
Tyrone march into All-Ireland semi-final after gritty victory over Dublin
All-Ireland SFC quarter-final: Dublin 0-16 (0-0-16) Tyrone 0-23 (0-5-18)
Grease is the word and Tyrone were the team as they simply made less mistakes to claim this error-strewn All-Ireland quarter-final.
Watched by a 61,659 crowd in Croke Park, Tyrone sent over the last four scores of the game including Niall Morgan's cherry-on-the-cake two-point free to propel Tyrone into their first semi-final in four years.
Wet, muggy conditions militated against the game joining the list of crackers this championship but Tyrone will hardly mind as they held off Dublin who couldn't gain enough motivation from the appearance of captain Con O'Callaghan for the last 20 minutes.
Tyrone were a point to the good at half-time. It took eight minutes for the first score of the second half when Paddy Small finished a tap and go move to punish an overcarry by Conn Kilpatrick but the next three points were Tyrone's – Darragh Canavan, Ciarán Daly and Niall Devlin.
Cormac Costello contorted his body to send over a fine score in the 50th minute just before O'Callaghan made his entrance. A converted Morgan 45 after some desperate Dublin defending dampened the Dublin mood but O'Callaghan was off the mark three minutes later and when Ciarán Kilkenny opened his account, the belief grew.
However, Brian Kennedy spoiled a Stephen Cluxton kick-out and Daly added his second score. After Small kicked one over with his weaker right foot, O'Callaghan pounced on a kick-out. He found Luke Breathnach who squared the ball intended for Costello but Morgan intervened.
Substitute Eoin McElholm showed Kilkenny a clean pair of heels to put Tyrone two ahead in the 62nd minute only for another introduction Breathnach to hit back one a couple of minutes later.
After Cluxton kicked a two-point free effort wide, Kennedy touched on Morgan's kick-out to Mattie Donnelly and there was enough momentum in the attack for Ruairí Canavan to finish a point. Ben McDonnell fisted over another three minutes later and after O'Callaghan's point effort fell short Ruairí Canavan and Morgan finished the mission.
Beforehand, there had been one late change to the Dublin team – Na Fianna's Brian O'Leary coming in for Lorcan O'Dell and scoring two first-half points. Peter Harte, a late replacement for Mark Bradley, kicked a couple of two-pointers in the opening half.
The majority of the first All-Ireland quarter-final of the day had been played in dry weather but gloves were required for this main event and the greasy conditions contributed to several turnovers early on not to mention a multitude of erratic shooting across the half, Dublin's conversion rate a dreadful 50%.
Only Dublin and Kerry had a poorer two-point return than Tyrone across the league and championship this year but they had converted three inside the first 10 minutes, the first from Kieran McGeary, the second from Peter Teague and the third provided by Harte.
Dublin were profiting from some sloppy Tyrone play and Costello had a shot kept out in the fourth minute. By the 12th minute, Costello had three points to his name.
With two O'Leary points in the space of three minutes, Dublin were level by the 18th minute before Darragh Canavan raised Tyrone's first white flag. Costello's third score from play and Niall Scully's first came in quick succession but Harte cancelled them out with his second two-pointer to restore Tyrone's lead.
Tyrone had a goal opening in the 26th minute but Rory Brennan's drive was snuffed out by Seán MacMahon. After a second Costello free, Darren McCurry bisected the posts for Tyrone's first from a placed ball.
Killian McGinnis had Dublin back in front in the 33rd minute but Tyrone were able to turnover a managed Dublin attack up to the hooter and McCurry gave his side the half-time advantage, 0-11 to 0-10.
Scorers for Dublin: C. Costello (0-6, 2 frees); B. O'Leary, P. Small (0-2 each); S. Cluxton (45), N. Scully, K. McGinnis, C. O'Callaghan, C. Kilkenny, L. Breathnach (0-1 each).
Scorers for Tyrone: P. Harte (0-4, 2 tps); D. Canavan, N. Morgan (1 tpf, 1 45) (0-3 each); K. McGeary (1tp), P. Teague (1tp), D. McCurry (2 frees), C. Daly, R. Canavan (0-2 each); N. Devlin, E. McElholm, B. McDonnell (0-1 each).
DUBLIN: S. Cluxton; S. MacMahon, E. Murchan, D. Byrne; B. Howard, J. Small, L. Gannon; P. Ó Cofaigh-Byrne, K. McGinnis; S. Bugler, N. Scully, C. Kilkenny; P. Small, C. Costello, B. O'Leary.
Subs: C. Murphy for K. McGinnis (44); C. O'Callaghan for B. O'Leary (50); L. Breathnach for N. Scully (temp 57-ft); T. Lahiff for P. Ó Cofaigh-Byrne (59); R. McGarry for S. Bugler (65); T. Clancy for E. Murchan (68).
TYRONE: N. Morgan; P. Hampsey, C. Quinn; P. Teague; R. Brennan, K. McGeary, C. Quinn; B. Kennedy (c), C. Kilpatrick; S. O'Donnell, C. Daly, P. Harte; D. McCurry, D. Canavan, M. Donnelly.
Subs: M. O'Neill for S. O'Donnell (temp 10-20); B. McDonnell for R. Brennan (inj 44); E. McElholm for D. McCurry (52); A. Clarke for C. Quinn (56); C. Meyler for P. Teague (temp 59-ft); R. Canavan for P. Harte (63); M. O'Neill for K. McGeary (68).
Referee: P. Neilan (Roscommon).

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RTÉ News
25 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Hungry, angry and injured
Kerry are unlikely to be caught unawares by the potent threat of Armagh when the counties meet in the knockout stages of the All-Ireland SFC for a second consecutive year, according to Enda McGinley, while the Kingdom's surprise loss to Meath in the round-robin stage should leave them razor-sharp as they head to Croke Park. McGinley was joined by Tomás Ó Sé on RTÉ's GAA Podcast to look ahead to this weekend's quarter-final action at HQ, with much of the spotlight being hogged by the two sides that met in the semi-finals during the last campaign. Armagh were dark horses who upset the odds in a 1-18 to 1-16 win over Kerry after extra-time in last year's semis, but are disputing favouritism with Donegal this time around as they bid to defend Sam Maguire. If there was the suspicion Jack O'Connor's charges took Kieran McGeeney's men a little too lightly last time around, such a scenario is unlikely to unfold on Sunday. "I think Kerry's eyes were slightly off the ball," McGinley said of the 2024 semi-final. "I don't think they were 100% there and they got caught, similar to Tyrone beating them in 2021. I don't think Kerry's eyes were fully on Tyrone. "In 2023, Kerry repaid Tyrone in spades. Kerry turned up hungry and angry and absolutely destroyed Tyrone in 2023. "Do I think Kerry can win? Absolutely. "I can't wait for this game. "The thing I'm most fascinated about as a coach or a manager trying to look at the game is that Kerry love to kick that ball. Armagh love to find the arc and set up defensively and kill off that ball. "Can Armagh's retreat to the arc be fast enough to kill the space around Clifford, [faster] than the Kerry kickpassing game, and them finding Clifford? "Those moments will be maybe three, four or five in each half and that alone could well decide this game. 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I don't think they've ever let them down on big days. "My concern and my worry for Kerry will be, will their middle eight turn up? "I'm talking about our middle eight for our kick-outs, I'm talking about our middle eight for their kick-outs, I'm talking about our middle eight for the defensive side of the game, and I'm talking about our middle eight attacking. "It's a huge, huge ask for our lads. They just need to be that little bit hungrier, that little bit quicker to move the ball, to support, to shut Armagh down." Ó Sé added of a situation that will now transpire: "If Paul Geaney doesn't start, he's the second-highest scorer from play. He is vital to them as well. He'd be a huge loss, but backs to the wall, I'd still give Kerry a great chance." Follow a live blog on the All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals on Saturday on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Saturday Game at 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Watch two All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals, Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry, from 1.15pm on Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.


The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
‘It's damaged limitations' – GAA legend warns David Clifford playing ‘different game' and reveals way to stop Kerry ace
AARON KERNAN hopes that whoever is tasked with marking David Clifford today has slept well all week. Kerry's star forward is in flying form coming into the All-Ireland quarter-final against the Orchard at Advertisement 2 David Clifford is having a super season for Kerry Credit: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile 2 Aaron Kernan believes Clifford is playing a different game The two-time Footballer of the Year is the Championship's top scorer with 7-37. A whopping 7-27 of that is from play and the five-time All-Star winner helped himself to 3-7 in last Saturday's preliminary quarter-final cruise against Cavan. Those stats are enough to give any defender nightmares, with Armagh's Barry McCambridge set to square up to him today. Former Orchard defender Kernan admits Clifford is in the form of his life after a lacklustre 2024. Advertisement Read More on GAA He believes the key to stopping the forward is to cut off his supply and that means shackling Kingdom stalwarts Seán O'Shea and Clifford's older brother Paudie, who is named on the bench but is likely to feature. The 2005 Young Footballer of the Year said: 'You needed to sleep very easily this week if you're on him — and know that he could kick 0-6, he could score 1-4. 'It's a damage limitation job on David, especially if the ball is coming in early to him because it's a different game than what it was last year. 'He looked like a hugely frustrated figure in every game last year. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football 'I think physically he looks in the shape of his life, but I think the energy that he's playing with, he looks like he's really possessed this year. 'He's in unbelievable form and whoever's on him will have a really difficult task. 'So much integrity' - RTE viewers hail Stephen Cluxton for 'principled stand' Dublin GAA icon took during Parnells saga 'But it's two or three key match-ups out the field that we need to shut down and we need to put pressure on those Kerry players. 'That's Paudie Clifford, Seánie O'Shea because it's the quality of ball and the amount of ball they get to him where the real damage is done.' Advertisement But Meath showed how to stop the 26-year-old who made his Kerry debut in the 2018 National League. The Kingdom have scored 14 goals in six Championship games this summer . But they drew a blank against the Royals in a shock 1-22 to 0-16 defeat two weeks ago when Clifford's supply lines from out the field were cut off. Advertisement Meath's stranglehold in the middle gave Robbie Brennan's men a platform to record their first Championship triumph over Kerry since the 2001 All-Ireland semi-final. Injuries ruled out O'Shea, Paudie Clifford, Paul Geaney, Brian Ó Beaglaioch, Barry Dan O'Sullivan and Diarmuid O'Connor. But O'Shea and Ó Beaglaioch start today, with David's brother Paudie and Geaney named on the bench. Clifford Junior was limited to 0-5 against the Royals, including a free and a two-pointer. And Kernan believes Armagh must use the Meath blueprint to curtail his threat. Advertisement MEATH IN THE MIDDLE The four-time Ulster SFC winner said: 'David said himself he could have potentially finished with a double hat-trick last weekend against Cavan. 'But the weekend before against Meath, they did a brilliant job in terms of shutting him down because they always had somebody who sprinted straight back to get goal-side of him. 'Whoever the full-back was — and it was predominantly Seán Rafferty — as he was being taken on by next pass had to go backwards, and then their scramble defence was kicked into gear. 'So that's what Meath did really well and what Cavan didn't do an awful lot of last weekend. Advertisement 'Then Clifford ended up in one-on-one bouts, just particularly for the first goal he got, where he was able to step out on the left, burn his man, take his space and put it in the back of the net. 'That's where Meath were really good the week previous, where a midfielder or a half-back got back and got goal-side, which meant that David had to turn back out. 'That's the key thing. It's shutting down particularly the likes of Paudie Clifford and Seán O'Shea, but it's also, 'If my man is out of the game, who can I help? Where do I need to go?' 'Don't be standing idly by thinking, 'I'm doing my job, my man's not on the ball, he's not a threat'. Advertisement 'That's irrelevant. David Clifford is always a threat, so can I help whoever happens to be on him? 'That takes a huge amount of work rate, hunger, a huge amount of focus, but it's an All-Ireland quarter-final and it just simply has to happen.' CROSSING THE WHITE LINE Kernan retired from inter-county football in 2014 and soldiered on with Crossmaglen Rangers until November 2023. He joined Advertisement Kernan admits it was a disappointing end to his brief spell with the Yeats men, but it's back to basics now with the Cross Under-10s. He said: 'I loved it, but just gutted that it was over sooner than we would have hoped. 'It was a brilliant opportunity and I found it to be a brilliant experience in terms of working with the management team that was there and obviously the playing group. It was my first time really properly getting involved in any sort of a management set-up and I took a huge amount from it. 'It was just disappointing that they couldn't have got over that game against Fermanagh and build on it, like the couple of Tailteann Cup semi-finals they'd reached previously. Advertisement 'The goal was to go one step further, get to the final and win it this year, so not to have made it back to Croke Park, certainly for me personally and the whole group, it was a very disappointing one to have to walk away from Brewster Park that evening. 'But it was something I'm absolutely delighted to have done. 'I was straight back into the Crossmaglen Rangers Under-10s on the Monday night afterwards, so I've only been in and out. 'That's the extent of the managerial career for the rest of the season anyway.' Advertisement l AARON KERNAN was speaking exclusively as a Gaelic games ambassador for BoyleSports ahead of today's All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals.


Extra.ie
an hour ago
- Extra.ie
GAA fans have their say as Dessie Farrell steps down
Dublin GAA fans have had their say after Senior Football manager Dessie Farrell confirmed he would not be returning to his role next season. The 53-year-old shared the news on GAA+ on Saturday evening after Dublin's loss to Tyrone in the quarter-final stages of the All-Ireland Championship. The full-time score was 23 points to 16 with many hitting out at Dessie for not enforcing the Dublin side to take more two-pointers. Dublin GAA fans have had their say after Senior Football manager Dessie Farrell confirmed he would not be returning to his role in the new season. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile Speaking following Dublin's loss, Dessie admitted he was 'very disappointed for all involved' as he admitted there was 'a lot of valuable lessons from today.' He said: 'You'd like to say we've no regrets, but when we look back with that performance, I'm sure there'll be plenty of what could have been.' Asked about the lack of two-pointers made by the Dublin side, Dessie said it was 'definitely something you'd like to address' but wasn't an element that they had 'laboured or harped on.' 🚨BREAKING🚨Dessie Farrell confirms he is stepping down as Dublin manager after nearly six years in charge 👏 Football clips brought to you by @AIB_GAA #TheToughest #DUBvTYR — GAA+ (@GAAPlusOfficial) June 28, 2025 The former Dublin player turned manager was then asked if he would be reflecting on a return to his management position next season, with Dessie stating it wasn't something he needed to think about. Dublin manager Dessie Farrell. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile He revealed: 'I would have informed the county board at the start of this season that regardless of what happened, this was going to be my last season. The players were aware of that and I've just informed them inside to confirm it. Dessie Farrell steps down after nearly four decades of service to #Dublin from winning senior All-Ireland's as a player AND manager,what I respect most is the years he put in with county development squads, and Minor and Under 21 teams. Enjoy your Tues & Thurs nights!👏 — Des Cahill (@sportsdes) June 28, 2025 'It's been a privilege. As a player and a coach I've been involved with Dublin for the guts of 40 years. It's a long, long time. It's been very much part of parcel in my life.' Dessie added that he has had a 'ringside seat to some of the greatest warriors that ever played the sport.' Dessie Farrell has stepped down as Dublin manager. Two All-Ireland titles as manager, five Leinster titles and of course All-Ireland winner as a player. Underage success too. A proper Dub, and a successful one too — Thomas Niblock (@thomasniblock) June 28, 2025 Tributes and well wishes poured in via social media for the outgoing manager, who was in the role since 2019. RTÉ sports presenter Des Cahill shared: 'Dessie Farrell steps down after nearly four decades of service to #Dublin GAA. Apart from winning senior All-Irelands as a player AND manager, what I respect most is the years he put in with county development squads, and Minor and Under 21 teams.' Dessie Farrell calls it a day on his time as Dublin manager on GAA+, guided Dublin to All-Ireland titles in 2020 & 2023 but history will reflect well on how he managed the enormous Dublin transition – managed to keep some of their greatest players going, and blood lots of talent — Tommy Rooney (@TomasORuanaidh) June 28, 2025 Another wrote: 'Dessie Farrell has stepped down as Dublin manager Two All-Ireland titles as manager, five Leinster titles and of course All-Ireland winner as a player. Underage success too. 'A proper Dub, and a successful one too.' Dessie Farrells All Irelands are off the back of Jim Gavins team. Nothing to do with him. Tactically inept and has to go. — Aaron (@ORuaircA) June 28, 2025 A third commended: 'Guided Dublin to All-Ireland titles in 2020 and 2023 but history will reflect on how he managed the Dublin transition — managed to keep some of their greatest players going, and blood lots of talent.' Others weren't as positive towards the former Na Fianna player, with one saying: 'Dessie Farrells All Irelands are off the back of Jim Gavins team. Nothing to do with him. Tactically inept and has to go.' Dumped out of the all Ireland because Dessie Farrell is telling the lads not to try 2 pointers…. Scandalous behaviour, won an all Ireland off the back of Jim Gavin's genius but he's way out of his depth in reality!! — B (@BradleyLFC93) June 28, 2025 Another raged: 'Dumped out of the all Ireland because Dessie Farrell is telling the lads not to try 2 pointers… Scandalous behaviour, won an all Ireland off the back of Jim Gavin's genius but he's way out of his depth in reality!!' Earlier on in the day, Donegal beat Monaghan on a score of 1-26 to 1-20 in the first quarter-final. On Sunday, Meath face Galway while Kerry take on All-Ireland champions Armagh, with the draw for the semi-finals taking place directly after the clash.