Football

Donegal and Tyrone meet again to renew Ulster's major recent rivalry

Kenny Archer

Kenny Archer

Kenny is the deputy sports editor and a Liverpool FC fan.

Donegal captain Michael Murphy was dejected after last year's Ulster Final defeat to Tyrone. Pic Seamus Loughran
Donegal captain Michael Murphy was dejected after last year's Ulster Final defeat to Tyrone. Pic Seamus Loughran Donegal captain Michael Murphy was dejected after last year's Ulster Final defeat to Tyrone. Pic Seamus Loughran

MONAGHAN may beg to differ, and they will still have a significant say in the destination of this year's provincial title, but Donegal-Tyrone is without doubt the major Ulster rivalry of recent seasons.

Even League meetings have been memorable, with Donegal handing out lessons in Division One both this year and two seasons ago, both times in Ballybofey.

Having met just twice in the Championship in 18 years, between 1989 and 2007, this weekend will bring the seventh such showdown between the northern neighbours in a decade.

The upper hand has swung around full circle over that time, but is now in the balance to the extent that few would bet big on which county will land a knockout blow in Clones.

Sunday's game comes 10 years and a day since the Red Hands swatted Donegal aside, also in an Ulster semi-final.

Then Tyrone skipper Brian Dooher was on fire, racking up five points from play, while goals from Colm McCullagh and Raymie Mulgrew also contributed to a completely convincing victory, 2-15 to 1-7.

The pain of defeat for Donegal was much greater because they had at last thrown the Armagh gorilla off their backs.

Donegal hadn't beaten Armagh in eight meetings between 1999 and 2006, with six defeats including an All-Ireland semi-final and three Ulster Finals.

Having battled for the right to host their Ulster quarter-final in 2007, Donegal seemed set for yet another defeat to Joe Kernan's men.

However, a controversial last-gasp goal from Brendan Devenney, involving Kevin Cassidy challenging Armagh keeper Paul Hearty under a dropping ball, gave Donegal a dramatic one-point victory.

With that morale-boosting win under their belts, and that year's Division One trophy in their cabinet, Donegal headed to Clones full of confidence to take on a Tyrone team that had only edged past Fermanagh by the minimum margin.

Yet Mickey Harte's men ruthlessly disposed of Donegal, en route to regaining the Ulster crown.

Come the next meeting with Tyrone in 2011 and there was no doubt that Donegal were taking on the dominant team in Ulster.

Tyrone had won three of the last four Ulsters and had captured the Sam Maguire in the one year (2008) that they didn't enjoy a provincial triumph in that period.

Indeed victory in Ulster was almost being taken for granted in Tyrone. Manager Mickey Harte recalled years later, still with some annoyance, how few people had come onto the pitch in 2010, when the Red Hands retained the Anglo-Celt Cup for only the third time in their history.

Donegal's degree of desire for that trophy was very different. They hadn't won Ulster since their 'annus mirabilis' of 1992, but had lost five provincial deciders since then, including those recent finals of 2002, 2004, and 2006.

Worse still, they'd slumped to three consecutive first-time exits from Ulster, all at home to boot, against Derry, Antrim, and Down. Armagh – blooming Armagh – had hammered them out of the 2010 qualifiers.

Then came Jim McGuinness.

Donegal had beaten Antrim and Cavan on the way to that 2011 semi-final but taking on Tyrone was a far, far tougher test.

Although McGuinness's men had won convincingly in the League, in Omagh too, in Division Two earlier in the year, Championship was different. Or so it seemed.

The Red Hands appeared to be comfortably in command before the break, although a superb long distance point from Kevin Cassidy kept Donegal in contention.

Family and friends then rode to McGuinness's rescue. His brother-in-law Colm McFadden scored a goal, but a replay still appeared the most likely outcome until Jim's Glenties clubmate Dermot 'Brick' Molloy, a late substitute, struck for a stunning late winning goal.

As turning points go, that score registered 180 degrees.

By last year's Ulster Final meeting the Donegal-Tyrone dynamic had changed utterly again.

Tyrone had become the team banging their heads off a wall, failing to reach finals, including losing two All-Ireland semi-finals.

Donegal, in contrast, kept reaching Ulster finals, five of them (triumphing in 2011, 2012, and 2014), and All-Ireland Finals, winning one of their two appearances.

In terms of Ulster, Donegal hadn't just become a stumbling block for Tyrone, they were that huge, impassable brick wall, one that the Red Hands couldn't get round, or through, or over, no matter what they tried.

Four times in five seasons the Tir Chonaill men had dumped Tyrone out of Ulster.

Making matters worse, the matches had mostly been very tight – but Donegal had always managed to come out on top.

Tyrone didn't just want to win a first Ulster since 2010; they desperately wanted to beat Donegal. Absolutely had to.

Both factors coming together in their favour – combined with the manner of their late run of three superb scores to turn what looked like another galling defeat into famous victory – explained the fervour of the Tyrone celebrations.

Last year ended up being the first since 2010 that neither Donegal nor Tyrone reached an All-Ireland semi-final.

Both will have their sights set on getting back to that last four stage – at least.

For now, though, it's all about Ulster.

Donegal are targeting a remarkable seventh consecutive Ulster final appearance, having already surpassed their own run of five-in-a-row from 1989 to 1993.

Putting that streak into perspective, it's the longest by any county since Down were in all the finals from 1958 to 1969 inclusive (Cavan, of course, appeared in 18 from 1939 to 1956).

Tyrone will be determined to break that spell, none more so than skipper Sean Cavanagh, for whom this is set to be his last senior season.

The Red Hands recovered from Donegal defeats in 2013 and 2015 to go further than their provincial conquerors, reaching All-Ireland semi-finals both those years, but that will not lessen their hunger to taste victory again this Sunday.

And with a new-look Donegal keen to re-assert their hold over Tyrone, a gripping contest is in prospect.