Jim McGuinness says Tyrone adapted a "calculated" approach to take Michael Murphy out of Sunday's game.

Justin McMahon never gave the Donegal talisman a second's peace during the Ulster SFC preliminary-round set-to at Ballybofey and McGuinness says this was clearly a pre-planned tactic:

"Looking to take Michael Murphy out of the game was obviously a key part of the Tyrone game plan. It was clear that Justin McMahon was there to do a very specific job and he ignored what was going on within the game to give his full attention to Michael," the former Donegal manager writes in The Irish Times.

"This can be very psychologically intimidating. But it didn't surprise me. A lot of it was borderline, and the boundaries between foul and no-foul became blurred. It was very calculated from Tyrone. I felt Michael was exceptional in his ability to retain his discipline and showed his class in the face of the psychological challenge presented to hit 0-3 late in the match.

"Ironically, the loudest cheer of the day came when Justin McMahon was yellow carded. For me, that just shows how important Michael Murphy is in the minds of Donegal supporters - and that they felt he possibly could have been given more protection by the officials."

Tweet

Most Read Stories