It is always worth watching Mickey Harte on the sideline. While other managers go in for big physical gestures not seen since Larry Olivier was storming it up at the Old Vic, the Tyrone man simply watches the game.

He puts on his spectacles and works the game out as though it is a puzzle. He had one significant move to make early in Clones, quietly and ruthlessly calling Cormac McGinley home from his full-back position, detailing Conor Gormley to pick up Brendan Devenney and sending Ryan McMenamin into centre back. For the first 10 minutes, the Donegal forwards looked like they were going to have some fun. After those switches, they did not get a sniff and Harte could stand back and enjoy the performance for the next hour. And afterwards, he was pleased and measured but nothing more.

"Look, nobody would have predicted that coming up here today, not us, not Donegal, not the media," he said affably.

"I wasn't surprised by how the game went because Donegal have had a long season already. They put a lot of effort into it. The more you win, the closer you are to getting beaten. And they will have learned a lot from this defeat."

When Harte called Brian Dooher home, it was so the veteran could receive the applause of the Tyrone fans. At the line, Dooher shook his fist and gave Harte a delighted grin. "I think it has to be one of his best days," smiled Harte. "He took the hits, he took the shoulders and people say he can't finish but I think I saw him take four or five good ones out there. As the game evolved, Tyrone played some high-class stuff.

"But we can't get carried away with one game, nobody was calling us fantastic coming up here and we are no world beaters now."

They fairly bruised Brian McIver's world, though. "Tyrone were excellent and we just never turned up. It was as simple as that. There was no intensity, no performance there.

"We allowed for the intensity of the Armagh game and had talked about Tyrone's mobility and their speed and their use of the ball. But we couldn't match them out there. The penalty against us seemed a bit harsh but I didn't really see it. And when you look at the scoreboard there is no point moaning about decisions or whatever."

For such an abrasive defender on the field, McMenamin could not be more mellow once the final whistle goes and in soft tones he gave his opinion.

"I think we played well and Donegal had an off-day. But we needed a game like that. We took a bit of slamming after the Fermanagh game and Mickey Harte brought in a couple of younger fellas. And we put in three weeks really good work on the training field. We began to enjoy ourselves. We worked on Donegal's strengths and weaknesses, mainly their weaknesses, and tried one or two things out. I know that Martin McHugh in Donegal was talking about bringing (Peter) Canavan back. Well, maybe we will get a wee signed picture sent up to him."

And it is true that until Tyrone win an All-Ireland without their greatest player, they will leave themselves open to that criticism. "Peter was a great player and everyone knows that. But as Mickey Harte always tells us, that time has come and gone. Those of us there now know we won't be playing in the Tyrone jersey forever and maybe there were a few days when a few of us didn't show the jersey the respect it deserved. And I think we wanted to do that today," said McMenamin.

Honour restored.