Football

Experimental Tyrone out to start another journey in Longford

BLACK MARK: Mickey Harte will welcome back Peter Harte after a black card took the player out of the action early on in the Ulster semi-final loss to Donegal Picture Margaret McLaughlin
BLACK MARK: Mickey Harte will welcome back Peter Harte after a black card took the player out of the action early on in the Ulster semi-final loss to Donegal Picture Margaret McLaughlin BLACK MARK: Mickey Harte will welcome back Peter Harte after a black card took the player out of the action early on in the Ulster semi-final loss to Donegal Picture Margaret McLaughlin

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifiers round two: Longford v Tyrone (tonight, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 5pm)

THE good news for Tyrone fans is that their first response to not reaching previous Ulster finals under Mickey Harte has been almost perfect.

This evening’s trip to Glennon Brothers Pearse Park to face Longford will be the 10th time they have taken such a journey under the current boss, and they have bounced back from defeat on all nine previous occasions.

There have been a couple of minor snags along the way, and both of those have come in Navan.

Back in 2006, they needed a late point from Owen Mulligan to force a replay with Louth after extra-time before comfortably winning the second meeting in Omagh.

Extra-time was also required at Páirc Tailteann last year as the Red Hands recorded a controversial win over Meath.

Cathal McShane’s 76th minute equalizer saved Tyrone’s bacon in normal time before Harry Loughran grabbed the crucial goal in extra-time.

Perhaps that win, and the subsequent journey, will provide the motivation for Tyrone as they try to react to their lacklustre display in their 1-16 to 0-15 provincial semi-final loss to Donegal a fortnight ago.

Twelve weeks after using up a lifeline to get past the Royals, Tyrone were leading Dublin 0-5 to 0-1 in an All-Ireland final and the country was starting to believe that they may just beat the team that couldn’t be beaten.

Jim Gavin’s side would out-score them 2-16 to 1-9 from there on in to claim a fourth All-Ireland title in a row, and that devastating final 55 minutes has manifested into the Tyrone 2019 season.

Harte is, as they might say around these parts, no dozer and he would have realised that a six-point All-Ireland final defeat after the perfect start was a sure sign that something had to change if they were to ever bring down the Dubs.

As a result, we have witnessed experimentation that has extended from League into Championship as the Red Hands try and settle on the style that they will hope to bring forward into the Super Eights.

That experimentation is likely to continue tonight in what is a risky strategy, but the potential reward necessitates it.

McShane as an oft-used target man may have bamboozled Antrim and Derry but against Donegal the tactic floundered.

Hugh McFadden provided a barricade in front of McShane while extensive pressure was put on those tasked with kicking high quality ball into the full-forward line. The loss of Peter Harte to a black card after 10 minutes also robbed them of a key cog in the new machine.

Tweaks rather than abandonment has likely been the order of the day at training over the last two weeks, and that’s likely to continue here.

Will Colm Cavanagh return to his sweeping position that served the team so well in recent years? Will there be more running and less kicking than had been evident in their three Ulster games to date?

Longford are a pretty good team to test those tweaks on and there is every possibility that the visitors could be in for a tough ride.

The hosts may have only won three of their six home games this year, but Pearse Park takes on a special atmosphere for Qualifier games.

Since the backdoor was introduced in 2001, Longford have played 15 Qualifiers there and have won eight of those with Derry, Down and Mayo amongst the teams to stumble.

All year manager Padraic Davis has crowded the midfield but it’s much more likely that they will flood bodies back for the visit of a Tyrone side that will be without the suspended Tiernan McCann.

It is a much-changed Longford first 15 this year but they produced a great result in the last round of Qualifiers as they left another difficult venue, Netwatch Cullen Park, with a 2-11 to 0-7 win against Carlow. Only for 17 wides, the winning margin would have been much greater.

In Mickey Quinn they have an exceptional midfielder while Mullinalaghta players Donal McElligott, David McGivney and James McGivney also bring real quality to the side.

Those club exploits will no doubt be referenced in the lead up to this game given the shock nature of their Leinster final win over Kilmacud Croke’s.

A victory for Longford this evening would be equally as unexpected but that’s not to say that they can’t give Tyrone their fill of it.

The Red Hands are simply too far ahead of their opponents though even if they are still in ‘tweak’ mode. Another Qualifier journey will begin in earnest.