Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup final: Derry 1-17 Tyrone 1-22 (aet)
AT THE end, the question was: who’ll ever forget this game? Not: who’ll remember it?
Other games will be played for higher stakes, but this was a memorable tussle that swayed one way, then the other until Tyrone, finally, broke free in extra-time after Darren McCurry had drawn the game with a nerveless free in the dying seconds of normal-time.
Derry had led 1-12 to 0-12 with less than two minutes to play and looked to have done enough to see off a Tyrone side that had Ronan McNamee and Cathal McCarron sent-off for their parts in a one-in, all-in shemozzle that began when McNamee took exception to a Daniel McKinless challenge.
Derry manager Damien Barton ended up on his backside in the ensuing scramble and Niall Morgan was also booked. McKinless received a second yellow card minutes later as tempers on both sides threatened to boil over. But order was restored and two points from Conor Myler, whose influence was immense after he came on at half-time, set up McCurry’s grandstand finish.
Both sides were restored to full strength for the extra 20 minutes and, although Derry began with two points, six on-the-trot before the break left Tyrone well ahead. Derry pressed them right to the finish, but McCurry’s late penalty killed them off once and for all.
By that time, Enda Lynn had been stretchered off with a broken leg and, with the league starting this weekend, Derry will miss the Greenlough clubman more than the McKenna Cup, which Tyrone took for the fifth time in succession to equal Monaghan’s record of 14 titles.
They had to fight all the way for this one and were behind after a minute when James Kielt split the posts off his trusty left foot. But the Red Hands dominated the next 20 minutes and could have been further in front than 0-3 to 0-1 after points from Cathal McShane, Lee Brennan (a free) and the lively Hugh Pat McGeary.
Video: Mickey Harte and Mattie Donnelly talk red cards and come backs
Derry saw plenty of the ball, but their attacks took too long to get going, allowing Tyrone to set up a defensive screen that forced them wide or into trouble. However, the Oak Leaf outfit gradually got to grips with their opponents’ system and two frees from Kielt had them level after 22 minutes.
Lynn ghosted through the Tyrone defence to give his side the lead again and they extended it to four thanks to Ryan Bell’s goal on the rebound - his penalty had been well saved by Niall Morgan after Cailean O’Boyle was upended in the square by McNamee. Emmet Bradley added another from distance as half-time approached and, though Ronan O’Neill pulled one back, Derry went in 1-5 to 0-4 ahead at the break.
Mickey Harte introduced Meyler, Connor McAliskey and Pádraig McNulty at the break and McAliskey’s first act was to clip over a free which set off a tit-for-tat sequence that brought the sides to 1-9 to 0-9 after 53 minutes.
Derry had some success pumping the ball high into O’Boyle, but they overdid it and Tyrone took control in midfield and, in a flash, they were level thanks to points from McCurry and two from the impressive Niall Sludden.
Derry responded well. Lynn scored and Conor McAtamney, who worked tirelessly in midfield, won the ensuing kick-out. Conor Kearns got on the end of O’Boyle’s pass and left two between them.
Anarchy reigned soon after when McNamee’s altercation with McKinless sparked a brawl that resulted in Tyrone being reduced to 13 men and Derry manager Barton sent to sit with his subs.
Enda Lynn added another point and the Oak Leaf outfit looked to be closing in on the title, but McKinless walked for a second yellow and then came Tyrone’s injury-time fightback.
Meyler, giving his best performance in the Tyrone shirt, scored twice leaving one in it and then Sludden was brought down inside the ‘45’ out on the left. There have been question marks over Tyrone’s free-takers, but McCurry answered them with an ice-cool finish to send the game into extra-time. Conall McCann and Kieran McGeary restored Tyrone to full strength and Daniel McKinless was restored for Derry before the extra 20 minutes began.
Any thoughts that Tyrone had the momentum were temporarily dispelled when Kearns and Neil Forrester scores left them two ahead, but Tyrone found the energy to produce a decisive spell and six unanswered points meant they led 0-21 to 1-14 by the interval.
Still, Derry - who had Mark Lynch acting as bainisteoir on the line - had belief. O’Boyle, Gavin McWilliams and McAtamney cut the arrears to a single point after an hour and-a-half of energy-sapping action. But Tyrone would not be denied and, driven on by Meyler, they broke for the line.
Jonathan Munroe became the 21st scorer of the game after he got on the end of one of the Omagh clubman’s surging runs and then, with Lynn injured, Karl McKaigue took down McAliskey as he shaped to shoot for goal. McCurry buried the penalty and Tyrone held on to their cup.
How much will this game have taken out of the players’ legs remains to be seen, but both sides deserve huge credit for their parts in this showdown. The league and Championship meetings have a lot to live up to.
STAR MEN
ENDA LYNN (DERRY)
Derry had excellent performers all over the field, including Ciarán Mullan, Chrissy McKaigue, Emmet Bradley, James Kielt, Cailean O’Boyle, Conor McAtamney and several others, but Lynn gets the nod for an inspirational display around the middle third.
The Greenlough forward complemented his workrate by using the ball well and scored three fine points from play. Sadly, he was stretchered off in extra-time with a suspected broken leg and left the ground in an ambulance.
CONOR MEYLER
The Omagh clubman was introduced at half-time and finished with three crucial points as the Red Hands rallied to hold onto the Dr McKenna Cup.
The confidence he showed to get on the ball deep in his own half and drive into Derry territory turned the game Tyrone’s way and earmarks him as one to watch for the future.
Several others stood out, including Darren McCurry, who converted a nerveless stoppage-time free, Niall Sludden, Mattie Donnelly, Cathal McShane and Lee Brennan.
MATCH STATS
Tyrone: N Morgan; C McCarron, R McNamee, HP McGeary (0-1); T McCann (0-1), J McMahon, B Tierney; C Cavanagh, C Clarke; H Óg Conlon, M Donnelly, C McShane (0-3); L Brennan (0-4, 0-2 frees), R O'Neill (0-1), P Quinn; Subs: P McNulty for Clarke (h-t), C Meyler (0-3, 0-1 free) for Conlon (h-t), C McAliskey (0-3, 0-3 free) for Quinn (h-t), D McCurry (1-3, 1-0 penalty, 0-1 free) for O'Neill (47), N Sludden (0-2) for McMahon (51), J Munroe (0-1) for McShane (66), P Hampsey for Tierney (72), C McShane for McGeary (76)
Derry: T Mallon; C Mullan, M Craig, K McKaigue; G McKinless, C McKaigue, D Heavron; B Rogers, E Bradley (0-2); E Lynn (0-3), J Kielt (0-3, 0-2 frees), B Heron; S Heavron, C O'Boyle (0-1 free), R Bell (1-1, 0-1 free); Subs: C McAtamney (0-1) for Rogers (1), C Bradley (0-1) for S Heavron (32), O Duffy (0-1) for Craig (41), C Kearns (0-2) for Heron (49), D McKinless for Bell (53), N Forrester (0-1) for G McKinless (59), G McWilliams (0-1, f) for Kielt (79)
Referee: N Mooney (Cavan)
Attendance: 7,143
