DAIRE CREGG’S late point for Roscommon sent Tyrone crashing out of the All-Ireland SFC.
And it was a fully deserved upset win for the Rossies in Omagh as they beat the Red Hand for the first time in Championship football.
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Tyrone trailed 0-9 to 0-3 at half-time with Donie Smith, Diarmuid Murtagh, Conor Cox and Cregg hitting 0-8 from play between them.
But Tyrone made three half-time changes with Peter Harte and Eoin McElholm adding some bite to their attack.
And they closed the gap to within a point of Roscommon with six minutes to go.
Darragh Canavan and Niall Morgan battled hard and showed leadership.
But others failed to step up and their challenge petered out with a whimper.
Roscommon will play either Kerry, Dublin or Armagh in the last eight.
All but one of the Rossies scores came from play with Smith and Murtagh bagging 0-4 each. Cregg and Cox hit 0-3 apiece.
But Roscommon played with intent and purpose and dictated the game on their terms by winning kickouts and many more turnovers.
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Seánie O’Donnell fisted the opening point after five minutes — but that was the only time in which Tyrone led.
Roscommon got the next six scores in a row in the opening quarter with Smith getting three of them from play.
Tyrone stood off their men and gave the visitors plenty of time and space to shoot.
And Roscommon inflicted the punishment that Tyrone deserved.
But Conn Kilpatrick, veteran Harte and All-Ireland Under-20-winning star forward McElholm were all brought on at half-time as Tyrone looked to save their season.
Boss Brian Dooher took off Ruairí Canavan, Ben Cullen and Michael O’Neill for them.
But outside of Darragh Canavan and Niall Morgan, he could have taken anyone off.
And the changes worked to an extent as Tyrone reduced their six-point interval deficit and there was an improvement in their play.
They won more turnovers, rushed Roscommon into mistakes and played with a lot more energy.
But Roscommon won most of their kickouts and every time Tyrone laboured to a score, they were able to reply almost instantly.
While Darragh Canavan produced a couple of moments of magic, too many Tyrone players turned down easy opportunities.
The Rossies fed off Tyrone’s fragility and kept a decent lead with Murtagh and Cregg hitting 0-2 each from play in the second half.
A Brian Kennedy mark and Michael McKernan points were rare highlights for Tyrone who were 0-13 to 0-12 down after 64 minutes.
But there was little urgency as the time ticked away.
And the closest they came to levelling was with a difficult shot from Canavan which tailed wide.
Cregg then landed the insurance point for the Connacht men with two minutes of normal time remaining,
But even with three minutes injury time to play, Tyrone could not respond.
ROSCOMMON: C Carroll; N Higgins, B Stack, R Dolan; D Murray, R Fallon, E McCormack; E Smith, U Harney; D Ruane, D Murtagh 0-4, S Cunnane; D Cregg 0-3, C Cox 0-3, 1f, D Smith 0-4. Subs: R Daly for Ruane 43 mins; C Lennon for McCormack 51; N Daly for Harney 60; C Heneghan for Cox 65; K Doyle for Murtagh 70.
TYRONE: N Morgan; M McKernan 0-1, P Hampsey, N Devlin; B Cullen, N McCarron, M O’Neill; B Kennedy 0-1m, M Donnelly; C Daly, R Canavan, C McShane; D McCurry 0-5, 4f, D Canavan 0-3, 1f, S O’Donnell 0-1. Subs: E McElholm 0-1 for R Canavan h-t; C Kilpatrick for O’Neill h-t; P Harte for Cullen h-t; K McGeary for Daly 59 mins; S O’Hare for McShane 65.
REFEREE: D Coldrick (Meath).
