Football

Harte stays silent

TYRONE manager Mickey Harte refused to speak to the waiting media.

In victory and defeat for the past 11 years, the Tyrone boss had always presented himself for interviews.

The Tyrone manager was visibly annoyed when he confronted match referee Eddie Kinsella at the final whistle. Harte had to be restrained by his son, Michael, the team physio.

Tony Donnelly, Tyrone's assistant manager said Harte was incensed at the allocation of just two minutes of added time. That grievance was compounded when Kinsella blew the final whistle as Tyrone prepared to launch an attack from midfield.

"Possibly we felt that there should have been more additional time than the two minutes allocated. And there was a stoppage in additional time. The ball was thrown up. We were breaking away and he did not let the last play finish," said Donnelly.

"The most frustrating thing is he did not let that play finish when we could have broke forward and got the equaliser. That was the cause of all that frustration and exasperation at the final whistle."

Conscious that Tyrone's complaints could be lead to an accusation of sour grapes, Donnelly added: "I want to wish Monaghan all of the best in their defence of the Ulster title and possibly going forward in the All-Ireland series."