O’Rourke feels Tyrone have given themselves a fighting chance

TYRONE’s Division One fate remains up in the air following last Sunday’s 0-25 to 0-19 win over Donegal at Letterkenny, but Malachy O’Rourke is glad that they’ve earnt themselves a fighting chance of staying up on the final day.

The Dubs will roll into town next Sunday afternoon, but even if Tyrone claim the spoils of victory, it mightn’t be enough to leapfrog at least one of their rivals for survival, namely Armagh, Mayo or even Kerry, who somehow aren’t quite out of the woods just yet (Derry’s fate, meanwhile, is sealed – they will play Division Two football in 2026).

Had they lost, Tyrone wouldn’t even be in the conversation so manager Malachy O’Rourke is looking on the bright side ahead of their seventh and final round against Dublin.

Asked about the challenge of facing a rather understrength Donegal, Malachy said, “It was a no win situation in many ways when you’re expected to win, it can be difficult to get the vibe right.

“But I thought we acquitted ourselves fairly well. We didn’t play our best football, missed a few chances, but at half-time we were four or five points up, and we stretched away for a spell.

“If we’d have tagged on a few more scores it would’ve made it a wee bit easier, but we’re happy to get the points and it leaves us with something to fight for on the last day. We didn’t see it out the way we would’ve liked but were probably fairly comfortable at the same time.

“We wanted the two points and we got them, it sets us up well for next week, it’s going to be a big challenge and even if we get the two points there’s no guarantee we stay up but we have something to fight for and that’s a good thing.”

Tyrone endured a run of three straight defeats in the middle of their league run, but they dusted themselves down with a draw against Galway a fortnight ago, before claiming their second win of the campaign at Letterkenny, their first away win in the National Football League over Donegal since 2025.

It was a solid performance with a full dozen players getting their names on the scoresheet, and at no stage in the second-half did Tyrone look like losing having racked up a five-point lead at the interval.

The Red Hands looked strong in every sector with their subs also making a positive impact, so they’te picking up form at the right time and next Sunday will reveal whether it’s been enough to stave enough relegation to the second tier.

O’Rourke said, “A couple of games ago, that [staying up] wasn’t maybe looking likely, but the boys put in a big performance against Galway and we should’ve got the win there.

“It’s a big task against Dublin, they’re going very well, but it’s one to look forward to, we’ll prepare as best we can and hopefully put in a big performance next week.”

Following the Donegal game, Malachy O’Rourke also acclaimed the influence of three members of the All-Ireland winning team of 2021 who returned to the fold this year after time away from the senior set-up.

Rory Brennan, Mark Bradley and Peter Teague all started yesterday’s game and played extremely well – Bradley landing four points and Brennan and Teague both playing a central role in Tyrone’s defensive unit.

The trio have slotted back in nicely having decided to return to Tyrone colours after a number of years out, while Errigal Ciaran’s Ben McDonnell has also linked into the senior set-up following a memorable run with his club.

“They give us that wee bit of experience, a bit of hunger about them as well. All three of them had a big influence on the game today. It’s great to ave that wee bit of experience because we have plenty of younger lads coming trough as well. There’s no doubt we need those lads, they’re playing a big role and it’s a good balance but as I keep on saying we’ve an awful lot of work ahead of us at the same time.”

O’Rourke also praised the strength-in-depth of his panel with strong performers Darren McCurry, Seanie O’Donnell, Ruairi Canavan and Cormac Quinn all able to come off the bench yesterday and make an impact.

That bodes well for Tyrone’s ambitions and O’Rourke says that they’re still a work-in-progress, albeit that they’re heading in the right direction.

“That’s it, there’s a lot of quality players there and a lot of players working very hard in training, it’s disappointing when they’re not getting starting places but that’s what it’s about, you want to have a competitive panel, you see that with Donegal, they made a lot of changes yet were really competitive.

“That’s what you’re trying to build towards, it takes a wee while to get that but the boys are working hard and it’s good we have something to play for.”