Tyrone conquer Kingdom to get back on track

TYRONE 1-15    KERRY  2-9

A JUBILANT pitch invasion by Tyrone fans at Omagh on Sunday afternoon highlighted just what this vital victory meant as a passionate display on the field proved decisive in significantly boosting their prospects of remaining in Division One.

This was the kind of performance that the Red Hands were seeking, and the determination was clear during a classic clash against their great rivals and All-Ireland champions, Kerry.

Two late Ruairi Canavan points made the difference, but this was about much more than the eventual result.

It’s a win which means that survival in Division One of the National League is still within reach for Tyrone after a much-improved display.

But they still had to battle back from the setback of conceding an early goal. Just two minutes had elapsed when the Munster champions hit the net. A fortunate break put Sean O’Shea through and he made no mistake with a rasp to the roof of the net.

Points in quick succession from David Clifford and Tom O’Sullivan saw the All-Ireland champions go 1-2 to 0-1 ahead. The only response from Tyrone was a Darragh Canavan point, and the four point deficit left many in the attendance of around 4000 fearing the worst.

Nevertheless, there was a positive resolve within the ranks which ensured that this was always going to be a close contest. Conn Kilpatrick came close to grabbing a goal, only to see his shot well saved by Shane Ryan. The patient defending of Michael McKernan, Cormac Quinn and Cormac Munroe, combined with their ability to get forward in numbers created good attacking opportunities.

Sean O’Shea did put Kerry 1-3 to 0-1 ahead by the end of the first quarter. However, Tyrone weren’t rattled and they were soon right back in contention courtesy of a goal of their own. Brian Kennedy worked hard to try and dispossess Shane Ryan, and fortune favoured him when the ball somehow broke free and into the net.

Swapped points between Sean O’Shea and Mattie Donnelly made the score 1-4 to 1-2. More important, though, was the fact that Tyrone were intent on maintaining their momentum and that second quarter eventually saw them produce the type of football which has proved so effective.

By now, this had developed into an end-to-end tussle. Padraig Hampsey effectively marshalled David Clifford, as Michael McKernan, Brian Kennedy and Frank Burns all moved forward to good effect. A shot from Darragh Canavan was saved, as points from Conn Kilpatrick and Darren McCurry for Tyrone and Tony Brosnan for Kerry left the score 1-6 to 1-3 approaching the end of normal time in that first half.

This, though, was when Tyrone produced their best play. The midfield control of Brian Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick provided the ideal foothold, and their controlled build-up finally starting yielding results. Three points from Darren McCurry, Cormac Quinn and then Mattie Donnelly brought the teams level on 1-7 each.

Now the big question was whether the Red Hands could maintain that level of effort on the resumption. This was a classic clash of these two counties, and that second half certainly didn’t disappoint.

Frank Burns blocked a potential rasper from David Clifford, as Tyrone went ahead for the first time courtesy of David Mulgrew. But Kerry were also re-discovering their earlier form and received a big boost with their second goal.

It came after 11 minutes when Donal O’Sullivan put Paul Murphy through and he made no mistake from close range. That left them 2-7 to 1-8 ahead, and the pressure was on Tyrone to respond and they did so in emphatic fashion.

What happened next highlighted the fresh resolve of the Red Hands. They went from two down to two ahead with a spell of brilliantly controlled football, as the tie approached an exciting finale.

Joe Oguz got them back on track when he fired high and over. Then Peter Harte raced through to fire over the equaliser, before Darragh Canavan produced a flick of real skill to leave them 1-11 to 2-7 ahead. Darren McCurry completed the revival to extend the lead entering the final quarter.

It was tense and exciting as both teams sought the vital winning scores.

The issue, too, remained very much in doubt as Tyrone worked hard to successfully restrict the influence of Sean O’Shea and David Clifford. At the other end, misplaced passes added to the drama as Darragh Canavan, Padraig Hampsey and Darren McCurry saw shots frustratingly off target.

Substitute, Ruairi Canavan fired over to extend the lead to two points, 1-14 to 2-9, into added time. Kerry went in search of a winning goal, but as things briefly boiled over following a foul on him, the closing seconds brought his second point and a fully deserved Red Hand win.