It may not have been all plain sailing but Tyrone eventually booked their place in the All-Ireland Football decider against Kerry by squeezing out Wexford in a tense climax at Croke Park yesterday.

Tyrone have charted an impressive course since exiting the Ulster Championship at the hands of Down but yesterday they were subjected to a stiff examination by a Wexford team who were forced to pay a heavy penalty for an inept first half performance that had threatened to strip the game of its competitive element.

But, in keeping with what has been a marked theme of this year’s Championship, Wexford discovered latent quantities of resilience and resolve in the second period to take the Red Hands to the wire.

Yet there was never any disguising Tyrone’s greater technique, fluency and ability to counter attack with devastating effect.

Manager Mickey Harte may not yet view his team as the finished article but their formidable catalogue of positives far outweigh any perceived flaws in their make-up.

Harte’s tactical expertise again manifested itself yesterday — Ryan McMenamin, normally a right back, found himself deployed in attack, Conor Gormley was detailed to shadow Wexford dangerman Mattie Forde and Brian Dooher and Joe McMahon were given free rein to exert constant pressure on their opponents.

All the while Sean Cavanagh, until his forced retirement through injury, and Colm McCullagh, created constant havoc within the Wexford defence, joining Tommy McGuigan in ensuring an 11-point haul.

Indeed, such was Tyrone’s dominance in the first half that by the 24th minute they had streaked into a 0-11 to 0-2 lead and looked more than capable of leaving their opponents in total disarray by the halfway stage.

That did not come to pass, however. Wexford’s grip and raw courage saw them trim Tyrone’s advantage but they were still eight points adrift at 0-14 to 0-6 at the interval by which stage McCullagh, Philip Jordan and the marauding Cavanagh had already left a marked imprint on the contest.

Wexford, defensively naive on occasions, and too often allowing Tyrone excess time and space, adopted a much more adventurous stance in the second period and it certainly paid early dividends.

With Shane Roche a useful replacement for the injured Mattie Forde and Ciaran Lyng consistently accurate from frees, Wexford eased themselves into a slightly more comfortable position at 0-16 to 0-11.

But it was in the 48th minute that the game really caught fire. Wexford midfield ace Brendan Doyle delivered what must surely rate as one of the best passes of the Championship season to date into the path of Lyng and the former Preston North End footballer provided ample evidence of his full-time stint cross-channel, as well as his clinical finish, by galloping clear to thunder in a superb goal.

Suddenly, at 0-17 to 1-12, the Wexford dream was alive again.

But neither the players nor their personable manager Jason Ryan were destined to live that dream.

Four unanswered Tyrone points from Jordan, McManaman and Penrose (2) eased Tyrone onto a safer plateau and although Wexford battled gallantly to the finish, they lacked the class, cohesion and confidence to jettison Tyrone’s entry into the final.

Tyrone, red-hot favourites going into the game, discovered though that there was to be not repeat of the trouble-free experience they enjoyed against Dublin.

Yet yesterday’s contest, garnished with sportsmanship and high on honest endeavour, will surely steel them further for their confrontation with a Kerry side who will be going for their third All-Ireland on the trot.

Like Tyrone, the Kingdom have diced with danger en route to having their passports stamped for the annual showpiece.

But now both sides will be hoping to scale a new peak when they go head to head in what is already being labelled as the match of the decade thus far.

Tyrone: J Devine; R McMenamin (0-2), Justin McMahon, C Gourley; D Harte (0-1), C Gormley, P Jordan (0-3); C Holmes, E McGinley (0-1); B Dooher (0-2), M Penrose (0-3), Joe McMahon; T McGuigan (0-3, 0-1 free), S Cavanagh (0-4, 0-2 frees), C McCullagh (0-4, 0-1 free). Substitutes: B McGuigan for Cavanagh 49mins, K Hughes for Holmes 50mins, C Cavanagh for McCullagh 71mins. Yellow Cards: McMenaman 43mins, Penrose 46mins.

Wexford: A Masterson; D Walsh, P Wallace (0-2), B Malone; A Morrissey (0-1), D Murphy, C Morris (0-1); E Bradley, B Doyle; P J Banville (0-1), R Barry, C Byrne; C Lyng (1-6, 0-5 frees), P Colfer (0-1), M Forde. Substitutes: C Deeley for Byrne 31 mins, S Roche for Forde (h-t), N Murphy for Morrissey 42mins, A Flynn for Colfer 59mins, R Stafford for Murphy 62mins. Yellow Cards: Murphy 34mins, Wallace 46mins, Walsh 54mins, Morris 64mins.

Referee: Pat McEnaney (Monaghan)