Tyrone set up Ulster semi with Armagh after Cavan win

Tyrone are through to an Ulster semi-final showdown with All-Ireland champions Armagh after beating Cavan by 1-24 to 0-20 in Sunday's first round clash in Omagh.

The Red Hands suffered a double pre-match blow when Darragh Canavan and Mattie Donnelly were withdrawn from the team through injury.

However they crushed Cavan's hopes fairly early on with a strong breeze behind them and they led 0-14 to 0-4 at half time.

Tyrone were clinical in the first half with Cavan struggling to win their own kickouts or create enough scoring opportunities.

In front of an attendance of 6,791 Tyrone had 13 different scorers yet they were unconvincing at times in the second half as Cavan's scoring efficiency improved and the visitors nailed five two-pointers after the break.

Cavan outscored Tyrone by 0-10 to 0-3 in a ten-minute period midway through the second half but a Conn Kilpatrick goal after 62 minutes settled matters, ensuring Tyrone take on arch rivals Armagh in two weeks time.

Tyrone defenders try to smother Cavan possession during Sunday's Ulster Championship clash in Omagh

It took extra time to separate these teams in last year's provincial series and after Tyrone's relegation from Division One just a few weeks ago, allied to Cavan's decent showing in Division Two, it felt like this game was finely poised.

With Cavan missing star players like Paddy Lynch and James Smith, and Tyrone robbed of Darragh Canavan because of a hamstring injury, there were many unanswered questions.

Yet Tyrone set to work quickly and were 0-6 to 0-2 ahead after the final quarter. What felt like a solid lead grew further with Darren McCurry, Kieran McGeary and Cathal McShane each scoring 0-2 from play in the first half.

After a difficult league campaign for McCurry, this was further proof - after an impressive final round performance against Dublin, that 'the Dazzler' is back to his best and he contributed a seven-point haul.

Similarly McGeary - who was the GAA's Player of the Year in 2021 - also signalled a long overdue return to form with a man-of-the-match display.

With Tyrone dictating terms on Cavan's kickouts, Brian Kennedy was helping ensure Tyrone had a steady supply of ball and they were slick on the turnovers and shot selection.

One of the new players in the side, Aodhan Donaghy, carried a lot of ball when Tyrone were counter-attacking and it all looked rosy in the Tyrone camp at half time.

Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke delivers a few final instructions to senior players Peter Harte and Mattie Donnelly prior to the Ulster Championship win over Cavan

Cavan boss Raymond Galligan may have told his team to go for broke with the wind in their favour in the second half.

They managed five two-pointers, three of them from the impressive Dara McVeety who top-scored on the day with 0-8.

The overworked orange flag signalling another two-point score breathed new life into a contest that seemed over at half time and the modest-sized home support began to feel a little uneasy.

Cavan subs Ryan Donohoe and Ryan O'Neill provided the supporting cast with Oisin Kiernan landing a two-pointer and Niall Morgan having to stay vigilant in a dangerous moment for Tyrone.

Could Cavan prey on Tyrone's weaknesses and fragile confidence and set up a grandstand finish or would Tyrone shut the door?

Despite Cavan outscoring Tyrone 0-10 to 0-3 in their best spell of the game to go from 0-20 to 0-7 down to 0-23 to 0-17 behind with 12 minutes to go, we got the answer soon enough.

Tyrone midfielder Conn Kilpatrick attacked with purpose through the middle, ignored an easy point option and drilled the ball low into the net for the game's only goal after 62 minutes.

Of the starting Tyrone team only Aidan Clarke and Rory Brennan failed to score while Cavan were heavily dependant on the individual talent of players like McVeety and Kiernan and Madden.

It was a decent first championship showing from Tyrone, but the challenge is about to get a whole lot steeper.

Darragh Canavan is forced to watch on as Tyrone try to beat Cavan without him in Sunday's Ulster Championship clash in Healy Park

Tyrone: N Morgan (0-1 a '45'); A Clarke, P Teague (0-1), N Devlin (0-1); M McKernan (0-1), R Brennan, K McGeary (0-3); B Kennedy (0-1), C Kilpatrick (1-0); A Donaghy (0-1), P Harte (0-1), C Daly (0-1); D McCurry (0-7, 2f), C McShane (0-2), R Canavan (0-4, 4f).

Subs: S O'Donnell for Harte (49), J Oguz for Donaghy (49), M Donnelly for McShane for (58), E McElholm for Kennedy (64).

Cavan: G O'Rourke; C Reilly, B O'Connell, J McLoughlin; P Faulkner, C Brady, N Carolan; K Clarke, G Smith; G McKiernan, O Kiernan (0-3, 1 tp), D McVeety (0-8, 2tp, 1 tpf); B Donnelly, C Madden (0-3, 1tp), S McEvoy (0-4, 3f).

Subs: R Donoghue (0-1) for McKiernan (HT), R O'Neill (0-1) for Donnelly (45), TE Donohoe for Madden (49), K Brady for Clarke (49), P Devine for Faulkner (64)

Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan).