Tyrone survived Cavan's second half fightback at O’Neills Healy Park to clear their Ulster SFC quarter-final hurdle.
They did it with a measure of style but left a few questions to ne answered ahead of their blockbuster clash with All-Ireland champions Armagh in two weeks time.
The Red Hands led by 13 points at one stage, bit a volley of two-pointers brought the Breffni men back to within six at a pivotal stage of the game.
But a Conn Kilpatrick goal four minutes from the end steadied the ship and saw Malachy O’Rourke’s men safely over the line, extending Cavan’s 42-year wait for a championship win over Tyrone.
Conn Kilpatrick looks to have settled this game with the opening goal
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Tyrone were dealt a massive pre-match blow with the loss of ace attacker Darragh Canavan due to a hamstring injury, replaced by younger brother Ruairi.
But they clicked into gear from the outset, dominating Cavan’s kick-out to pummel the visitors’ defence with the wind in their backs.
Early scores from Niall Devlin and Darren McCurry settled the pre-championship nerves of a team that had lost its Division One status a few weeks previous, and the Red Hands were soon in full flow.
Kieran McGeary, Aodhan Donaghy and Ruairi Canavan added scores before Dara McVeety hit Cavan’s second score at the end of the opening quarter.
With Brian Kennedy bossing the Cavan kick-out and providing his side with plenty of offensive possession, Tyrone reeled off six points on the spin, with McCurry picking off his third, and defenders McGary and Peter Teague also on target.
Oisin Kiernan and Cian Madden responded at the other end to reward the tireless graft of Dara McVeety, but it was a dominant Tyrone that reached the half-way stage with Cathal McShane’s second point making it 0-14 to 0-04.
And they picked off five of the first six scores of the second half to stretch the advantage out to 13.
Canavan was unerring from frees, and Ciaran Daly and Michael McKernan added their names to the scoresheet.
But Cian Madden’s two-point effort signalled Cavan’s intent, and they proceeded to fire over four more double-value finishes from outside the 40 metre arc.
The excellent McVeety kicked three of those, two of them from play, as they chipped away at the Tyrone lead.
Pressing forward off turnovers, they had the Tyrone defence under pressure, but McCurry’s clinical finishing meant the Red Hands were never dragged into danger territory, even when substitute Ryan O’Neill narrowed the gap to six with ten minutes to play.
The Red Hands responded with a sweeping move that saw McCurry release midfielder Conn Kilpatrick for a sweet finish to the bottom corner of Gary O’Rourke’s net for the ponly goal of the game on 62 minutes.
It was the score that confirmed Cavan’s fate, even though they picked off the game’s last three scores through McVeety and McEvoy (2).
Tyrone: N Morgan (0-01, '45); A Clarke, P Teague (0-01), N Devlin (0-01), M McKernan (0-01), R Brennan, K McGeary (0-03); B Kennedy (0-01), C Kilpatrick (1-00); A Donaghy (0-01), P Harte (0-01), C Daly (0-01); D McCurry (0-07, 2f), C McShane (0-02), R Canavan (0-04, 4f).
Subs: S O’Donnell for Harte (48), J Oguz for Donaghy (48), M Donnelly for McShane (58), E McElholm for Kennedy (49)
Cavan: G O’Rourke; C Reilly, B O’Connell, J McLoughlin; P Faulkner, C Brady, N Carolan; K Clarke, G Smith; G McKiernan, O Kiernan (0-03, 1tp), D McVeety (0-08, 1tpf, 1tp, 1f); B Donnelly, C Madden (0-03, 1 tpf), S McEvoy (0-04, 3f).
Subs: R Donohue (0-01) for McKiernan (h-t), R O’Neill (0-01) for Donnelly (45), T Donohue for Madden (48), K Brady for Clarke (49), P Devine for Faulkner (63)
Referee: M McNally (Monaghan).
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