Tyrone's three first half goals made all the difference in their Ulster SFC quarter-final win over Derry, according to Mickey Harte.

Ronan O'Neill found the net twice in the opening 20 minutes, but the manager felt Peter Harte's major in first half injury-time was the killer blow.

 "It's good to have that kind of control by half-time - take the goals out of it and it was a tight game," the three-time All-Ireland winning manager said in the Belfast Telegraph.

"When we had two goals I was happy, but then they got a point just coming up towards the end of the half and the fact we got our third goal was a real killer for them and a saviour for us.

"That meant it was a damage limitation exercise in the second half, all we had to take was take them point for point and all would be well. Without that third goal it would have been more tense than that, but that really sealed the deal for us."

Harte added: "It was all about a result today - it's a long time since we won a first round in the Ulster championship; that was something we had to get off our backs and that was something the players did by half-time.

"They weren't saying 'This game's won', they were saying 'We're in a very strong position and if we hold our heads, and if we match them score for score, then we'll win the game.'"

The Red Hands boss was pleased with the performances of rising stars Niall Sludden, Padraig Hampsey, Kieran McGeary and Jonathan Munroe, the latter three having seen action from the bench.

"People talk about this all the time - it's no longer a 15-man game, there's too much energy, too much intensity required for everybody to last 70 minutes at that pace. So you need people coming off the bench who are ready and willing to make a change, a difference.

"It doesn't always work, but it's great when you see people coming in, getting a grip of the game, getting some game-time. That's valuable for them for the future. You can't replicate that anywhere else - you gotta be in the championship to experience the championship."

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