THE first couple of games of the Damian Barton reign had a different shape to them than their display on Sunday.
The first 25 minutes were excellent from Derry, but they were based on a level of intensity that they simply couldn’t sustain for 70 minutes.
When Tyrone attacked during that time, Ciaran McFaul and Benny Heron both sat right in front of a frustrated visiting full-forward line. McFaul was particularly effective. Tyrone couldn’t get the ball inside very often, and when they did, it generally had to be recycled.
It led to Mickey Harte’s side taking a lot of pot-shots in that time from positions they wouldn’t want to be shooting from.
Derry’s counter-attacking in that spell was superb. Mark Lynch’s kick-passing was a key factor. Lying fairly deep, he hit a handful of accurate raking passes that moved his side quickly into Tyrone territory before the white shirts could filter back.
The Oak Leafers looked threatening. Emmett McGuckin was the one closest to goal of the inside men, and he gave rookie full-back Padraig Hampsey his fill of it in the first half.
Derry moved the ball quick during that opening spell and Tyrone struggled to deal with it as the hosts slipped into a 2-4 to 0-1 lead.
The energy injected by Danny Heavron, Dermot McBride and Mark Craig, all of whom supplemented the attack, threatened to overwhelm the visiting defence.
But from there, Derry’s energy levels dropped. Barton described things thereafter as “maybe a wee bit lazy”. It’s certainly a demanding gameplan, but it’s the kind of game they’ll face twice more from Tyrone this year, most importantly in their Championship clash on May 22.
Tyrone kept their composure but badly needed the introduction of Mattie Donnelly around midfield. He got on top of Conor Murphy, who had started brightly for Derry, and the whole momentum of the game swung.
Derry’s kickouts had been going well in the opening 25 minutes but Tyrone began to break that down by pressing high and forcing Thomas Mallon long.
That suited Padraig McNulty more than having to chase Emmett Bradley or Mark Lynch to the wings, and the Dungannon man became an important figure alongside the impressive Richie Donnelly.
McGuckin’s dismissal decimated the Derry attack. The supporting cast wasn’t getting up as well as they had been in the first half and there were times when Mark Lynch, pushed to full-forward, looked incredibly isolated on the edge of the square.
The conditioning work Tyrone have done over the past 15 months under Peter Donnelly was evident as the game wore on. They are not far off the elite in that regard.
Helping Derry catch up in that respect is Barton’s big challenge. If he can develop those first 25 minutes and get Derry playing that way over 70, they will not be easily beaten.
