Tyrone's swashbuckling victory over Dublin wasn’t enough to keep them in Division One, and they make the drop despite an impressive three-game unbeaten finish to the league.
Darren McCurry seized his chance due to an injury to Mark Bradley, coming in as a late pre-match replacement to shoot 0-09 and set up both goals in a man of the man performance.
But for himself and his Red Hand team-mates, the news was blead at the final hooter, with confirmation that results elsewhere had sealed their relegation fate.
Darragh Canavan’s early point got the Red Hand survival drive going, and Niall Scully had brought the sides level when Dublin grabbed a 12th minute goal.
Goalkeeper Niall Morgan came off his line to contest David Byrne’s booming delivery, but the ball was held up in the wind, and Con O’Callaghan gathered on the 20 metre line to turn and plant the ball in an empty net.
Two minutes later, however, the Red Hands responded with a Darragh Canavan goal, as the full forward ghosted in behind his marker to collect Darren McCurry’s pass over the top and shoot past Gavin Sheridan, a pre-match replacement for Stephen Cluxton.
They were level at the end of the opening quarter, Cormac Costello laying off for Niall Scully to split the posts, but the home side hit twelve of the next 14 points to take control.
Bossing the Dublin kick-out into the wind, through Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick and Kieran McGeary, they drove at the Sky Blue defence, with McCurry kicking a couple of two-pointers, and bringing a fine save from Sheridan, with Morgan converting the resultant ’45.
Canavan also floated over a delightful score, with Dublin managing just a Sean Bugler point to break the sequence, before Canavan pushed his side into a ten points lead as he brought his tally to 1-03 on the hooter, Tyrone ahead by 1-14 to 1-04.
A low-scoring second quarter saw Dublin fail to gain anything appreciable from the wind gusting in their backs, Bugler landing a two-pointer, but they found the going tough against a disciplined Tyrone defence, Peter Teague forcing a turnover to launch the attack from which McCurry restored the ten-point lead.
And in the 59th minute, the Red Hands struck for a second goal, McCurry again the provider for wing back to send a sizzling shot flying in at the far corner.
Now the gap was 13 points and the Dubs were chasing the game, but Costello rose to the occasion with a couple of two-pointers.
But McCurry was very much in the zone, judging the wind perfectly as he steered a handful of frees between the posts.
Ruairi Canavan came off the bench to send over two points late on, but it was all in vain for the Red Hands, whose victory failed to avert the loss of their top flight status on a bitter-sweet afternoon in Omagh.
KEY: tp - two-point score; tpf - two-point free; tpm - two-point mark
Tyrone: N Morgan (0-02, 2’45); A Clarke, P Teague, N Devlin; M McKernan (1-00), R Brennan, K McGeary (0-02 (tp); B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; C Daly, M Donnelly (0-01), A Donaghy; D McCurry (0-09, 3f, 2 tpf, 1tp), D Canavan (1-03), P Harte (0-1).
Subs: S O’Donnell for Donnell (41), R Canavan (0-02) for Harte (57), M O’Neill for D Canavan (61), S O’Hare for Donaghy (69)
Dublin: G Sheridan; D Byrne, T Clancy, C Tyrrell; C Murphy, S McMahon, G McEneaney; B Howard, P O Cofaigh Byrne; R McGarry, S Bugler (0-04, 1tp), N Scully (0-02); K McGinnis, C O’Callaghan (1-00), C Costello (0-08, 2 tp, 2 tpf).
Subs: C Kilkenny for McGinnis (41), L O’Dell (0-02, tp) for McGarry (44), J Madden for O Cofaigh Byrne (45), D Keogh for Scully (60), E O’Donnell for McEneaney (61)
Referee: D Coldrick (Meath).
