Dermot Carlin Column: Tyrone still have it all in their own hands

Many of us will wonder how the positivity which surrounded Tyrone’s brilliant win against Donegal wasn’t repeated against Mayo last weekend. It’s hard to know exactly why, but perhaps one reason is the immense energy which went into winning that round one game, and how difficult it was going to be to repeat that.

Then there’s the fact that Mayo had a number of points to prove coming to Omagh. They wanted to bounce back from their loss to Cavan in the first round, and then there was the motivation provided by the medical episode experienced by the team manager, Kevin McStay.

In the first half, Tyrone probably sat too deep within their own defence and this allowed Mayo to build from the back and put us under pressure in that sector. The scores followed as a result. The energy which characterised the win over Donegal was missing, and we weren’t putting Mayo under sufficient pressure when going forward.

The half-time score was 1-9 to 0-4,and you could see the energy within the Mayo players as they went to the dressing-rooms at the break. If that goal hadn’t have been scored, then things would have been a bit more positive for Tyrone, and the task facing them in the second half a little less uphill.

To be fair, the team did up the tempo in the third quarter. The comeback at that time was strong, and the goal from Darragh Canavan shifted the momentum back towards Tyrone. His celebration was aimed at getting the home support going as well. That was needed if we were going to win this game, but unfortunately Mayo finished the stronger.

I thought Niall Devlin did fairly well, Kieran McGeary pushed forward and upfront the likes of Mattie Donnelly and Darragh Canavan. But the loss of Brian Kennedy and Padraig Hampsey prior to the throw-in was a massive one. Both of them bring agreat physical presence and experience.

Maybe we took our eye of the ball after the Donegal result. Whatever happened, this defeat to Mayo is now in the past and it’s a case of focusing on the Cavan game now in a fortnight.

Getting back to the question of what happened, then. When you’re coaching a team, there are times when a drill simply doesn’t work. The players are fumbling the ball, there’s a lack of concentration.So, as a coach, you stop the session, let the lads take a brief break and then they come back refreshed and everything works well.

But it’s hard to replicate that in a match situation. Tyrone couldn’t just stop on Saturday evening and reset. Fair enough, there was half-time, but by then Mayo were well ahead.

It’s now about focusing on Cavan.

It’s important not to be too negative about this Mayo result and think instead about the positives. The win over a Donegal team that was tipped as All-Ireland contenders showed that we’re capable of competing against and beating the best.

The players will regroup now, and they’ll have a point to prove against Cavan.

We also have to point out the success of the U-20s. What a brilliant achievement that was for Paul Devlin and the players, some of whom are already in the senior panel and more will follow. So, Tyrone football is in a very good place and the battle for the All-Ireland Quarter Finals is only starting.