Dublin 3-10
Tyrone 1-15

Diarmuid Connolly scored an injury-time winner at Omagh to earn 14-man Dublin an Allianz League semi-final date with Cork.

The hero of St. Vincent's All-Ireland club final victory last month showed his star quality once again by kicking a glorious winning point after Tyrone had battled back from a nine-point deficit to level. A blistering start, which saw James McCarthy, Jason Whelan and Michael Darragh Macauley raise green flags inside the opening quarter, had propelled the Dubs into a seemingly unassailable 3-3 to 0-3 lead, but the Red Hands narrowed the gap to 0-7 to 3-4 at the break and continued their comeback in a tense second half.

However, Connolly had the final say to keep the All-Ireland champions on course for back-to-back league titles.

Dublin caught the home side cold with two goals inside the opening 80 seconds. Wing back McCarthy got the first straight from the throw-in, his well-placed shot hitting the underside of the crossbar and bouncing across the line. Before Tyrone could recover, they were carved open again as Michael Darragh Macauley supplied the final pass for late call-up Jason Whelan, who slide the ball under the advancing Niall Morgan and into the net.

A Diarmuid Connolly free had Dublin seven points ahead, 2-1 to 0-0, with just four minutes gone. Darren McCurry finally got the hosts off the mark from a free in the seventh minute before adding another point. But there was no respite for Mickey Harte's shell-shocked side as Kevin McManamon tagged on another point before Footballer of the Year Macauley cracked home their third major to leave the Dubs perched on a nine-point lead after 16 minutes.

The tempo dropped in the second quarter when Tyrone's hopes of mounting a comeback were undermined by poor shooting. Connolly and McCurry (free) exchanged points before a Niall Morgan '45' and another McCurry free left the home side trailing by six points at the break.

Ronan O'Neill replaced the injured Kyle Coney as the Red Hands faced into the strong breeze for the second half. Connolly got the first score from a free to extend the All-Ireland champions' lead, but the home side then enjoyed a great spell which yielded five unanswered points from Sean Cavanagh, Morgan (two frees), McCurry and Mark Donnelly.

Indeed, they would have led had Mattie Donnellynot blazed a goal chance wide in the 39th minute.

Alan Brogan steadied Dublin with a point before going off and they looked to have ended the Ulster side's revival when further scores from Philly McMahon and Jason Whelan made it 3-8 to 0-12.

But the Red Hands refused to lie down and were back to within two points when Peter Harte slotted home a 60th minute penalty after Dublin 'keeper Sean Currie had taken down Shea McGuigan.

The pressure increased on Dublin four minutes later when full back Rory O'Carroll was sent off on a second yellow card for a high tackle on Mark Donnelly, and substitute Ronan O'Neill converted from the resultant free.

Connolly restored Dublin's two-point advantage from a free, only for O'Neill to leave the minimum in it again from a free. Tyrone supporters were on their feet again in the 70th minute when Mattie Donnelly came up from centre back to kick a superb equalising point.

However, Connolly scored a brilliant late winner as Sean Cavanagh missed a late chance to salvage a draw for the hosts.

Dublin - S Currie; J Cooper, R O'Carroll, P McMahon (0-1); J McCarthy (1-0), K Nolan, J McCaffrey; MD Macauley (1-0), T Brady; J Whelan (1-1), D Connolly (0-5, 3f), B Cullen (0-1); A Brogan (0-1), E O'Gara, K McManamon (0-1). Subs: P Andrews for B Cullen, D Byrne for T Brady, N Devereux for J McCaffrey, C Costello for B Brogan.

Tyrone - N Morgan (0-3, 1'45, 2f); A McCrory, R McNamee, R McKenna; C McGinley, Mattie Donnelly (0-1), P Harte (1-1, 1-0pen); C Cavanagh, S Cavanagh (0-1); E McKenna, S McGuigan, Mark Donnelly (0-1); D McCurry (0-6, 4f), K Coney, C McAliskey. Subs: D McBride for R McNamee (BC), M Penrose for E McKenna, R O'Neill (0-2f) for K Coney, C Gormley for C McGinley, D Carlin for C McAliskey, N McKenna for S McGuigan.

Referee - Marty Duffy. Tweet

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