Red Hands cruise past Clare to get back on track

TYRONE 3-15 CLARE 0-10

CORNER BACK Niall Devlin emerged as the unlikely fox in the box (or small square to be more specific), his quick fire brace of first half goals in Omagh on Sunday paving the way for Tyrone to take the spoils in this first ever Senior Championship meeting with Clare.

The majority of the crowd of just under three thousand at O’Neill’s Healy Park will have been pleased to see the hosts get off the mark in Group Three, but despite the flattering margin of victory come the final whistle, nobody will be getting too carried away.

The dynamic performance of Devlin provided the undoubted highlight, while top notch campaigners such as Matthew Donnelly and Darragh Canavan once more underlined their worth to the team cause.

Those three chipped in with 3-10 of the Red Hands overall scoring return, and elsewhere an encouraging second half cameo off the bench by Under-20 star Shea O’Hare also gave reason to be cheerful.

The Banner were gritty and tenacious foes, but they tired visibly in the closing stages, and with influential midfielder Darragh Bohannon receiving a straight red card in the 65^th minute for a crude body check on Michael O’Neill, the floodgates opened thereafter.

The seven point cushion which Tyrone had carved out up to that juncture, was doubled to fourteen by the end of injury time, a bullet of a goal from Darragh Canavan serving as the coup de grace.

Early on Tyrone appeared listless and lethargic, as if still nursing a hangover from those painful recent losses to Donegal. Even when Clare lost the services of half-back Ikem Ugweru to a black card for an ankle trip on Donnelly in the third minute, the Red Hands couldn’t make their numerical advantage count.

The teams were tied up at two points apiece by the quarter hour mark, Ciaran Daly and that man Devlin on target for the hosts, with Cillian Rouine and Emmet McMahon responding for the Banner.

There was little for the sparse crowd to get animated about, a series of turnovers and niggly fouls stymieing the flow of the contest.

However just after McMahon had struck a go-ahead free for the visitors, Devlin swopped for his first goal in the 20^th minute, capitalising on selfless approach work from Aidan Clarke, who was drafted into the starting fifteen on his home pitch ahead of throw-in, replacing Ben Cullen.

The quality of that score was out of keeping with much of the laboured attacking play from Tyrone, who struggled to penetrate the well-marshalled Clare defensive template.

At the other end Tyrone keeper Niall Morgan had to react sharply to intercept Ugweru’s intended pass for Daniel Walsh, while further scores from Ronan Lanigan and Rouine restored parity for the visitors.

However’ Devlin’s second goal, just before the half-hour mark, with Morgan the creator, handed the Red Hands a three point cushion, which the Coalisland ace extended to four himself prior to the break with another smart finish (Halt-time Tyrone 2-3 Clare 0-5)

The gap was soon stretched to half a dozen as Donnelly and Brian Kennedy split the posts on the resumption, the indications being that Tyrone would up their game in terms of pace and intensity.

Yet that wasn’t really the case as the match continued to meander along and McMahon (free) and Aaron Griffin each registered to keep Clare within touching distance.

The gap was still four points heading into the last fifteen minutes as Darragh Canavan and McMahon traded frees, but the injection of some fresh blood off the bench breathed new life into the Tyrone challenge.

Four scores on the spin saw them pull away with methodical ease, Matthew Donnelly really coming to the fore, while Ruairi Canavan also slotted over a couple of quality efforts.

With Bohannon then seeing red, the hosts really went to town. A brace of trademark points from Donnelly, languidly planted over, and that screamer of a third goal from Darragh Canavan meant Clare were just relieved to be put out of their misery after seven minutes of injury time.

The Scorers

Tyrone

Niall Devlin (2-2), Darragh Canavan (1-4,2f,1m), Matthew Donnelly (0-4), Ruairi Canavan (0-2), Ciaran Daly, Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick (0-1 each)

Clare

Emmet McMahon (0-5,3f), Cillian Rouine (0-2), Aaron Griffin, Ronan Lanigan, Mark McInerney (0-1 each)

The Teams

Tyrone

Niall Morgan, Niall Devlin, Padraig Hampsey, Aidan Clarke, Michael McKernan, Matthew Donnelly, Kieran McGeary, Brian Kennedy, Joe Oguz, Ciaran Daly, Michael O’Neill, Sean O’Donnell, Darren McCurry, Darragh Canavan, Ruairi Canavan. Subs used: Conn Kilpatrick for J Oguz (50mins), Peter Harte for D McCurry (54), Shea O’Hare for K McGeary (57), Cathal McShane for S O’Donnell (63), Cormac Quinn for M O’Neill (65)

Clare

Stephen Ryan, Manus Doherty, Cillian Brennan, Ronan Lanigan, Alan Sweeney, Cillian Rouine, Ikem Ugweru, Brian McNamara, Darragh Bohannon, Daniel Walsh, Dermot Coughlan, Gavin Murray, Ciaran Downes, Aaron Griffin, Emmet McMahon. Subs used: Jamie Stack for C Downes (43mins), Einne O’Connor for B McNamara (53), Cian Burke for A Sweeney (58), Joe McGann for A Griffin (63), Mark McInerney for E McMahon (64)

Referee: Jerome Henry (Mayo)