Tyrone rout Cavan to clinch quarter-final spot
All Ireland SFC group 1: Tyrone 0-31 Cavan 0-18
Tyrone routed Cavan at Brewster Park to clinch top spot in group 1 and go straight through to the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals.
It's 42 years since the Breffni Blues have got the better of the Red Hands in championship football, and there was never any suggestion that sequence of results was about to change in Enniskillen.
Malachy O'Rourke's side claimed control of the middle third in the second half to pound their opponents, with Darren McCurry helping himself to a 0-9 haul.
And they got former All-Star Conor Meyler back on the field as he ended an injury nightmare with a first appearance since the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Kerry in 2023, but an injury to Michael McKernan could cause some concern as they look to push on with their bid for Sam.
Now they have a two-week break ahead of their return to Croke Park for the first time since 2023, avoiding the need to play three weekends in a row to keep their challenge going.
Peter Harte came in as a replacement for the injured McKernan after just three minutes to play an influential role in his side's positive first half display as they quickly built up a substantial lead.
Another veteran, Mattie Donnelly, cut through holes in the Breffni rearguard to pick off a handful of scores and create scoring chances as the Red Hands established control of the contest.
They were seven points clear by the end of the opening quarter, and gaining control of their own kick-out after losing a couple of early restarts, establishing a strong platform in the middle third.
An emotional Conor Meyler of Tyrone meets his mother Paula. The game marked his return from two years of injury hell. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Darragh Canavan also landed a delightful score, with goalkeeper Niall Morgan and Harte both raising orange flags.
Cavan put an effective press on Morgan's kick-outs, with Cormac O'Reilly hitting the target twice.
But the Red Hands reeled off 0-7 without reply to lead by 0-9 to 0-3 at the end of the opening quarter.
Dara McVeety's industry helped the Breffni men recover to narrow the gap through O'Reilly and Paddy Lynch, who kicked 0-4, including a two-point free.
And they almost had a goal when McVeety intercepted a Morgan restart to fire in a shot but the goalkeeper redeeming himself with a fine save.
The Red Hands finished the half with another run of scores, Cavan, Darren McCurry, Donnelly and Kieran McGeary all on target for a 0-17 to 0-8 interval lead.
Lynch closed the gap with a two-point free, but the Red Hands pressed aggressively on Cavan's kick-outs, with Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick and Kieran McGeary winning the battle for possession to keep their side going forward.
Another run of six unanswered points saw the gap stretch out to 13 by the 49th minute, and Raymond Galligan's men needed something special to kick-start their challenge.
McCurry swung over a couple of gems, with Ciaran Daly and McGeary also nailing points, with a Sean McEvoy point the only Cavan reply during a difficult 17-minute spell.
But they threw caution to the wind moving into the final quarter, substitute Ryan O'Neill claiming a two-pointer, with Lynch and Ruairi Curran also raising flags.
The introduction of former All-Star Conor Meyler following a two-year injury hell raised the biggest cheer of the day from Tyrone fans, and the procession towards the Cavan goal continued, with McCurry unerring from placed balls as he brought his tally to 0-9 for the day.
U20 Footballer of the Year Eoin McElholm also came off the bench to become the eleventh Tyrone scorer, with Canavan bringing his total to five, and news of Donegal's win over Mayo confirmed Tyrone's top of the table round robin finish.
Scorers for Tyrone: D McCurry 0-9 (3f, 1tpf), D Canavan 0-5 (1f), M Donnelly 0-4, R Brennan 0-3 (1tp), K McGeary, P Harte (1tp), N Morgan (1tpf) (1tp) 0-2 each, C Daly, N Devlin, S O'Donnell, E McElholm 0-1 each.
Scorers for Cavan: P Lynch 0-9 (3f, 2tpf, 1 '45), C O'Reilly 0-4, R O'Neill 0-2 (tp), O Brady, S McEvoy, R Curran 0-1 each.
TYRONE: N Morgan; C Quinn, P Hampsey, N Devlin; M McKernan, R Brennan, P Teague; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; S O'Donnell, K McGeary, C Daly, D McCurry, M Donnelly, D Canavan.
Subs: P Harte for McKernan (3), A Clarke for Devlin (29), E McElholm for Donnelly (47), C Meyler for McGeary (54), B McDonnell for Kilpatrick (66)
CAVAN: L Brady; N Carolan, K Brady, C Reilly; B O'Connell, C Madden, P Faulkner; O Kiernan, E Crowe; G Smith, D McVeety, C Brady; C O'Reilly, P Lynch, C Madden.
Subs; S McEvoy for K Brady (31), R O'Neill for Smith (49), R Curran for Kiernan (53), K Clarke for C Brady (60), L Fortune for Reilly (65)
Referee: P Neilan (Roscommon).
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