O’Rourke concedes that Saturday was a rude awakening

TYRONE manager Malachy O’Rourke conceded that his side had been ‘brought back down to earth with a bang’ after they slumped to an eight point defeat at the hands of the reigning All-Ireland champions Armagh at a packed Athletic Grounds on Saturday night.

While the final scoreline had a veneer of respectability about it, the fact that the Red Hands trailed by a stunning 1-18 to 0-4 after forty-five minutes underlines the gulf in quality between the sides for the majority of the contest.

Playing with the advantage of a strong wind at their backs in the first half, the Orchard boys ran amok, banging over four ‘Two Pointers’ as well as swooping for a 21^st minute Andrew Murnin goal, and while Tyrone sought to maximise the elements when they were in their favour after the break, it was mainly a case of damage limitation.

Malachy O’Rourke admitted that it had been a bad night at the office, as he suffered the first loss of his managerial tenure with the O’Neill County.

“It was disappointing in the first half, it got away from us. We were four or five points behind in no time. Armagh were playing with the benefit of a very strong wind but we were architects of our own down fall at times too.

“ We gave the ball away and then we left ourselves open at the back. The goal then obviously was a big turning point and we also conceded a couple of two pointers. So it was a tough position to be in.

“ In fairness to the boys they made a real go of it in the second half. They showed good character but we left ourselves with too much to do.

“ Armagh are top quality. They were the best team in Ireland last year. Physically they are very strong. They transition the ball very quickly so there is a lot of stuff we have to learn from it. It was a disappointing night.”

With Michael McKernan and Darren McCurry registering a brace of ‘Two Pointers’ each down the home straight, the visitors did eat into the sizeable deficit quite significantly in the final quarter, but O’Rourke acknowledged that getting anything from the match was never really feasible given how the first half unfolded.

“ We probably did need a goal. We did chip over a couple of two pointers but a goal never arrived which would have been a great fillip. That would have given us momentum but it was always going to take something special in the second half to turn the game around.

“ Overall it was a tough night for us but it’s early in the journey. We had a good win last week but we have been brought back down to earth with a bang tonight. We will have to lick our wounds during the week and get back to work and address some of the areas which weren’t so good tonight.”

The manager accepted that the sloppy nature of the first half Tyrone showing was pounced upon by the voracious Orange men, who were clearly keen to impress their home supporters.

“ We gave the ball away ourselves too often. We committed fellas forward but there was too many unforced errors. Armagh were very quick on the transition, very quick and very powerful. They were clinical and didn’t miss much.

“ We just left ourselves open at the back. I think in the second half Armagh were better at closing up their own half and didn’t let us through that easy.”

Just as O’Rourke refused to get too carried away by the encouraging nature of Tyrone’s opening night win over Derry, similarly he stressed nobody in the camp would be getting too downbeat about Saturday’s reversal.

“ The boys have applied themselves really well. We are happy with the way things are going. We had a good win last week but I have said this before, you just take every game in isolation. You can have a good result one week but then the next week it doesn’t go so good.

“ We won’t get too down after this game, we will just refocus. It’s about trying to be consistent and getting good performances in each of the games. Tonight wasn’t as good as we would have liked so we have a lot to work on for the next day away to Mayo.”

Given the clear need for ‘Two Pointers’ in the second half, there appeared to be some confusion and hesitancy at times among Tyrone players, with the wrong option being taken at times around the 40m arc and scoring opportunities going abegging. O’Rourke said that adopting to the new rules was evidently going to take time.

“ Through their careers they have always been trying to work the ball into goal as close as possible to get a score. Now suddenly that doesn’t always be the best approach. Especially with the wind in the second half maybe the better option was to take the shot from outside.

“ Again it’s another thing we are going to have to look at particularity when you are playing with a strong wind. Overall in the second half the boys put in a big shift. They could easily have laid down and hid after the way the first half went but they showed good character and we got something out of the second half.”

Tyrone keeper Niall Morgan earned rave reviews last week for his creativity, coming up the pitch against Derry, but this time it was Armagh netminder Ethan Rafferty who claimed the man of the match spoils, belting over a brace of ‘Two Pointers’ from play. O’Rourke stated that the goalie was going to be a pivotal figure in football under the new rules.

“Their goalkeeper Ethan Rafferty came up and caused us a lot of problems. Other teams have complained about that with us with Niall coming up but tonight Armagh made the most of the 12v11 option.

“ Ethan Rafferty has been an outfield plater all his life. He is very capable in those areas and a good long range shooter, so we certainly would have learned something there.

“ It’s very unforgiving if you go forward and give the ball away or drop shots short, a team as good as Armagh are going to punish you at the other end of the field.”

While disappointed at the nature of the defeat, O’Rourke said that the loss should be channelled in a positive manner, as Tyrone brace themselves for further tough tests ahead in the National League.

“ Everybody wants to stay in this league, that’s the bottom line. But the main thing is improving performances. We will learn a lot from that game tonight, particularly the first half.

“ It’s key to take the positives out of games and see what you can learn from them. If a team gets beaten on one weekend they have a real focus to get back the next weekend. It’s about trying to remain objective about what’s going on and try and apply the lessons in the next game.”