Allianz Football League: Tyrone beat Kerry 1-15 to 2-9 to boost Division One survival hopes
- Published
Watch: 'He's a magician' - Kerry fans laud Clifford
Tyrone produced their best display of the season to beat All-Ireland champions Kerry by three points and boost their Division One survival bid.
The Red Hands hauled themselves off the bottom of the table with a gutsy win including a superb final quarter with Kerry unable to register a score.
Sean O'Shea and Paul Murphy scored goals for Kerry, whose keeper Shane Ryan gifted Tyrone one back early on.
Tyrone move out of the relegation zone, above Monaghan and Donegal.
Monaghan dropped into the bottom two with a 1-13 to 0-10 defeat by 14-man Galway at Salthill.
Cliffords or Canavans?
David Clifford and Ruairi Canavan shake hands after Tyrone's win over Kerry
As they have done so often before, Tyrone delivered when their backs were to the wall.
And as has happened so often before, the sight of the green and gold Kerry jerseys brought the best out of them.
This was Tyrone's third win in a row over the Kingdom, including back-to-back league wins and the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final.
The home fans might have come fearing Kerry star David Clifford, widely regarded as the greatest gaelic footballer of his generation, but they went home cheering Canavan brothers Darragh and Ruairi.
Darragh and veteran Mattie Donnelly were outstanding for Tyrone, kicking 0-5 from play between them.
And Darragh's younger brother Ruairi Canavan came off the bench to nail two late frees in a gripping finish to the game.
By his own incredible standard, David Clifford had a quiet afternoon in Healy Park only scoring once from play and 0-3 overall, while his brother Paudie was held scoreless.
Tempers flared in a heated final quarter in Omagh where Tyrone came from five points down to beat Kerry
An unlucky bounce of the ball saw Tyrone concede a goal in the first minute to Sean O'Shea, who buried his shot into the roof of the net.
Champions Kerry led by five points, 1-3 to 0-1, until Shane Ryan's goalkeeping blunder, losing the flight of the ball while tackled by Brian Kennedy and somehow allowing the ball to trickle into the net.
Ryan made amends later in the first half with good saves from Darragh Canavan and Conn Kilpatrick, but the Tyrone goal was a huge momentum swinger.
Tom O'Sullivan and Tony Brosnan scored quality points for the visitors but Tyrone were playing with belief now Mattie Donnelly rolling back the years slinging over a couple of inspirational points.
Cormac Quinn and Kilpatrick also scored, with Darren McCurry on target with frees, to bring Tyrone level 1-7 apiece at half time.
Michael McKernan celebrates after a foul on him leads to a crucial Tyrone free
David Mulgrew pout Tyrone ahead for the first time but a well-worked goal by Paul Murphy should have given Kerry a platform to kick on.
Instead, it was Tyrone who responded magnificently to the second major, Joe Oguz with a long-range cracker, and they played with urgency and putting Kerry ball carriers under extreme pressure.
Darragh Canavan's impish score midway through the second half was the pick of the Tyrone points, and the Red Hands never looked back.
Following Kerry's second goal, they out-scored Kerry by seven points to two and Jack O'Connor's side failed to score in the last 15 minutes with Ruairi Canavan converting two frees in injury time to complete a memorable win.
Kerry, Tyrone and Monaghan now all have four points, but Tyrone climb out of the relegation zone above Monaghan thanks to a slightly superior points difference (-7 to Monaghan's -8).
Monaghan beaten by 14-man Galway
Galway seized control in the second half despite having Peter Cooke sent off just before half-time
At Salthill, Monaghan appeared to be in a strong position at half-time as three Rory Beggan frees helped them lead 0-8 to 0-7.
The Ulster side also had a numerical advantage with Galway's Peter Cooke given a straight red card in first-half stoppage time following a clash with Michael Bannigan.
But while Beggan kicked the opening score of the second half to move Monaghan two points clear, Vinny Corey's side failed to capitalise as last year's beaten All-Ireland finalists hit three unanswered scores to move 0-10 to 0-9 ahead.
Beggan's fourth free briefly restored parity but Galway - who welcomed back Shane Walsh for the first time since the All-Ireland final - took control with two well-taken scores from Robert Finnerty.
Even with Conor McManus' introduction in the second half, Monaghan failed to score from play in the second half and kicked eight wides as Galway seized control.
Just after the hour, the Tribesmen decisively dashed the visitors' hopes when Johnny Heaney raised the game's only green flag after Monaghan failed to deal with a high ball to open up a five-point lead.
Galway's second win of the campaign moves them on to six points, while Monaghan remain on four points ahead of a crunch meeting with Tyrone at Clones on 19 March.