Goalscorer Kilpatrick happy to battle for his Tyrone place

CONN Kilpatrick has been a familiar presence alongside Brian Kennedy in midfield since their All-Ireland winning run back in 2021, but he received a timely reminder at the start of the season that nothing can be taken for granted if he’s to get the nod to start for Tyrone.

The Edendork man, who won an All-Star in 2021, had to be content with playing a substitute role in the first two competitive games of Malachy O’Rourke’s tenure, but since then he has been restored to the starting line-up and has performed very well indeed.

He scored a cracking goal late on against Cavan on Sunday, and he recognises that he needs to keep up the hard work away from the glare of the television cameras and thousands of spectators if he’s to maintain his grip on one of the two midfield spots.

“Nobody’s position is set in stone, every position is up for grabs. At the start of the year I probably wasn’t pulling my weight and that’s why I wasn’t playing.

“You have to dig deep and do the hard yards at training and the boys will give you your chance.”

On his effective midfield partnership with Brian Kennedy, he added: “I think Brian and I have a good understanding of each other and the way we play, and I’m sure most midfield partnerships are the same.

“It’s all about that consistency and it’s the same with the forwards.  On any given day anyone can step in, there’s plenty of boys who can come in and replace both of us, but we have a really good relationship and it’s all about making sure you know what your role is and fighting hard for the team.”

Tyrone face a massive challenge on their next day out, but one they’ll surely relish as they’ll take on reigning All-Ireland champions Armagh for a place in the Ulster final.

Conn is calling for Tyrone supporters to come out in numbers and support their team. The venue is yet to be confirmed, but it’s understood it’s likely to take place at Clones.

“Getting a big crowd behind us is what we’re pushing for whenever we do these interviews. You see the teams that get to the latter stages, and they get a big lift from their fans.

“We put together two or three decent performances at the end of the league to show that we’re working hard for each other, and it definitely is a big plus when supporters get behind us.

“I know it’s easy to sit in the house and watch it on TV, not everyone can get to games. As players we’d love if today’s game had been 90 percent Tyrone fans and 10 percent Cavan, and hopefully the fans will come out in numbers in our next game.”

Their upcoming semi-final opponents Armagh booked their spot with a 1-34 to 1-23 victory over Antrim at Corrigan Park on Saturday. They didn’t have it all their own way, but when all was said and done, there was still 11 points between the teams at the final whistle.

Kilpatrick added: “They’ll All-Ireland champions and they had a good game against Antrim. Like ourselves they had boys missing and boys came in and stepped up. Both teams will be chomping at the bit, it’ll be a good test and hopefully there’s a good crowd at it.”