“This league is unforgiving”- O’Rourke reflects on Mayo loss

TWO defeats from their opening three matches in Division One of the National League means that the pressure is very much on Tyrone to turn things around urgently as they prepare for the second half of the campaign.

A narrow defeat for the Red Hands in Castlebar on Sunday means that they are routed joint bottom of the table. It means that points are vital as they get set to host Kerry in round four this weekend in Omagh.

Team manager, Malachy O’Rourke, was understandably disappointed with the result against the Connacht side. But there is little time to dwell on either the eventual outcome or the manner of Tyrone’s display in a low-scoring 0-12 to 0-10 loss.

This was only his third competitive game in the post and he will be anxious to see improvements soon. There can be no better time than hosting the Kingdom in Healy Park in a clash which usually brings out the best in the Red Hands.

“We knew going into the Derry game in the first match that there were going to be players missing. We’re trying to mix and match and pick up the points at the same time. We were delighted to get the two points in the first match,” he said.

“ Today the performance wasn’t as good as we might have liked. But the effort was there from the players, so it’s important to look at that as well.

“ The thing now is to look to improve our performances in the next few weeks. It would be hoped that the Errigal Ciaran players will be fully back this week.

“ They’ve had a hard season and they need to have an off-season as well. It is a wee bit of short-term pain but in the long-term hopefully they’ll come back fresh and hunger for work.

“ But this league is unforgiving. We’ve Kerry next and then Galway. Kerry are obviously very experienced and one of the top teams in the country.

“ It’s going to be a big challenge for us, but that’s what you want, that’s why you’re in Division One. It is a decade since Tyrone were last relegated to Division Two.”

Nobody is suggesting that such an outcome is likely from this year’s fortunes so far, but the need for urgent action and points to stem the tide is clear.”

O’Rourke is expected to gradually re-introduce the Errigal Ciaran contingent, fresh from their All-Ireland Club exploits. The presence of Darragh and Ruairi Canavan, Peter Harte and the rest would definitely provide fresh energy and impetus.

For the moment, though, the focus is on that big game against Kerry next weekend, and the chance to once more record a county that has often pulled out the best from the Red Hands. They are also seeking big improvements in recent matches.

“ It’s about having to keep the heads at this stage. We just have to keep a neutral view and make sure that we’re working really hard and hopefully then that will come to fruition in the games,” he added.

“ There were times in the game when we felt the ball could have been sent in earlier to the forwards and then other times where we felt it could have been controlled better and built a score. There’s lots of things that we have to keep working at and see where we can improve.

“ There’s no doubt that we have a daunting run of four matches now. We had hoped to come to Castlebar and get the win and we were close to doing that. But we just have to get the heads down during the week and see how we can improve.

“ Kerry is going to be a tough game now next week. We’ll be there and we’ll try more than anything to improve our performance and that’s what we’ll be looking at for next week. It was great to see Mark Bradley back in the forwards, Eoin McElholm is a young lad who did well. There are positives but overall our performances just need to improve.”