MICKEY HARTE had a quiet midweek word with Hugh Pat McGeary, informing him that he was edging close to a place in his starting 15. And the rookie defender demonstrated his readiness for the big time with an assured display at Pearse Stadium in the win over Galway.
Cathal McCarron had been yellow-carded just before the interval and it was McGeary who stepped into the corner-back slot as a half-time substitute. The Pomeroy man never put a foot wrong and, in addition to two vital interceptions which thwarted the Tribesmen as they laid siege on the Tyrone goal in the closing stages, he also made an impact going forward.
“You’re delighted to get the call any time in a game. It was just about keeping things simple at the end of the day, and lucky enough, we got the points,” he said.
“Everybody is pushing for a place in the team. The competition is very high this year, as it has been through a lot of years, and everybody is training hard and working to get on to that team.”
McGeary, one of a handful of recent call-ups, was able to get to the pace of the game straight away in his first NFL appearance, slotting comfortably into his
role in a rigidly organised defensive unit.
“Sometimes it’s tough coming off the bench and trying to get into the full pace straight away,” he said.
McGeary pressed high up the field to win the free that Lee Brennan converted to push the Red Hands into an eight-point lead in the final quarter: “‘Sparky’ [Mark Bradley] hit me a perfectly-timed pass and, lucky enough, the defender dragged me down and we got a point out of it.”
But Galway, despite being reduced to 14 men since the early stages of the second half, staged a ferocious comeback, trimming that eight-point deficit back to two: “Towards the last 10 minutes, Galway were really pressing, they got the goal and they were trying to get more goals,” he said.
“It was tough going, especially against Galway, they are one of the top teams in Division Two, and we knew in our first away game it was going to be a very tough game, taking into consideration the conditions. The wind was massively in favour of Galway, and the wind was catching Niall’s kicks and pulling them back.
“Galway pressed really high, and even when we had the extra man, they were winning a lot of ball around midfield.”
Now, with full points from their opening two games, Tyrone are right on course for promotion straight back to Division Two: “When the final whistle went,
it was great, to get the two points. In our first away game, it was very important to get the win, that will hopefully get us going in this Division Two campaign,” he added.
“There’s a lot of Ulster teams in it, and that’s probably crucial for the Ulster Championship too. We’ll be happy to get as many wins as possible, especially against the Ulster teams. We’re going well so far and we want to keep the unbeaten run going. It’s all about trying to get out of Division Two.”
Rather than disrupt their momentum, McGeary feels a three-week break in the League campaign will give injured players an opportunity to move closer to fitness and strengthen the squad.
“The break will help men too, the injured men, and we’ll get back up to Garvaghey again and look back at how we have played so far, and we’ll build towards the next game.”
