All-Ireland U17 Football Championship final: Tyrone v Roscommon
Amid all the hype surrounding tomorrow’s clash of giants in the All-Ireland semi-final, Tyrone’s stars of the future have been preparing for their own day of destiny.
The All-Ireland U17 Football Championship final will get the ball rolling on a huge afternoon of Croke park action, with the Red Hands taking on Roscommon for the honour of being crowned inaugural champions.
They may be the undercard on a triple bill, but only one piece of silverware will be handed over at GAA Headquarters tomorrow.
That gleaming new trophy is the prize that drives Tyrone’s talented teenagers.
This is a group of young players who initially accepted that they would miss out on the opportunity to represent their county, following a decision by Congress to discontinue the Minor grade at the end of this season.
But the introduction of the U17 competition a year early has filled the void, and how they have grasped an unexpected opportunity.
A league and championship double in Ulster was followed by an All-Ireland semi-final win over Meath, which earned them tomorrow’s dream trip to Croke Park.
They face a Roscommon side that followed up an impressive Connacht campaign with a fully merited semi-final defeat of Kerry, providing further evidence of the work being done at youth level in the western county in recent seasons.
Tyrone’s well organised defence has provided a solid foundation for an empowering journey.
Skipper Cormac Munroe is a steadying and resolute influence at its heart, while Antoin Fox and Tarlach Quinn have put in some immense performances.
In true Tyrone fashion, defending is about the collective, and about the energy and mobility of players from all over the field, a work ethic epitomised by Daniel Miller.
In the midfield engine room, Matthew Murnaghan and Joe Oguz have frown in stature with every game, contributing scores, but more importantly, securing possession and ensuring a supply of quality ball reaches the finishers.
Darragh Canavan, Thomas Hoy, Cormac Donaghy and Cormac Donnelly all have an eye for the posts, allied to the confidence that will help them deal with the occasion.
Roscommon, managed by Liam Tully, defeated Kerry by 2-15 to 1-13 in their semi-final, with Paul Carey claiming a 1-6 haul at Ennis.
He will be earmarked as a major threat that must be curbed if the Red Hands are to succeed, and they will also have to deal with Peter Gillooly, who hit 1-5, while Ciaran Lawless is also a scoring threat from deep.
“They were very impressive. They led Kerry from start to finish,” said Tyrone manager, who travelled to Ennis to watch the game.
“They have a centre forward, Carey, who scored 1-6, and Peter Gilooly inside, he scored 1-5, the bulk of those from play.
“They do set up a defensive shape, but they have also a big midfielder, Cunnane, absolutely fantastic, a fellow Lawless, at half back, who kicked two monster scores.”
Holmes insisted that his players will have to be on top of their game throughout, adding: “They kicked five or six great scores in the second half when the game was in the melting pot, and that really was the winning of it for them.
“They were very accurate, I think they had only three wides the whole game, so they’re really efficient up front.
“They’re also very well organised in defence, and were the betterment of Kerry the whole way through.”
Treble All-Ireland winner Holmes has also called on Tyrone fans to get to Croke Park early to support the U17s in the noon throw-in.
