Mattie knows Tyrone have to step it up

TYRONE'S visits to Croke Park have been few and far between since lifting Sam Maguire back in 2021 and Mattie Donnelly was relieved just to get over the line against Dublin last Saturday.

- BY PADDY TIERNEY

Prior to beating the Dubs by seven points, the Red Hands had only reached the quarter-finals once in the previous three seasons and were well beaten by Kerry in 2023.

They lost out to Armagh in the Qualifiers in 2022 and their season was ended by Roscommon in the preliminary quarter-finals in their own backyard last year.

Tyrone pulled clear of Dublin to set up a semi-final showdown with Kerry and Donnelly was happy to get a result while acknowledging they will need to improve in a fortnight's time.