Tyrone boss Malachy O’Rourke praised the attitude of his players in their 0-23 to 0-16 All-Ireland quarter-final win against Dublin.
In a tight and tense affair, the Red Hands’ substitutes made the difference with the likes of Ruairi Canavan and Eoin McElholm scoring late to help them pull away from the Dubs.
And O’Rourke was pleased that his side kept going until the end as they booked their place in a first All-Ireland semi-final since 2021 and secured a first championship win over Dublin since 2008.
“Delighted for them all to get over the line and get through. It wasn’t a brilliant game to watch, but you have to acknowledge you’re up against a quality opposition and you’re not going to have it all your own way,” he told BBC Sport NI.
“I’m delighted with the way the boys dug, defended really well and scored some good scores.”
O’Rourke said the conditions made the game even harder but that he was happy with the contributions of the whole squad, particularly in the second half.
“In the first half we were a bit disappointed with how we played and the two- pointers kept us in it and we went in a point ahead.
“We felt there was more in us, we gave the ball away cheaply with unforced errors and Dublin putting us under pressure. We wanted to turn the table second half and play with more urgency and more pressure on them, and we achieved that fairly well, “he added.
“It was tit for tat, we made a few wrong choices, and our execution shots weren’t as good as what they could have been, but the boys kept going as we knew they would, they were hungry to win the game and we finished really strongly.”