Roscommon’s Ciaráin Murtagh celebrates brother Diarmuid’s goal against Tyrone at Hyde PArk yesterday.
Credit ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Before yesterday, the last time Roscommon enjoyed a win against Tyrone was twenty years ago.

That 2003 victory at Hyde Park was Mickey Harte’s first league game in charge of Tyrone, who went on to win a first All-Ireland title later that summer.

Before the big win yesterday, the Red Hand county had won six of the seven encounters, five of those in the championship.

That long wait for a win against the Ulster team was delivered in style yesterday with a scintillating performance, marking a vital opening league victory for new manager Davy Burke.

Yesterday’s win was even more remarkable given that Roscommon, up until then, had only recorded two victories (against Cavan in 2017 and Monaghan in 2019) in their last 18 Division 1 league games.

(See full coverage and analysis in tomorrow’s edition of the Roscommon Herald).