Rory Gallagher believes it is too soon to dismiss Tyrone from the All-Ireland equation, but Brian Dooher admitted the Red Hands “weren’t at the races” as their reign as Ulster champions ended in remarkable fashion on Sunday.
Derry claimed a stunning and well-merited 1-18 to 0-10 success in front of 10,155 spectators at O’Neills Healy Park.
Few in the crowd would have expected such an emphatic Derry victory, yet Gallagher stressed this side never lacked for belief, despite playing the All-Ireland champions on their home turf.
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“Delighted to win - It was a really, really good performance," said Gallagher.
"I thought the desire and the workrate and the hunger for each other was ferocious.
"Being honest, I think Tyrone will learn from. They were very flat throughout the League, they were flat against Fermanagh, albeit they went 12 points up.
“When we brought the intensity, they didn’t react the way they normally would. I think they’ll learn a lot from it.
“I felt they were a small bit vulnerable. It is not easy being All-Ireland champions, I know that myself being involved with Donegal.
"You think you are doing things right - sometimes you need a kick up the backside. I believe they'll respond.”
Indeed, Derry seemed to respond from the hurt of missing out on promotion to Division One in the League campaign.
The Oak Leafers amassed a tally of 11 points, but a draw against Roscommon and a heavy home loss to Galway saw the Connacht sides promoted at Derry expense.
That might have led to Gallagher’s men coming into their Championship campaign in a prime position to catch Tyrone off their guard.
“I just felt if we imposed ourselves - we're a wee bit of an unknown quantity, to be honest,” said Gallagher.
"The top teams haven't played us. It takes a wee while to feel you out.
“Maybe that caught Tyrone a wee bit. I don't know.
“I can just tell you one thing, it's not easy being All-Ireland champions, but I believe they’ll be back.
“The Galway game was a hard day. The Donegal game last year. But those players have got that and I would have expected that because I seen it in training.
“Training doesn’t mean you are going to be a top-class player, you have got to have the temperament. But you can see the signs.”
Meanwhile, Tyrone’s joint-manager Brian Dooher struggled to make sense of how his side had performed.
Rarely in Championship football have the Red Hands been so comprehensively outplayed.
“We weren’t playing as well as we should have been, I don’t think that’s any secret," stated Dooher.
“You’re hoping to build gradually and get a bit of momentum as time went on. Obviously that didn’t happen.
“There’s no hiding places out there, it’s not a place to go if you’re not right and at it, and we found out today, we weren’t at the races. That’s the harsh reality of it.
“We definitely were aware of the enormity of the challenge, we didn’t underestimate that.
“We just didn’t perform, that’s the long and short of it. Derry showed up, well organised with a plan and a lot of energy about their game. They deserved their victory.”
Dooher, who was the captain of the Tyrone team when Derry last ambushed the Red Hands in Omagh in 2006, also expressed his disappointment at the red cards issued to Brian Kennedy and Conor McKenna.
All-Star midfielder Kennedy kicked out at Gareth McKinless in the first half and was shown a straight red by referee Paddy Neilan while McKenna picked up a second booking late on for throwing the ball at Ethan Doherty.
“Definitely, we try to be disciplined but it’s disappointing whenever people are sent off because nowadays, with the organisation and the way teams are set up, you need all your players on the field,” added Dooher.
“It’s definitely tough when you haven’t got them.
“The pace wasn’t what we would have wanted, it was stop-start, we wanted to get going.
“But the sending off definitely had a big influence on the game, we were chasing it from there onwards, and then the goal afterwards, they were big moments that we never really recovered from.
“Even in the first 10 or 15 minutes it was toing and froing, but it was Derry dominated the rest of the game.”
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