Tyrone suffer 1 point defeat in NFL Final

Allianz Football League Division I Final: Dublin 0-18 Tyrone 0-17
Dublin claimed their first Allianz Football League title since 1993 with a one-point win over Tyrone in an exciting Division I final at Croke Park on Sunday.
Dublin trailed with four minutes to go, but they scored three points in a row in the closing stages, before Seán Cavanagh pulled one back for Tyrone in added time, to win a very tight game.
The sides were level at 0-10 apiece at the break and there was never more than a point in it at any stage of the second half until Dublin substitute Dean Rock knocked two points over into the Hill 16 end and Jack McCaffrey added another soon after to seal victory in a thrilling finale.
It was a cruel way for Tyrone to lose the game having defended superbly throughout and coped so admirably without their captain and key player Stephen O’Neill, who went over on his ankle in the warm-up and was replaced in the team by Conor McAliskey. While McAliskey did well, scoring three fine points from play, Tyrone missed O’Neill’s craft in attack, and most of all his leadership qualities in those final few minutes when Dublin got on top.
Twenty years is a long time for one of the blue-chip counties in the game to go without a league title, and it’s a nice box for Dublin manager Jim Gavin to check ahead of his first championship campaign with a new-look squad. In their last league final appearance, against Cork in 2011, Dublin collapsed badly in the closing stages, so to win a game they might just as easily have lost in such an impressive manner bodes very well for the summer ahead.
While there was much to admire in the way Dublin closed the game out, Gavin will have concerns over his side’s inability to break down Tyrone’s swarm defence for much of the second half, and over the performance of his marquee forwards, as it was left largely to relative newcomers – Paul Mannion and Rock – to dig them out of trouble. Mannion again stood out with a haul of four points, including a couple of spectacular efforts from play. Rock, though, will deservedly get the plaudits for taking the responsibility and delivering so spectacularly when it mattered.
Seán Cavanagh finished with four points for Tyrone, but it was probably telling that their goalkeeper, the rookie Niall Morgan, was their top scorer with a haul of 0-5, all from placed balls, including one from over 50 metres that put Tyrone ahead on the hour mark.
Dublin flew into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead after just 11 minutes, with Brogan and Diarmuid Connolly scoring two each for Jim Gavin’s side and Seán Cavanagh on target with Tyrone’s solitary score in that period.
However, the Red Hands were level when they scored three points in as many minutes. McAliskey  started that little spell, before Matthew Donnelly chipped in and goalkeeper Morgan knocked over the first of two first half frees.
Dublin responded in kind with three in a row, Bryan Cullen and Paddy Andrews adding their names to the scoresheet with a couple of well-worked scores from play as the Dubs moved 0-7 to 0-4 clear in the 21st minute.
Cavanagh and Martin Penrose responded for Tyrone, and that was the pattern of the remainder of the half, Dublin edging ahead but failing to put any daylight between them and the Ulster side. Dublin did have a chance to move clear on the half hour mark, but Jason Whelan, who scored a cracking goal in the semi-final win over Mayo, fired straight at Red Hand goalkeeper Morgan. Mannion clipped the rebound over the bar.
When Mannion hit his second, an effort that master of the tight angles Stephen O’Neill would have been proud of, Dublin led by 0-10 to 0-8, but Tyrone closed the half with scores from Morgan and McAliskey to go in level at the break.
The tempo of the game – as well as the frequency of the scoring – waned in the third quarter. Brogan and Morgan traded frees, while Mark Donnelly pushed Tyrone 0-14 to 0-13 clear in the 50th minute. Dublin upped their intensity, but Mickey Harte’s well-drilled charges matched their effort in defence and they struggled to find a way through, while Cluxton and Brogan both missed chances from frees.
Dublin finally found a chink in the Tyrone back line to level on 58 minutes through Philly McMahon, before Gavin made the decision to take Brogan off, replacing him with Rock. Goalkeepers Cluxton and Morgan then traded frees, before Martin Penrose edged Tyrone 0-16 to 0-15 ahead with four minutes left.
Then Rock stepped forward. Two brilliant points from long-range in a three-minute spell edged Dublin ahead and softened up the Red Hands’ defence for McCaffrey to surge through on goal, forcing Morgan to tip over his fine effort. Cavanagh replied in injury time, but Dublin had done enough to win the game in an enthralling finish.
Tyrone Scorers: S Cavanagh 0-4 (0-1f), C McAliskey 0-3, Matthew Donnelly 0-1, N Morgan 0-5 (0-4f, 0-1 45), M Penrose 0-2 (0-2f), C Gormley 0-1, Mark Donnelly 0-1.
Dublin Scorers: B Brogan 0-5 (0-5f), D Connolly 0-2, B Cullen 0-1, P Andrews 0-1, P Mannion 0-4 (0-1f), P McMahon 0-1, S Cluxton 0-1 (0-1f), D Rock 0-2, J McCaffrey 0-1.
TYRONE: N Morgan; PJ Quinn, C Clarke, C McCarron; C Gormley, D Carlin, Justin McMahon; C Cavanagh, S Cavanagh; Matthew Donnelly, Mark Donnelly, Joe McMahon; M Penrose, C McAliskey, P McNeice. Subs: A Cassidy for Carlin (32), P Kane for Justin McMahon (HT), K Coney for P McNeice (58), R McKenna for C Gormley (66), D McCurry for A Cassidy (71).
DUBLIN: S Cluxton; K O’Brien, J Cooper, D Daly; J McCarthy, G Brennan, J McCaffrey; MD Macauley, C O’Sullivan; P Flynn, D Connolly, B Cullen; P Mannion, P Andrews, B Brogan. Subs: S Carthy for J Whelan (HT), K McManamon for B Cullen (46), D Bastick for C O’Sullivan (48), P McMahon for MD Macauley (53), D Rock for B Brogan (58).
Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)
Attendance: 33,134
from gaa.ie