A GREAT mismatch from the start, almost to the point of being unfair. Fermanagh's midweek selection problems were compounded from the start of this Ulster senior football championship quarter final in Omagh yesterday.
Fears of facing the individual and combined skills of Tyrone came home to roost from the moment the peerless Peter Canavan took up where he left off last year and started to mastermind the Ulster champions' attack.
While Fermanagh were haunted throughout by the attacking wizardry of Canavan they could not free themselves of a lack of belief in their own ability to put up a worthy challenge.
It was very reassuring for the Tyrone supporters in the 15,000 crowd, who were anxious to see that their side had put the memory of last September behind them in this, their first championship outing since then.
They put passing movements together with such smoothness and confidence that sometimes they seemed to have a numerical edge as well. There was no difficulty in agreeing with Ciaran McBride, their deadly corner forward, who said: "The difference between last year and now is we were boys last year this year we're men.
Fermanagh's shortcomings were so clearly defined. They particularly missed the influence of their top men, Mark Gallagher, Paddy McGuinness and Colm McCreesh. Liam McBarron and Colm Courtney - and later Simon Bradley after switching with McBarron - were outfielded around the middle by the hard working Jody Gormley and Pascal Canavan.
Gormley put three points on the scoreboard to boot and with the crowd moving towards the exits, he fully deserved a rest in the last quarter when he was replaced by Adrian Kilpatrick.
Fermanagh were less alert to the breaking ball and must have longed for a half back of the quality of Tyrone's Sean McLaughlin, whose sense of positioning and ability to move forward for scores had to be admired.
Fermanagh goalkeeper Cormac McAdam may not escape criticism for Tyrone's goat, which was credited to Peter Canavan just on the stroke of first half injury time, but he later made amends by saving well from Adrian Cush and Brian Dooher.
If Tyrone joint managers Art MacRory or Eugene McKenna have any harsh words to say to their charges tomorrow night at training it could concern a tendency for their side to throw away easy scoring chances.
McLaughlin, at the end of a brilliant Peter Canavan through ball in the closing stages, could be forgiven for a lack of concentration at that particular stage, but squandered opportunities early on when the object of the exercise was to demoralise Fermanagh were not quite forgivable.
Tyrone had It wides in the first half after they opted to play with the strong breeze. They had 14 wides in all against six for the losers.
It was most fitting for Peter Canavan to be involved when Tyrone polished off a well-worked move with a point. That was in the 15th minute - McLaughlin to Gerard Cavlan to Canavan for a 0-4 to 0-1 lead. Fermanagh should have been fairly beaten out of sight even at this stage.
The first real indication that it was going to be a rout came in the 35th minute when a cross by Damien Gormley from the left resulted in a scramble as McAdam failed to collect. Canavan was credited with the final touch even though he was not all that sure himself.
Jody Gormley then added a point to give Tyrone a commanding 1-9 to 0-3 lead, and one had the feeling they would play better into the wind in the second half.
Seamus McCallan failed a fitness test at the start but had a good replacement in Aidan Morris. Nothing, it seemed, could disrupt Tyrone's greater understanding. It was their skills alone that saved it from becoming a real bore in the end.
