GAA: ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION TWO: Tyrone 0-13 Kildare 0-5TYRONE'S REVIVAL gathered pace in Dungannon where they made it four wins on the spin to step up their challenge for promotion.

Brian Dooher’s return for a 16th season provided extra cheer for Red Hand fans at O’Neill Park, when he came on as a 58th minute substitute for his first appearance of the year.

Philip Jordan, Tyorne’s only current All Star, also made his season’s bow as a second-half sub to add further to Mickey Harte’s playing resources.

And with Brian McGuigan back in top form, momentum is very much with the Ulstermen as they prepare for a concluding Division Two tie against Meath next weekend, which would see them make a swift return to the top flight.

Kildare’s season appears to have imploded after an impressive early phase, and yesterday’s defeat has almost certainly condemned them to another season in Division Two.

The game had been switched from Healy Park to Dungannon due to Saturday’s bomb blast in Omagh which claimed the life of PSNI officer Ronan Kerr, a former playing member of Beragh Red Knights GFC in Tyrone.

A minutes silence was observed in his memory prior to the start of the game.

Tyrone, with a gusting wind in their backs, made a lively start, easing ahead with two Martin Penrose frees and a McGuigan point.

Kildare struggled to get any fluency into their game, and virtually every effort they made to work scoring opportunities was thwarted by Joe McMahon, Martin Swift and Conor Gormley, with Seán Cavanagh and Owen Mulligan willing helpers in the defensive effort. Johnny Doyle got their first score from a 15th minute free, but that was cancelled out by Colm Cavanagh’s long-range effort.

With wing-backs Gary White and Emmet Bolton pushing forward, Kildare began to display an attacking edge, and it was the pair who set up the opportunities which Doyle and Ronan Sweeney converted to leave just a point between the sides.

But Tyrone stepped up the tempo in the final 10 minutes of the half, hitting five points without reply to take command.

McGuigan was the creative maestro and displayed his finishing qualities with a second point, while Penrose hit three, one a tidy effort from play after he slipped his marker on the left and another, a magnificent free that curled between the posts from close to the sideline.

And when midfielder Kevin Hughes thumped over a long-range effort, the Ulstermen took a comfortable 0-9 to 0-3 advantage into the interval.

The expected backlash from the green-clad Lilywhites never materialised. They now had wind advantage, but failed to test Tyrone’s resistance. Having failed to score in the final quarter of an hour in the first half, they went a further 33 minutes without raising a flag in the second.

In the meantime, Tyrone tightened their grip on the contest, playing a controlled, no-frills brand of football that completely frustrated their opponents, who picked up a rash of bookings.

Mark Donnelly, a late pre-match replacement for Stephen O’Neill, was able to find space to slot over three points from play, profiting from surging runs from Seán Cavanagh and the visionary brilliance of McGuigan.

And there was a massive cheer when double All-Ireland winning skipper Dooher, who has also been named as captain for this season, made his entrance with 12 minutes to play.

Kildare did post a couple of consolation scores late on, both from placed balls from Doyle, who had earlier missed a straightforward effort to illustrate the misery of the day that was in it for Kieran McGeeney’s side.

TYRONE: P McConnell, M Swift, J McMahon, D McCaul, D Harte, C Gormley, R McMenamin, K Hughes (0-1), A Cassidy, C Cavanagh (0-1), B McGuigan (0-2), S Cavanagh (0-1, free), M Penrose (0-5, 0-4 frees), M Donnelly (0-3), O Mulligan. Subs: P Jordan for McCaul, B Dooher for C Cavanagh, S O'Neill for McMenamin.

KILDARE: S Connolly, H McGrillen, M Foley, A McLaughlin, G White, M O'Flaherty, E Bolton, H Lynch, J Kavanagh, R Sweeney (0-1), E O'Flaherty, F Dowling, J Doyle (0-4, 0-3 frees), D Flynn, R Kelly. Subs: P O'Neill for Dowling, O Lyons for McLaughlin, B Flanagan for Kavanagh, M O'Sullivan for E O'Flaherty, E Callaghan for Flynn.

Referee: D Coldrick (Meath).