NFL Tyrone 0-18 Offaly 0-10: With three wins from three, Tyrone are beginning to look a safe bet for the league semi-finals, and once again they displayed their strength in depth at Omagh. Enda McGinley made a comfortable transition from attack to full back, while an injury to Owen Mulligan opened the door for Martin Penrose to produce a sparkling attacking performance.
Stephen O'Neill was in superb form up front, and the fact Tyrone scored all but one of their 18 points from play speaks volumes for their attacking talent.
They moved with fluidity and menace in the opening 10 minutes. Playing into the wind, they shifted the ball quickly and accurately, and each time they got it to O'Neill, he delivered with two sweet points. Brian Dooher, as always the worker, set up Ryan Mellon for a point, and Tyrone looked comfortable at 0-3 to no score. But once Mark Daly began to drift out from his corner-forward slot, the balance swung in Offaly's favour.
Pascal Kellaghan and Ciarán McManus pegged back the deficit, and it was Daly who shot the 12th-minute leveller. Offaly were ahead by the 25th minute through James Coughlan, and Tyrone were under pressure for the first time. By this stage they had lost Mulligan to injury, but Penrose was to play a key role. He set up two and scored one as Tyrone reeled off five points without reply. Offaly's response was gutsy but unproductive, their nine wides in the opening 35 minutes an indication of what might have been, as they trailed by 0-9 to 0-5 at half-time.
O'Neill, Gormley, Penrose and Michael Coleman were all on target before Brian Meenan powered through for a superb point as the home side opened up a 0-17 to 0-7 lead. Neville Coughlan and McManus pulled back a couple of scores, but Penrose almost had a goal, when his effort was well stopped by Padraic Kelly.
TYRONE: J Devine; R McMenamin, E McGinley, M McGee; C Gormley (0-1), G Devlin, B Donnelly; B Meenan (0-1), P Donnelly; B Dooher (0-2), O Mulligan, S Cavanagh (0-2, one free); M Coleman (0-2), S O'Neill (0-5), R Mellon (0-1). Subs: M Penrose (0-3) for Mulligan, L Meenan for Coleman, M Harte (0-1) for Dooher.
OFFALY: P Kelly; N Grennan, C Evans, S Brady; B Mooney (0-1), S Sullivan, K Slattery; C McManus (0-2), A McNamee; N Coughlin, J Quinn, J Reynolds; M Daly (0-2), P Kelleghan (0-1), J Coughlan (0-4, four frees). Subs: J Kenny for Quinn, J Grennan for Daly, G Rafferty for Slattery, J Keane for Brady, R Malone for J Coughlan.
YELLOW CARDS: None. RED CARDS: Tyrone: Conor Gormley.
Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan).
