Ulster SFC/ Tyrone 0-13 Fermanagh 1-9:At half-time we were saying the highlight so far was the tea and biscuits downstairs and then from nowhere came this wild, hysterical climax.
The Ulster championship still carries a general health warning - may contain traces of football - and yet for excitement and tension it's often hard to beat.
There will be better games this summer but few so finely decided. Just as those of us in the press box were agreeing a draw was a fair result, up stepped Ger Cavlan for an injury-time free. Forty metres out and into a difficult breeze he thumped it straight over the bar to provide Tyrone with an uncomfortable victory and Fermanagh an agonising defeat.
Of course, Tyrone are no strangers to hard-fought wins like this and yet they needed to dig deep into their reserves. Just like the property market, the Tyrone phenomenon has clearly levelled off and, depending on who you believe, they're heading for a soft landing or a crash. This performance contributes a little to both theories and the real test will surely come in the semi-final against Donegal or Armagh.
Starting with only six players from their 2005 All-Ireland winning line-up (cursed injuries, alas) they were stop-start throughout. In fact the few stages they were at their best - late in the first half and midway in the second - ultimately secured the win, and if Fermanagh had been any more consistent themselves they could easily have won it.
The sides were level on five occasions, which certainly kept the 12,561 attendance on the edge, and seemed destined to end that way. Tyrone's best period, between the 50th and 60th minutes, saw them pull three points clear, thanks to two scores from debutant Niall Gormley. Fermanagh seemed cooked and yet levelled again with frees from Ciarán O'Reilly and Tom Brewster, as they too found their best when they needed it.
So, with five minutes remaining, the desire of both teams burned fast and furious - and there was no predicting which was stronger. Tyrone stole the advantage again with a Gormley free, but that only lasted two minutes until Brewster calmly converted a free at the other end. Now into injury-time it was clear the next scoring chance could win it.
After Ciarán McElroy's clumsy tackle on Gormley that chance fell to Tyrone, and Cavlan duly took it. They'd hit 13 wides up to that point so it was far from a given score, and Cavlan's steady nerve was as important as his steady boot.
It was a cruel defeat for Fermanagh, who, they'll no doubt remember, started their 2004 campaign with defeat to Tyrone, before charging through the back door as far as the All-Ireland semi-final. No one would write them off doing likewise this year and yet in reality they lacked the consistency and fire-power here to have pulled off a victory.
They certainly had the dream start when midfielder Mark Murphy finished off a sweet run of passes from Brewster and Martin McGrath, who had moved to full forward, to fire the ball into the top left of Tyrone's goal. That shook Tyrone, and they were still three points down after 15 minutes when Ciarán O'Reilly and Mark Little left it 1-2 to 0-2 in Tyrone's favour.
Tyrone's scoring, it seemed, was reliant on debutant Tommy McGuigan - younger brother of Brian - while the likes of Colm Cavanagh and his brother Seán were worryingly slow to start. If Fermanagh had maintained their dominance for much longer who knows how Tyrone would have reacted but instead they drifted right out of the game - failing to score for the rest of the injury-extended half.
In contrast, Tyrone opened up the game with sudden intent and run-through-the-middle scores from Ryan Mellon and Seán Cavanagh, who was soon looking the highly dangerous player of old. Another score for McGuigan and a first for Gormley gave Tyrone a one-point advantage, 0-6 to 1-2, just on the call for half-time.
At that stage they lost Colm Cavanagh to a neck injury, prompting Ger Cavlan's introduction. The ongoing absence of Stephen O'Neill and Brian McGuigan became more evident as the game progressed, because at no stage did it feel like Tyrone were the sort of team that could just bury their opponents, even in full flight.
Defensively they were often misaligned too, with Philip Jordan's late call-up for Justin McMahon possibly unsettling things. Mark Little and Eamon Maguire caused plenty of problems when ball came into them and with a few more target men around them Fermanagh would surely have scored more.
At midfield Tyrone also seemed over-reliant on Cavanagh, although he will clearly improve after what was his first game in two months. Brian Dooher worked tirelessly and Ryan McMenamin was his usual nuisance, before being substituted after an early booking.
There is still plenty of life in this Tyrone team and yet they'll be glad too of the four-week break before the semi-final - assuming their injuries don't mount further in the meantime.
TYRONE: 1 J Devine; 2 R McMenamin, 3 C McGinley, 4 D Carlin; 5 D Harte (0-1), 6 C Gormley, 23 P Jordan; 8 K Hughes (0-1), 9 S Cavanagh (0-1); 10 B Dooher, 11 T McGuigan (0-3), 12 R Mellon (0-1); 13 N Gormley (0-4, one free), 14 C Cavanagh, 15 C McCullagh. Subs: 18 G Cavlan (0-2, frees)for C Cavanagh (33 mins, inj); 26 D McCaul for McMenamin (35 +7 mins); 28 O Mulligan for McCullagh (55 mins); E McGinley for Mellon (67 mins).
FERMANAGH: 1 C Breen; 2 S Goan, 6 S McDermott, 4 N Bogue; 5 S Lyons, 3 B Owens, 7 T McElroy; 11 T Brewster (0-2, frees), 9 M Murphy (1-1); 10 M Little (0-1), 14 C O'Reilly (0-5, four frees, one 45), 12 E Maguire; 15 C Bradley, 8 M McGrath, 13 C McElroy. Subs: 22 S Doherty for Bradley (53 mins).
Referee: M Duffy(Sligo)
