Tyrone 0-17 Roscommon 0-12
Tyrone were in unstoppable form as they swept aside a much fancied Roscommon side thanks to some stunning play from Lee Brennan and Cathal McShane at Markievicz Park.
The duo combined for 10 points in total for a Tyrone side who never trailed and eased into their first All-Ireland decider in 11 years.
It’s 13 years since they last picked up the All-Ireland crown, and they will be severely tested by Tipperary in the decider in a fortnight, but Fergal Logan’s side will be lifted by this near faultless display.
It was a wonderful day for football in Sligo but Roscommon never reached the heights of their Connacht championship campaign.
Meanwhile, Tyrone impressed once more with Pádraig Hampsey a rock at full back and the performance of Kieran McGeary at wing back was also noteworthy.
Despite playing into a stiff breeze in the opening-half Tyrone led it 0-10 to 0-7 at the break.
And Brennan had them off the mark within the first minute, indeed Tyrone scored the opening four points of the encounter.
Midfielder McShane got his first, with Brennan adding another and Michael Cassidy pointing.
It was the perfect start but the Connacht champions came roaring back and Diarmuid Murtagh got off the mark in the 10th minute from a free.
Cathal Compton kicked two in a row – his first was a sumptuous shot with the outside of his right foot to bring Roscommon back into it.
Mark Kavanagh kept Roscommon at bay but when Murtagh kicked his third of the day in the 27th minute the gap was back to just two.
Lee Brennan extended the Tyrone lead to 0-9 to 0-7 before a Daniel McNulty free gave them a comfortable half-time lead.
Brennan and Murtagh exchanged scores at the start of the second-half but despite Thomas Corcoran’s impressive 45 Roscommon couldn’t build on that.
When Murtagh notched his sixth score of the day it looked as if the comeback was on as Roscommon only trailed 0-14 to 0-12 with six minutes remaining.
But Tyrone frustrated their opponents and things threatened to boil over on the field, with Daniel McNulty and Ronan Daly saw yellow in one of the fracas.
With that Roscommon's challenge died and points from Frank Burns, a Brennan free and another free from McNulty sealed it for the Ulster champions.
TYRONE: S Fox; R Mullan, P Hampsey, M Cassidy (0-1); C McLaughlin, R Brennan, K McGeary; F Burns, C McShane (0-4); C Meyler, M Kavanagh (0-2), M Walsh; L Brennan (0-6, one free), D McNulty (0-4, three frees), R McGlone.
Subs: S McKenna for McGlone (40 mins), M Bradley for Kavanagh (45 mins), P McKenna for Walsh (57 mins), D Kavanagh for Brennan (60+1 mins).
ROSCOMMON: S Mannion; N McInerney, S Mullooly, D Barron; C Kenny, E McGrath, R Daly (0-1, free); C Compton (0-3), T O'Rourke; S Killoran, U Harney, C Kilcline; D Murtagh (0-6, four frees), E Smith, P Kenny.
Subs: N Kelly for Mannion (29 mins), T Corcoran (0-1, one 45) for O'Rourke (30+3 mins), J Earley (0-1) for Kilcline (half-time), N Gatley for Kenny (40 mins), K Finn for Compton (59 mins), D Neary for Kenny (60 mins).
Referee: P O'Sullivan (Kerry).
