Lee Keegan hailed a "magnificent" performance by Darragh Canavan as the Tyrone began their Allianz Division 1 campaign with victory over Roscommon.
The 2021 All-Ireland champions have been sluggish starts in the league in recent years, and despite blooding six debutants at O'Neill’s Healy Park, it was the sparkling form of Canavan that inspired his team to victory.
The 24-year-old lit up the second half and delivered eight points in testing conditions as Roscommon were defeated 0-17 to 1-11 despite a red card to midfielder Conn Kilpatrick.
Speaking on Allianz League Sunday, former Mayo defender Lee Keegan was fulsome in his praise for the Errigal Ciarán attacker.
"It was one of those games where there were a lot of unknowns around Tyrone. Obviously we knew about the departures (Ronan McNamee, Niall Sludden and Richie Donnelly), but guys like Ciaran Daly, Ben Cullen, Niall Devlin really stepped up today.
"But it was Darragh Canavan that put in some shift. Everything just worked around him. He was a joy to watch in full flow. A magnificent performance."
Speaking on the programme, Canavan’s father Peter said the positive display first day out will allay some early season concerns within the county.
"A lot of Tyrone supporters were very concerned coming into this game because they had played a few challenge games, and they played okay," he said.
"It’s difficult for two or three newcomers to make their way on to a team, so you need more established players around them.
"There was concern today that they would have been doing very well to take the points, and as it turned out, the young lads were brilliant.
"That would give the panel a great boost."
