By Damien Donnelly

Tyrone got their 'Gaelic Life' McKenna Cup campaign off to a winning note at Omagh yesterday with victory over Queen's but the game only really came to life in the second half after a somewhat pedestrian opening 35 minutes.

The hosts led at the end of the opening half by 0-6 to 0-2 and they were soon 0-10 to 0-2 up following a quick salvo of points after the restart.

Queen's, though, showed some durability to come back within three points at one stage but goals from Niall Gormley and Colm Donnelly, two of the newer faces to shine, helped seal a successful start to 2007.

As well as Gormley and Donnelly, Christy Colhoun and interval sub Aidan McCarron were amongst those to enjoy good moments, rookie keeper Jonathan Curran also impressing with some agile saves during the course of play.

It was a case of mixing the familiar with the less familiar in terms of county experience here for Tyrone and a 2-14 return in tricky weather conditions was a decent tally, with some encouraging individual performances along the way.

It's too early, though, to place overly much emphasis on single performances, with more tests to come before players can lay claim to bolting down permanent places.

More established players like Ryan McMenamin, Sean Cavanagh and Cormac McGinley lent their assistance to the cause but a downside for Tyrone was the fact that Stephen O'Neill picked up a straight red card as things became a little heated in the closing stages of the contest.

A dark, damp early January day meant conditions were far removed from what Tyrone fans hope will be some heady days in the summer sun further down the line.

It was low-key stuff during the first half, a Stephen O'Neill free after two minutes and a Niall Gormley point from play two minutes later getting Tyrone's 2007 scoring returns up and running.

Sean Cavanagh floated over a free to open up a three-point gap on seven minutes, Martin Penrose raiding forward from an unfamiliar half-back starting stall but his effort for a point was denied by the upright.

James McGovern launched the Queen's account with a free on 15 minutes, Red Hand keeper Jonathan Curran earning his spurs with a fine double save to thwart blood sub Ciaran O'Reilly from finding the net for the Belfast based students.

Justin Crozier hoisted over a second Queen's point 22 minutes in but Tyrone rattled off three scores via the lively Gormley, Owen Mulligan(free) and Colm Donnelly whose influence on the game was growing.

Keeper Curran added more clout to his credentials when denying Kevin Niblock with a flying save just before the half-time whistle, Tyrone going in at 0-6 to 0-2 ahead.

The skies cleared temporarily at the start of the second half and Tyrone began brightly as well, interval sub Aidan McCarron with a tidy point followed by scores from Gormley, Colhoun and Cavanagh, all in open play and within the space of four minutes.

Gavin Donaghy had a point double in reply and Kevin Niblock closed the gap further before Aidan Carr cut the deficit to four with a cleverly taken score on 12 minutes.

A free from Donaghy dropped short but Michael Ward was on hand to fire over point number seven for Queen's.

Ward chipped over a follow-up point but Stephen O'Neill placed Niall Gormley and the Trillick man supplied a cool finish to the Queen's net 15 minutes in.

The game had much more life about it now but a high challenge on McCarron by McGovern brought the Queen's player a yellow card, the advantage not played as Cavanagh sent over and Colhoun was wide with the subsequent free.

New midfield man Kelvin Hughes rounded off a good run with a fisted point on 27 minutes and Colhoun made up for his previous lapse with an excellent point despite being off balance.

Tyrone then lost Stephen O'Neill on a straight red card from referee Martin McErlane after a challenge on Gavin Donaghy, tempers getting frayed and Paul Courtney from Queen's went for an early shower a few minutes later when committing a second yellow card offence.

Donnelly found Cavanagh with a through pass as Tyrone engineered a good move forward and the Moy man in turn released McCarron whose shot at close range sailed over the bar.

Cavanagh added a free and Charlie Vernon replied with a point for the students as added time beckoned.

Tyrone put the icing on things when Declan Treanor's cross was finished to the net by Colm Donnelly in injury time, a nice way for Donnelly to cap a pleasing day for him in the county colours.

It's Tyrone v Derry next Sunday back at Healy Park and that promises to be an interesting tussle for round two of qualification in the 'Gaelic Life' Dr McKenna Cup.

The Scorers...

Tyrone: Niall Gormley 1-3, Sean Cavanagh 0-3(2 frees), Colm Donnelly 1-1, Aidan McCarron 0-2, Christy Colhoun 0-2, Stephen O'Neill 0-1(free), Kevlin Hughes 0-1, Owen Mulligan 0-1(free)

Queen's: Gavin Donaghy 0-2, Michael Ward 0-2, Charlie Vernon 0-1, Kevin Niblock 0-1, Aidan Carr 0-1, Justin Crozier 0-1, James McGovern 0-1(free)

The Teams.....

Tyrone: Jonathan Curran, Paul McGurk, Cormac McGinley, Dermot Carlin, Ryan McMenamin, Kevin Hughes, Martin Penrose, Sean Cavanagh, Kelvin Hughes, Declan Treanor, Colm Donnelly, Christy Colhoun, Owen Mulligan, Stephen O'Neill, Niall Gormley. Subs: Aidan McCarron for Mulligan, Mickey McGee for McGurk

Queen's: Feargal Murphy, Hugh Gallagher, Daniel McCartan, Ryan Dillon, Mark Rooney, Gerard O'Kane, Justin Crozier, Charlie Vernon, Paul Courtney, Gavin Donaghy, Aidan Carr, Kevin McGourty, Michael Ward, Kevin Niblock, James McGovern. Subs: Joe O'Kane for Rooney, Paul Treanor for Ward, Paul McComiskey for McGovern, Ciaran O'Reilly Donaghy, Caolan Tierney for Niblock.

Referee: Martin McErlane, Derry.