Rampant Red Hand hurlers whack Warwickshire

Tyrone 4-29

Warwickshire 0-7

A BRACE of goals in both the first and second half provided Tyrone with the perfect platform to record an emphatic victory against Warwickshire at ONeills Healy Park last Sunday which leaves them nicely placed as their bid for league promotion gains momentum.

There was little doubt about Tyrone’s dominance throughout this tie as they set a new record score for the senior hurlers.

Just seconds had elapsed when Aidan Kelly fired into the net, and a second approaching half-time consolidated a strong display overall. He added a second with Rory Weir and Bryan McGurk also hitting the net.

Tyrone wasted no time in establishing their authority. Aidan Kelly fired home in fine style when he won possession from a Damien Casey pass. Within minutes they were 1-3 to no score ahead as Conor Grogan, Damien Casey and Aidan Kelly all registered points.

More important, perhaps, was the teamwork displayed by the side. Time and again, the attacking fluency of Rory Weir, Conor Grogan, Ciaran Lagan – assisted by Chris Kearns and Dermot Begley at midfield – created scoring chances.

For all that, though, the visitors did put up some resistance in that opening period. Points from Luke Hands and Cillian Monaghan opened their account, and they were very much back in contention at the end of the first quarter.

Nevertheless, the Red Hand defence held firm. Conor McNally, Dean Rafferty and Oran McKee were all to the fore as their first touch and vision proved important factors. Consequently, their efforts helped Tyrone put the tie effectively beyond reach of their opponents in the period approaching the interval.

Four points in a six minute spell from Dermot Begley, Anthony Crossan, Conor McNally and Damien Casey emphasised their control. Crucially, their ability to find teammates with pinpoint passes ensured that they were economical with their possession.

The second goal climaxed that period of dominance. It came in the 25th minute when good work from Ciaran Lagan saw him pull across the goalmouth. There, the waiting Rory Weir fired home from close range. That left Tyrone 2-7 to 0-4 ahead and further scores before the break from Damien Casey and Dermot Begley stretched the advantage.

Warwickshire battled hard, and Kevin McGee and Luke Hands increased their total. However, they were finding the constant Tyrone pressure hard to deal with and the first touch of the visitors let them down on numerous occasions.

If the first half was fairly one-sided, then the Tyrone dominance was even more pronounced on the resumption. Any slender danger that they might have been pegged back was ruled out by a series of fine scores which completely ended the tie as a contest.

Evidence of this is clear from the fact that the third quarter saw Tyrone hit nine points in a row. Damien Casey opened up following the restart, to be followed in quick succession by Conor Grogan, another from the Dungannon sharpshooter, Casey, and then a second as well from his attacking colleague.

Chris Kearns, Rory Weir, Bryan McGurk and then a further two points from Damien Casey left them 2-19 to 0-6 ahead. The only blip in this spell was a penalty award to Warwickshire, but Conor McElhatton saved well from the Luke Hands shot.

Tyrone’s lead became even greater in the final stages. Bryan McGurk raced through to get the team’s third goal and just minutes later Aidan Kelly was on hand to grab a fourth and really put the icing on the cake of a massive win.

Points in the final minutes from Dermot Begley, Bryan McGurk, Conor Grogan, Aidan Kelly and Damien Casey completed the record-breaking scoreline as Tyrone now look forward to that big game against Armagh in two weeks.