IN his third All-Ireland final, Feargal Logan finally nailed it... a superb victory which will lift spirits high among Tyrone gaels. Twice, with club and county, Logan finished on the losing side at Croke Park, but a mile up the road, he discovered the joy of success in Donnycarney.
Personal affirmation was not the foremost of the Tyrone manager's sentiments as he celebrated All-Ireland U21 triumph, but he did roll back the years in his post-match reflections. "I finally won one at the third time of asking. I have lost an All-Ireland final in '95 by a point, I lost an All-Ireland club final with Stewartstown Harps 10 years later, and finally got one, so nobody needs to tell me about how sore it is when you lose All-Ireland finals," said Logan. "I'll tell you what, I thought I was going to lose another one, and I physically couldn't believe it." Logan's fears appeared entirely justified at the halfway stage, when his side trailed by two points after playing with the wind and rain in their backs. "We dug it out, we had a good second half. We said that we'd carry the ball into the breeze, we'd run in numbers and we'd support, and these boys have been brilliant all year. "And what more can you ask for than that sort of show? I thought it was absolutely top drawer, proper Tyrone football in the second half. We were nervous and edgy in the first half, some of the decision-making, some of the shooting into blocks, some of the wides, was horrible. "It wasn't characteristic of this team. The real characteristics came out in the second half, and I'm just glad, because to leave an All-Ireland final without having shown your worth, never mind winning, is devastating."
The atmosphere was calm in the Tyrone dressing room at half-time, but a plan had to be hastily formulated, agreed and signed off before being laid out before the players.
Time was not on Tyrone's side, but a medical emergency in the Parnell Park stand meant the interval stretched out to three-quarters-of-an-hour.
During that time, the Tyrone team doctor, Michael Logan, brother of the manager, rushed to the aid of a spectator who had fallen ill, and helped resuscitate him before he was taken to hospital by ambulance. "My own brother Michael, the doctor with the team, went out to help a man, and he came in and he told me he helped resuscitate a Tyrone man in the stand and, to be honest, when I heard that, I said, well listen Feargal, catch yourself on. Football's not that important. "I was delighted that Michael was able to go out of the dressing room and do that.''
An energised start to the second half saw the Red Hands take the game to Tipp in a more direct and aggressive fashion, but the Munster champions refused to give up their lead.
They were still ahead going into the final quarter, until a moment of Cathal McShane magic produced a goal of sublime quality and gave the Ulster men the lead for the first time. "They took us the full distance, and we needed a goal. We almost had one before that, when Ruairi McGlone went through but it went wide. I felt we would need a goal, because the breeze was so strong," said Logan.
The Tyrone goal was under siege when referee Fergal Kelly sounded the final whistle, sparking a pitch invasion by success-starved fans who had almost forgotten how to celebrate. "Tyrone football has been around the houses recently, and I'm just delighted that there's a bit of a lift on, and hopefully Tyrone will get on at senior level, minor level, every level and keep going, keep working hard. Tipperary, Roscommon, all these teams are working doubly hard, and we've got to keep working hard."
* Match report P70-71