Dublin's Omagh win over Tyrone: 2018 All-Ireland Championship Super 8s
Thursday 23 April 2020 16:43, UK
As we continue our classic games series, we look back at Dublin's trip to Tyrone in the 2018 All-Ireland Championship 'Super 8s'.
The background
Dublin headed north on a sunny July Saturday for perhaps their toughest championship assignment outside Croke Park since 2001.
The home-and-away element of the Super 8s was undoubtedly one of the most intriguing aspects of the new format for supporters, as the men from the capital were set to be pulled away from Jones' Road and into the back yard of one of the country's top sides.
For Tyrone, it was all about revenge - and what better place to exact it than Omagh? The previous summer, the Dubs had hammered a fancied Red Hands outfit in the All-Ireland semi-final, dismantling the Ulster side's defensive set-up.
With the pitch narrowed, the Ulster side were looking to make a statement and inflict Dublin's first championship defeat in four years.
The match: Tyrone 0-14 Dublin 1-14
In the tight confines of Healy Park, the reigning All-Ireland champions struggled to create space.
Indeed, neither side could get their noses in front in the opening half, with Dublin taking a 0-7 to 0-5 lead into the break.
The sides traded points after half-time, before James McCarthy eventually found a real breakthrough. The Ballymun star made a rampaging run through the heart of the home side's defence and bundled it into the net after Niall Morgan saved his initial shot.
From there, the Sky Blues looked to see out the result and were seemingly on course to do so. However, Tyrone threatened a late comeback with three consecutive points.
With two minutes still to play in injury-time, Ronan O'Neill had an opportunity from a free to bring it back to just one. However, the substitute was unable to raise a white flag, and Paul Flynn added on an insurance point and Dublin booked their place in the last four.
What they said...
"Tonight was all about coming up to Omagh and getting the result," said Jim Gavin at full-time.
"Will that performance be good enough going forward? I'm not too sure.
"[Tyrone] were always going to come back in the last quarter, but I thought we showed really good control just to see the game out."
"Obviously we're disappointed that we didn't get anything out of the game," lamented Mickey Harte.
"We were in it very much in the first half. The goal probably knocked us back a bit, and they took a bit of control for a while. But I think there was a lot of resilience in our side to come back from what could have been a bigger beating. They didn't give up."
What happened next?
The win ensured Dublin's passage through to the All-Ireland semi-final, where they overcame Connacht champions Galway.
Meanwhile, Tyrone travelled to Ballybofey for a winner-takes-all clash with Donegal in the final round of the Super 8s. Mickey Harte's charges came through, to set up a final four clash with neighbours Monaghan.
Dublin and Tyrone met once again in the All-Ireland final, as Jim Gavin's side secured a record-equalling fourth consecutive Sam Maguire triumph.
