Ulster SFC Quarter-final replay: Not even the most optimistic Tyrone supporter in the 30,730 crowd could have envisaged this landslide victory in the replayed quarter-final clash of great rivals at Casement Park on Saturday.

The true extent of Derry's drubbing is put into context by the fact that they trailed hopelessly by 16 points to four in the 69th minute before reliable dual star Geoffrey McGonigle, who had come on as a substitute, lashed the ball, more in desperation than in hope, to the Tyrone net from a close-in free.

Derry can rarely if ever have been so decisively outclassed in a first-round Ulster championship tie. Their manager, Mickey Moran, could only shake his head in disbelief while offering: "We did not perform, end of message."

What the Derry supporters thought of it all was perhaps best expressed in the dying minutes when their hero of the previous week, Paddy Bradley, was derisively cheered when the decision was made to replace him.

Bradley started the dejection among the Derry supporters when he unbelievably squandering two easy chances for early points, the first from a 14-yard free.

The ease with which Tyrone won in the end, as their supporters cheered every pass, was hardly signposted during the poisonous atmosphere that marked a forgettable opening quarter as players from both sides seemed prepared to risk life and limb in some ferocious exchanges.

Galway referee Michael Curley was kept busy and incurred the wrath of the Tyrone supporters for showing Anthony Tohill a yellow card instead of a red one.

Four other players were booked during that frenetic opening and there was almost a free-kick per minute in what had developed into an unsightly affair of hard hits and scrappy football.

Tyrone's edge in class, though, was notable from an early stage. They played with a great awareness and when the free-kicks, as far out as the 45, were conceded by the struggling Derry defenders and midfielders, Peter Canavan was on hand to effortlessly slot the ball between the uprights en route to compiling a personal tally of eight points (seven frees and a 45).

Tyrone midfielder Seán Cavanagh, the classiest player on the pitch by a distance, was rightly singled out by Peter Canavan for playing a major role.

Cavanagh had the first of his inspirational three points as early as the 10th second after beating Tohill at the throw-in and going on a defence-splitting run for the opening score.

Canavan said: "I think the men who came on did a good job, fellas who didn't play last week like Declan McCrossan who took over from the suspended Gavin Devlin at centre back, Kevin Hughes and Gerard Cavlan."

Ryan McMenamin gave a classic display at wing back as a front-running defender to further dilute Derry's already limited resources up front.

Containment became a serious priority for Derry in the second half.

Towards the end only two Derry players, McGonigle and Enda Muldoon, were seen in the Tyrone half and the losers' problems became even more acute when Padraig O'Kane, who had replaced Kevin Doherty at wing back, was sent off for a heavy tackle on Cavlan.

Derry, who could never quite match the fluency of Tyrone's combined play, trailed by 0-10 to 0-2 at the interval. It was a desperately poor first-half return by any standards for the Derry men.

Moran suggested that the awarding of free-kicks from scoreable positions played a major role in his team's defeat but had no excuses for their loss "by a better team".

Moran was strong in his conviction that referees do tend to favour "media teams".

"Tyrone are a media team loved by everybody and good luck to them," he said.

Both the Tyrone manager Micky Harte and team captain Peter Canavan were convinced that the team's excellent performance and general spirit derived from the "bad press" they had been given after last week's match.

"So-called experts said after last week that we hadn't got it to be winners and we remembered that and worked on it during the week," said Harte.

"A lot of questions were asked after last week's drawn game, on TV and in print. I feel that those questions were answered on the pitch today. We haven't won any medals yet but we proved our critics wrong by that performance today and we are improving all the time," said Canavan.

A big problem for Derry was getting inside the Tyrone cover and their shortcomings in midfield did not help their plight in this regard.

Their greatest lapse came between the 18th and the 52nd minutes, a period which proved fruitless for them on the scoreboard. Before that scoreless spell they had managed only one point from play, by centre back Kevin McCloy, and a point from a free-kick by the off-form Bradley.

Despair became Derry's constant companion throughout the second half and their supporters were heading for the exit gates long before the end.

TYRONE: J Devine; C Lawn (0-1), C Holmes, C Gormley; R McMenamin, D McCrossan (0-1), P Jordan; C McAnallen, S Cavanagh (0-3); B Dooher, B McGuigan (0-2), K Hughes; G Cavlan (0-1), P Canavan (0-8, seven frees, one 45), E Mulligan. Subs: C Gourley for McAnallen (7 mins); P Horish (0-1) for Gourley (61 mins).

DERRY: M Conlan; S Martin Lockhart, N McCusker, D Crozier; G Doherty, K McCloy (0-1), K Doherty; A Tohill, F Doherty; G Diamond, P McFlynn, M O'Neill; P Bradley (0-1, free), D Dougan, E Muldoon. Subs: B Murray for M O'Neill (half-time); P O'Kane for K Doherty (47 mins); G McGonigle (1-3, 1-1 frees) for G Diamond (49 mins); P Brown for Bradley (67 mins).

Referee: M Curley (Galway).