All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifier Rd 1B: Tyrone v Limerick (Healy Park, tomorrow, 4pm)
AS a course and distance winner over the Qualifier route, Joe McMahon knows that Tyrone can’t assume that they will coast to an easy win against Limerick.
When Tyrone came through the back door in 2008, they played Louth, Westmeath, and Mayo. While the Red Hands produced an imperious performance against Kerry in the All-Ireland final, they almost came unstuck in Healy Park. Westmeath could easily have knocked them out in the second round. A profligate Mayo side should also have beaten them.
Experience has informed the 31-year-old McMahon that every game is a potential pitfall.
“All the expectation is on ourselves,” he said.
“The impression given by the media is that it’s only a matter of us turning up. We’ve been caught in the past doing that.
“But Mickey [Harte] would have the boys well warned and prepared. We are concentrating on our performance and not the opposition’s performance.
“As long as we put in our full performance, then you would be confident of coming through. Limerick are used to playing against the likes of Cork and Kerry and they have put it up to those teams in the past. When Cork and Kerry meet Limerick, they don’t take them for granted and we are going to be no different.”
In previous years, Tyrone players didn’t leave the panel. Defections were extremely rare. The possibility of an All-Ireland medal meant every place was treasured. That situation no longer prevails. Following Tyrone’s relegation from Division One, five players (PJ Lavery, Paddy McNeice, Dwayne Quinn, Emmet McKenna and Shay McGuigan) quit the squad.
Fortunately for Mickey Harte, he was able to replace the vacancies left by the aforementioned individuals by drafting in fresh talent from the U21 side that won the All-Ireland title.
Teenage sensation Lee Brennan already looks like a star of the future. The three time Ulster Colleges Allstar recently chalked up 1-10 (1-4 from play) when Trillick defeated Dungannon in the first round of the Tyrone Championship.
McMahon believes the pressure being exerted by Tyrone’s rising stars is one of the reasons why there have been no signs of complacency at training.
“The big thing is competition which exists for places. That would be a big plus from the point of view of competitiveness. The competition for places is driving us on. You can’t afford to be complacent otherwise you might lose your place in the team.”
The 26-man panel selected for tomorrow’s game includes just three U21 recruits: wing-forward Ruairi Brennan, and substitutes Lee Brennan and Mark Bradley. So far, Harte has resisted the temptation to include Padraig Hampsey, the full-back who produced a series of accomplished performances for the U21s. The Na Fianna clubman also produced an assured display when Coalisland knocked Clonoe out of the Tyrone Championship.
When a player of Hampsey’s quality can be left off the Tyrone squad, it would suggest there’s still plenty of talent in the O’Neill County.
The manner in which Donegal casually dismissed Armagh has also served to put Tyrone in a different light. Following a bruising and absorbing contest, Tyrone lost to Donegal by three points. Given that Donegal are now being touted as contenders for the Sam Maguire Cup, there must be grounds for Tyrone fans to be slightly optimistic.
Joe McMahon believes a good run in the Qualifiers could allow Tyrone to make invaluable progress.
Commenting on Tyrone’s performance against Donegal, he said: “A loss is a loss. It doesn’t matter what way you are beaten. Obviously, we only lost by a point or so whereas Armagh maybe didn’t show themselves to be the power that they can be.
“We would be disappointed with parts of our game against Donegal but equally there was stuff which worked and some boys did well. We have continued to work on those things. Coming through the back door, it’s an opportunity to put that work into practice and refine those skills and set-plays.”
Tomorrow’s game will present an opportunity for Ronan O’Neill to cement his place in the starting team. The main player on the Tyrone minor team which won the All-Ireland title in 2010, O’Neill was a sub in Ballybofey. But McMahon needs no reminding of O’Neill’s talent.
An All-Ireland medallist and an Allstar, McMahon had never won a county medal with Omagh. The honour he craved throughout his career was delivered last year when O’Neill scored the winning goal in the county final.
“Ronan is well worth his place,” said McMahon. “He has been showing it at training and showing it in club games. When it comes to it, Ronan has produced the goods. At centre half-forward, you are expected to pull the strings and knit the play together. There is no better man to do it. I hope it works out for him.”
Tyrone: M O'Neill; A McCrory, R McNamee, C McCarron; R McNabb, Justin McMahon, P Harte; C Cavanagh, M Donnelly; T McCann, R O'Neill, R Brennan; D McCurry, S Cavanagh, C McAliskey
Subs: N Morgan, M Bradley, L Brennan, D Carlin, C Clarke, R Donnelly, P Hughes, D McBride, C McCann, Joe McMahon, P McNulty.
Limerick: B Scanlan; J McCarthy, S O’Dea, R Browne; I Corbett, C Fahy, S Cahill; T Lee, G Hegarty, D Tracey; P Ranahan, S Buckley, D Neville, Peter Nash, I Ryan
