, where they will be seeking a fourth O'Byrne Cup title.
The other three O'Byrne Cup games scheduled for this week didn't go ahead, both Louth and Kildare allowing walkovers to Wexford and Westmeath respectively while Laois-Carlow was postponed until the weekend due to conditions in Stradbally.
