All Brian Dooher wanted was for his players to leave everything out on the field and they certainly emptied the tank for the jersey.
The Tyrone manager admitted the intensity of the game, and the extra time on top of the 90 minutes against Cavan seven days earlier, “tests everything, mentally and physically”.
“I can’t speak higher of them or ask any more of them.
“They probably just ran out of juice a wee bit – but it’s no shame after the two weeks they had.
“The bodies were a bit sore and it was just a bit too much in the end up.”
While Donegal were recalling established names like Patrick McBrearty, Jamie Brennan and Daire O Baoill off the bench, Tyrone were bringing on young players like Aidan Clarke, Ben Cullen and Aodhan Donaghy into the white heat of battle.
It was some learning curve but Dooher was heartened by what he saw.
“Maybe we hadn’t that wee bit of energy or wee bit of zip to create the scoring opportunities but I can’t fault the boys because they gave everything and will benefit so much from that experience.
“You know what? If I get that every day I can’t ask for more. That’s all we expect, it’s all we want, and I’d say Tyrone supporters are the same.”
