ON Sunday morning, the predictable doom merchants were at their vitriolic best regarding Tyrone and, to a slightly lesser extent, Ulster football in general.
Tyrone were once again being portrayed as nothing short of a cancer within the game. Several hours later Tyrone produced the best performance of the year so far, scoring 1-21, 1-19 of it from play, against one of the meanest defences in the game, while also creating several other goal chances.
Meanwhile, they conceded an unbelievably miserly eight frees over the 70 minutes, didn’t pick up a yellow or red card (and just one black) with not an obvious sign of sledging in sight.
It was a stunning riposte from a team that only three months ago were in serious decline and apparently “depressed at training”. Exercise is known to be an effective treatment for depression. It obviously worked a treat for Tyrone as the players looked far from depressed during Sunday’s game.
Tyrone produced a level of performance that we have not seen in years. Such was the performance that, even though the match was not competitive, throughout the country people appeared to sit back and enjoy the show.
The harsher critic might say Donegal appeared to take the same approach for large parts of the game. I was lucky enough to play in a fine side yet I struggle to remember times against a top team when we produced such a remarkable performance against fancied opponents as Tyrone did on Sunday. The closest I can remember is the 2008 All-Ireland quarter-final demolition of Dublin.
For anyone involved in sport, the perfect game or performance is almost mythical in its rarity. Tyrone, between the 15th minute of the first half and Tiernan McCann’s goal three minutes after the re-start, came as close to it as any team is likely to get.
The challenge for Tyrone is to try to repeat the trick against better teams on even bigger stages as, unfortunately, no trophies were handed out on Sunday and analysis of the Donegal performance reveals how poor they were. Their top performers had bad days at the office, while their defensive system got caught in no man’s land, at times pushing too high and at others dropping too deep.
Even at the match, it was clear that many of Tyrone’s shots, particularly in the first half, were uncontested. Watching it again on TV that evening, it was amazing that not one shot of their 1-19 from play was outside the scoring zone, with the vast majority uncontested.
If Tyrone produced a similar display to Donegal’s I wouldn’t fancy being close to Mickey Harte during the video meeting afterwards. It wouldn’t matter how good the opposition were, it just wouldn’t be accepted.
Yet for all the superlatives Tyrone’s performance deserved, the outcome is just the same. They are through to the Ulster final, no more, no less.
The pundits that have eaten their words this week will have no issue ignoring Sunday’s evidence if they get the chance later in the year to rubbish them.
Tyrone and Mickey Harte have been around long enough to give absolutely no heed to the hoopla they’ve created this week – bar to raise a wry smile at the irony.
They need only look at the Cavan semi-final replay win last year and the mini-hysteria after that too. By the end of the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Mayo the hysteria was a distant memory.
Speaking of teams with big turnarounds in public perception, Down have had a similar upturn in opinion following their excellent win over Armagh.
Tomorrow night’s semi-final against Monaghan should be another enthralling game. Monaghan have been tipped by some, including myself, for Ulster honours.
While Tyrone’s tour de force will have dampened these expectations, they will remain favourites tomorrow. Given the solidity of the Monaghan team and their well-established style of play, one of the few conundrums facing Malachy O’Rourke is trying to get both Jack McCarron and Conor McManus hitting form on the same day. McCarron was prolific during the League and McManus notably quiet. The Championship has seen the form lines reversed.
After a prolific League, McCarron (right) has struggled to hit the same heights. I’m lucky to have worked with Jack, and a more genuine, modest lad you would struggle to meet. I remember doing a pitch session with him and his point-scoring ability was simply stunning.
Any forward will go off form at some stage in a season or career. The best ones fight through this rather than feel sorry for themselves or hide.
Like McManus during the League, Jack has never let his effort level or head drop. Instead he keeps showing, fighting for scraps and backing himself for scores.
Against both Fermanagh and Cavan, he still was involved in several key scores simply thanks to his effort level. That says more to me than when he’s in top form and hitting easy scores.
I have no doubt at all that he will click into gear very soon. If he and McManus hit form together the question becomes if in the modern game a team supply them with enough ball to make it work.
I have little doubt that Down will be adapting the defensive shape that worked well for them against Armagh, particularly in the second half.
If they do I think they will make things difficult for Monaghan.
The potential battle between Darren O’Hagan and Conor McManus could be worth the admission fee alone. The other major battleground will be in midfield where the Hughes brothers, Kieran and Darren, will likely be up against the strong Down partnership of Peter Turley and Niall Donnelly.
My worry for Down is that their key forwards, the Johnston brothers, Ryan and Jerome, and Connaire Harrison, are going to get minimal change out of the likes of Drew Wylie and Colin Walshe and I struggle to see where Down’s scores will come from.
Monaghan should come through by several points. It’s unlikely to garner the attention Tyrone’s win has, but something tells me that’ll suit them down to the ground.
