2021 REVIEW: Tyrone to the ‘Four’ as Sam is secured

YOU could have got long odds on Tyrone landing their fourth All-Ireland Senior Championship title on the summer evening of Saturday June 12th down in picturesque Killarney.

A thumping 6-15 to 1-14 defeat to Kerry in the semi-finals of the National League in Fitzgerald Stadium left new managers Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher with much to mull over ahead of their opening match in the Ulster Championship the following month.

The duo had come into the role, following the departure of the long-serving Mickey Harte, promising a more enterprising and expansive style of play, but after that harrowing loss against the rampant Kingdom questions were being asked about the tactics.

Heading into the All-Ireland series the perceived pecking order of contenders nationwide read Dublin (chasing seven in a row), Kerry, Mayo and then the rest, but with a traditional knockout structure in place because of the condensed season, Tyrone could ill-afford to glance too far down the tracks.

The Ulster Championship was going to prove as precarious a route to traverse as ever, and unlike the ghost competition served up behind closed doors the previous winter, at least this time around there was a reduced attendance permitted at all the matches, because of Covid regulations.

This meant a cap on the crowd of around six thousand at Healy Park for Tyrone’s opener against last year’s surprise winners Cavan.

Darren McCurry sent out an early warning to defenders across the land that he meant business this summer by landing ten points (five frees) as the hosts cantered to a 1-18 to 0-13 triumph. Sub Brian Kennedy netted the close range goal in the 40th minute. The only down side for Tyrone was the straight red card David Gough dished out to full-back Ronan McNamee in the 55th minute following an altercation with Cavan’s Gerard Smith.

That facile victory teed up an Ulster semi-final clash with fierce local adversaries Donegal the following weekend at sun-splashed Brewster Park.

With Ronan McNamee successful in his midweek appeal over his sending-off, he took up his berth in the Tyrone full-back line as they sought to stymie the scoring threat of Michael Murphy & co.

Right from the throw-in when Kieran McGeary curled over a superb point the match was played at a frenetic pace. Donegal led 0-7 to 0-5 approaching the half-hour mark when Rory Brennan was black carded after conceding a penalty. However Murphy’s subsequent spot-kick cannoned off the left-hand post and went wide. His misery was compounded when he picked up a second booking shortly afterwards and with the momentum swinging decisively towards Tyrone from then on there was only one team in it.

Experienced trio Mattie Donnelly, Peter Harte and sub Tiarnan McCann slotted over some sublime scores in the second half, and while Caolan McGonigle did net for Donegal, Tyrone cantered home to a 0-23 to 1-14 victory.

The euphoria resulting from that result quickly subsided as the first wave of Covid struck the Tyrone camp and as a consequence, four players and joint manager Feargal Logan couldn’t be involved in the fold for the Ulster Final meeting with Monaghan at Croke Park on Saturday July 31st (with a crowd of 18,000 in attendance).

The sides were level three times inside the first quarter of an hour, but prompted by the penetrating runs of Niall Sludden, Conor Meyler and Kieran McGeary, the Red Hands started to ease clear.

Skipper Padraig Hampsey, McGeary and Darren McCurry (twice) all split the posts and despite the best efforts of Conor McManus and Jack McCarron, Tyrone appeared in the box-seat at the interval.

However Monaghan were a transformed team on the resumption and stormed back into the tie to level the match up at twelve points apiece by the 50th minute.

Tyrone belatedly began to reassert themselves as sub Cathal McShane pointed, as did Harte and McCurry, while it took a stunning tackle from Monaghan keeper Rory Beggan to deny Mattie Donnelly as he raced through on goal. In the end the Red Hands just held out 0-16 to 0-15 to lay claim to the Anglo-Celt Cup for the first time since 2017.

If that was dramatic then what followed off the pitch over the following weeks was unprecedented.

In an ongoing saga which rumbled on as Covid ravaged through the Tyrone camp, the County announced that they could not field for their All-Ireland semi-final meeting with Kerry.

At one stage it appeared that they might be expelled from the competition before the Kerry County Board stepped in to back their opponent’s plea for more time. And following receipt of further medical information outlining the scale of the virus spread within the squad, the GAA agreed to an additional extension to Saturday August 28th.

The match itself proved to be a pulsating affair. Kerry talisman David Clifford was in lively form popping over some quality efforts, but with points from Niall Morgan, Mattie Donnelly and Peter Harte, there was no chance of a repeat of the league shellacking from a few months earlier.

The Tyrone full-forward unit had struggled to make an early impact but they sprung to life on 24 minutes when a sweeping move resulted in Conor McKenna applying the strike to the net.

That score ensured that Tyrone held a narrow 1-7 to 0-9 lead at the break.

It was nip and tuck throughout the second period though the Ulster champions were down to fourteen men on two separate occasions after Niall Sludden and Darren McCurry picked up black cards.

When defender Tom O’Sullivan popped over a Kingdom point in the 66th minute they were two in front, but incredibly sub Cathal McShane then fisted home a Tyrone goal at the Hill End.

The sides then traded points during the prolonged period of injury time but Clifford’s free sent the tie to extra-time (Tyrone 2-11 Kerry 0-17).

There was only one team in it when action resumed with Tyrone’s blistering counter-attacks exposing gaping holes in the Kerry backline, and a second goal of the day from McKenna left them in the box-seat.

Tyrone were forced on the backfoot in the second period of extra-time but they clung on for a famous 3-14 to 0-22 victory.

And so to the All-Ireland Final a fortnight later and a first ever clash in the Sam Maguire decider with Mayo who had stunned the seemingly all-conquering Dublin in the other semi-final.

On the back of that success the majority of the experts had the Connacht champions deemed as favourites to at last end their well-documented famine, and they got off to a flyer in the Saturday evening final played in front of 40,000 spectators, as Tommy Conroy and Ryan O’Donohue pointed.

However Tyrone soon got to grips with their task as Draren McCurry, Kieran McGeary and Niall Sludden knocked over scores.

Niall Morgan did produce a fine save in nets to deny Aidan O’Shea a goal, while Tommy Conroy also shot wide with a great opportunity.

Tyrone led 0-8 to 0-6 at half-time before Mayo were awarded a penalty on the restart , however O’Donoghue screwed his attempt off target.

It was a terrible blow to their hopes and then things got worse for them as a long ball in from Conor Meyler found sub Cathal McShane in the right place to palm to the net to make it 1-10 to 0-9.

While Mayo pushed they struggled with the tight-tackling and disciplined approach of a Tyrone defence, superbly marshalled by skipper Padraig Hampsey.

And the All-Ireland was efefctively sealed when midfielder Conn Kilpatrick fielded spectacularly and put Conor McKenna in the clear. He unselfishly squared for McCurry to palm the sceond goal.

Tyrone were able to pick off their desperate opponents on the counter-attack in the closing straight courtesy of points on the break from Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan and McCurry who finished with 1-4 to his name.

Cue delirious scenes subsequently as referee Joe McQuillan blew his final whistle to signal Tyrone’s 2-14 to 0-15 victory, before Padraig Hampey became only the third ever Tyrone captain to raise aloft ‘Sam’ (Joint manager Brian Dooher having done it twice) in the bowels of the Hogan Stand.