Ulster SFC First round/Derry 1-8 Tyrone 0-5: Even with all the warning lights flashing, this was one of the most spectacular championship ambushes in years. Derry didn't just beat the All-Ireland title holders, they beat them off the field - limiting them to an embarrassing 0-5 in front of their home crowd.
On one hand, it was a remarkable display of Derry's enduring potential to impress, on the other, a very worrying afternoon for Tyrone.
They were missing two key players in Stephen O'Neill and Brian McGuigan - to add to Peter Canavan's retirement - and they didn't even come close to repeating any of the fiery or dazzling football of last summer.
It certainly wasn't pretty, and if anything it was a more spectacular collapse than a spectacular ambush.
All but one of Tyrone's starting 15 yesterday have an All-Ireland medal, and yet they were visibly short of leaders when they were most needed. In the end they walked off the field with the dazed look of a team totally uncertain about their future.
Derry, of course, had been building for this one for a while, enjoying an excellent start to their national league, and still feeling they had the better of Tyrone in 2003, when they lost.
Yesterday they finally got big performances from all their key players, from full back Kevin McCloy to midfielder Johnny McBride, and especially forwards Enda Muldoon and Paddy and Eoin Bradley.
They were helped by having an extra man for over two-thirds of the game after Tyrone lost full forward Kevin Hughes on 17 minutes, but that in no way accounts for all the differences on the day.
Derry lorded midfield, they converted the majority of their chances, they blocked, tackled and fought harder than Tyrone, and were truly deserving of their six-point win. It could easily have been more.
It was a game that also created some shocking statistics by Tyrone's usually high standards. It was 15 minutes into the game before the Derry goalkeeper Barry Gillis even touched the ball.
They scored only twice from play - a point from defender Davy Harte and a score from substitute Joe McMahon. But worst of all they had to wait until three minutes into the second half before securing their first score, a point from McMahon.
Tyrone did create some chances in the opening quarter, but their finishing was dismal. Owen Mulligan was guilty of some wayward shooting, as was captain Brian Dooher, and it didn't take long before Derry started to sense the home side's discomfort - and relish it.
With Joe Diver proving a great addition to midfield, having earned his new-found reputation with Bellaghy, Derry were holding down possession with relative ease. With Muldoon and Mark Lynch both playing deep, the foundation for victory was built from the half-back line upwards. Liam Hinphey and Joe O'Kane were two of their four debutants, and showed remarkable composure against Tyrone's greater experience.
Seán Cavanagh was unnervingly slow to get into the game, and didn't last it either after a tackle on Diver saw him stretchered off 10 minutes from time. Tyrone's problems were manifest when they went down 0-4 after 11 minutes, with Paddy Bradley the first to settle Derry nerves. Two frees from Muldoon followed and a point for Eoin Bradley, and suddenly Derry were well on their way.
The tackling and off-the-ball hustling had all the trademarks of Ulster football and Hughes was the first to pay for that when shown a straight red card for an apparent thumping of Hinphey.
Tyrone's problems were going from bad to worse and they would never recover.
The first half concluded with Derry underlining their authority with relative ease. Mulligan and Dooher had both seen hard-worked movements finish with shots wide of the posts, while Derry sauntered down the field and scored through O'Kane.
They went in 0-6 to no score in front, knowing only a self-induced collapse would cost them the win.
Tyrone manager Mickey Harte wasn't slow to make running repairs, and both McMahon and Martin Penrose came out for the second half. Colin Holmes had picked up an ankle injury before the break, but McMahon's arrival seemed to improve Tyrone's midfield, aided by a better show from Peter Donnelly.
While a Paddy Bradley free sent Tyrone further behind, the All-Ireland champions enjoyed their best period over the next 10 minutes. McMahon's score was quickly followed by one from Harte, and then Mulligan finally got his first goal chance - only to blast it wide.
Tyrone seemed to be playing with reckless abandon now and it briefly suggested a comeback could be on the cards. But that was killed off when Derry produced the move of the match on 48 minutes.
Paddy Bradley won the ball right of the Tyrone goalmouth, and skimmed around Ryan McMenamin. He centred the ball to Barry McGoldrick, who spotted Muldoon to the left of the goal. After another finely-delivered pass Muldoon was only too glad to finish the ball to the net. Derry were now up 1-7 to 0-2, and it was game over for Tyrone.
At no stage over the final quarter could Tyrone raise their game enough to even suggest a late rally. Paddy Bradley scored another easy point to emphasise Derry strengths on the day, and Mulligan's second, late free emphasised Tyrone's weakness.
If that was the best he could do on the day it was obvious they didn't deserve to win.
DERRY: 1 B Gillis; 2 K McGuckin, 3 K McCloy, 4 F McEldowney; 5 L Hinphey, 6 P McFlynn, 7 J O'Kane (0-1); 8 J McBride, 9 D Diver; 10 M Lynch, 11 B McGoldrick, 12 F Doherty; 13 E Muldoon (1-3, three frees), 14 P Bradley (0-3, one free), 15 E Bradley (0-1). Subs: 23 G Donaghy for McEldowney (43 mins); 20 F Crossan for O'Kane (56 mins); 27 D McIlvar for Diver (68 mins).
TYRONE: 1 P McConnell; 3 C McGinley, 2 R McMenamin, 4 C Gourley; 5 D Harte (0-1), 6 C Gormley, 7 P Jordan; 8 C Holmes, 9 P Donnelly (0-1, '45); 10 B Dooher, 11 S Cavanagh, 12 R Mulgrew; 13 R Mellon, 14 K Hughes, 15 O Mulligan (0-2, frees). Subs: 28 M Penrose for Mulgrew, 25 J McMahon (0-1) for Holmes (both half time); 24 E McGinley for Mellon, 19 D Carlin for Gourley (both 52 mins); 26 B Meenan for Cavanagh (65 mins, inj).
Referee: D McGoldrick (Meath).
