Tyrone seeking another gear in Letterkenny

WHILE chronic traffic congestion problems have forced even a local pizzeria to cut a number of its delivery routes in Letterkenny, Tyrone head to the Donegal county town this Sunday afternoon aiming to create a bit of a ‘jam’ in Division One of the National League.

The Red Hands have been stuck in the slow lane for much of their National League campaign to date but they have the opportunity close up on the bumper of one or two other teams in the pack if they can get the better of the hosts this weekend at O’Donnell Park.

With Jim McGunness at the steering wheel, the Tir Chonaill are the current pacesetters in the table after five rounds of matches, but the former All-Ireland winning manager has hinted that reaching a League Final is far from his priority, so his side may ease down the gears in their closing two fixtures.

Tyrone will be hoping that is the case though given the oft fractious nature of the relationship between the neighbouring counties down the years, it’s hard to fathom Donegal giving their visitors a free pass.

Sunday will represent the first competitive fixture between the counties at Letterkenny since a McKenna Cup clash back in January 2014, when Tyrone took the spoils 0-13 to 1-7. Michael Murphy scored a first half goal that day, though he also saw a penalty saved by keeper Niall Morgan in the second half.

Wind the clock forward eleven years and both remain key figures in their respective line-ups, with Murphy of course coming out of retirement over this past off-season to held spearhead Donegal’s assault on Sam Maguire.

Clinching an All-Ireland title is the last thing on the mind of Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke right now, with the team facing a real scrap to stave off relegation. After a heartening draw down in Tuam last time out, he hopes to carry the momentum garnered from that result and more particularly performance into O’Donnell Park

“ It’s hard to know what way it will work out. We have two really tough games left. We are just trying to improve our own performances and if that is good enough to get the wins then that’s great. There are no guarantees.

“ There is no point going down to Galway and putting in a good performance if you don’t back it up. Going to Donegal will be a really tricky assignment but that’s the challenge.”

Tyrone are running out of matches to preserve their top flight status and can ill-afford another reversal this weekend. O’Rourke appreciates that he is learning more about his squad with each passing week.

“ We just have to keep going and learning game by game. I think we are doing that. It is a steep enough learning curve though.”

Victory this Sunday and the Tyrone team and supporters will happily endure the meandering queue of match going traffic heading out of Letterkenny and back home for the ongoing St Patrick’s Bank Holiday festivities.