With a crowd of 52,600 and 3mm of rain Croke Park look set for an epic GAA battle of the titans, however, at half-time the Dublin score line of 0-11 to Tyrone’s 0-6 told a story of David and Goliath. The Dubs were not for sharing any glory; today was the day that Dublin reinvigorated Hill 16 with a performance not seen for many years. By the 44th minute Dublin was 0-15 to Tyrone’s 0-6 and the theme remained the same through-out with Dublin now clearly through to the All-Ireland semi-final and deservedly so with Tyrone going back to the drawing board.
Earlier analysis
Dublin and Tyrone renew hostilities at Croke Park with the Dubs looking to make it a clean sweep for provincial champions in this year's All-Ireland quarter-finals.
There was consternation last year when Kerry, Tyrone, Roscommon and Meath all failed to build on their provincial successes and crashed out at the last eight stage.
It was argued by many that the defeats proved that the gap between provincial finals and the quarter-finals put those sides with silverware at a significant disadvantage. While the Championship calendar does need to be looked at, a win for Dublin on Saturday would suggest that there is not all that much wrong with it.
Tyrone have made an unusually unassuming march through the qualifiers following their Ulster semi-final loss to Donegal. They made light work of a difficult trip to Longford before having two goals to spare over Armagh.
And their 11-point win over Roscommon last Saturday went largely under the radar due to the gripping nature of Donegal's victory against Kildare in the following game at Headquarters.
The Red Hands have struggled with injuries this summer but the youngsters Mickey Harte has brought in have performed admirably and have brought a fresh look to their line-up.
It was strange to see a Tyrone side named without Ryan McMenamin in it, but the feisty defender makes way for Justin McMahon. Harte has used his squad wisely this summer and there's little doubt 'Ricey' will make an appearance at some stage.
Martin Penrose has been given the nod ahead of Tommy McGuigan in attack but the biggest selection surprise sees Owen Mulligan replace Kyle Coney at corner-forward.
Coney has been having a fine breakthrough summer and it was only a couple of weeks ago that Mulligan had opted off the panel due to a lack of game time only to be subsequently coaxed back into the fold.
Dublin's XV sees only one change as Cian O'Sullivan replaces Paul Conlon at corner-back. The two glaring omissions are midfielder Michael Darragh MacAuley and corner-back Philly McMahon, with both players struggling with finger and knee injuries respectively.
Eoghan O'Gara's goal proved crucial in last year's quarter-final meeting between the two sides, but the Templeogue Synge Street clubman has failed to hit similar heights so far this year and can consider himself fortunate to retain his place.
Dublin were given a decent test by Wexford in the Leinster final, and they struggled at midfield. Denis Bastick and Eamon Fennell will start in the engine room again, but they will need to up their performances considerably against Kevin Hughes and Sean Cavanagh. The latter was back to his rampaging best against Roscommon, as he hit 2-03 and was unlucky not to land a hat-trick of goals.
A lot has been said about Dublin's over-reliance on the Brogans (Alan and Bernard) for scores but the big fear for Dublin supporters is how their side will manage to supply their forward line.
Donegal await the winners of this tie in the semi-finals, and it looks like that will be an all-Ulster affair.
Verdict: Tyrone
Dublin v Tyrone, 7pm Saturday 6 August, All-Ireland SFC Quarter-Final (7pm) live on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ.ie (Island of Ireland) from 6.30pm.
