Football

Streetwise Monaghan could leave Tyrone deeper in the mire

Monaghan have missed Niall Kearns at midfield but have a good record in Omagh. Picture by Seamus Loughran
Monaghan have missed Niall Kearns at midfield but have a good record in Omagh. Picture by Seamus Loughran Monaghan have missed Niall Kearns at midfield but have a good record in Omagh. Picture by Seamus Loughran

Allianz Football League Division One: Tyrone v Monaghan (tonight, 7pm, Healy Park, live on eir Sport 2)

WHEN Tyrone lost in Inniskeen a year ago to the day, it left them looking mired in a relegation battle. In the end, they finished fourth, just behind Monaghan, and went on to reach the All-Ireland final.

Yet there seems something different about their poor start this time. The obvious place to start is with an attack that has scored just 1-27 in three games.

Their defensive tag is unfair given that they averaged 2-14 in last year’s championship and were joint second-highest scorers in Division One to Dublin.

That is the context against which their current struggle must be placed. Their 1-10 from play so far is, alongside Down’s 0-13 in 2016, the lowest recorded by any top flight team in the first three games over the whole of the last decade.

Fermanagh, roundly hammered for their style of play, have scored 1-12 from play. So there can be absolutely no denying that something is awry with Tyrone.

But is it seasonal, or is it structural? Their attacking play has been uncharacteristically one-paced and static. They’ve had a lack of penetration from deep runners, with many of their scores ironically coming off whatever ball they’ve kicked.

That lack of energy from the half-back hub that’s been at their heart in recent seasons could be explained away by a lack of work put into the legs. They, like Dublin, had a team holiday after which they were basically starting from scratch.

That’s not looking for excuses for them, but rather trying to diagnose the symptoms. Individually, their attack hasn’t functioned. Cathal McShane’s been a good outlet but lacks that real cutting threat in front of goal. Darren McCurry had a nightmare against Mayo and was then so deep against Roscommon that he only had one shot.

They’re effectively being carried by Peter Harte and Kieran McGeary. The former’s been their scoring threat, while it’s the under-rated Pomeroy man that sets the tempo for them. He does everything at pace, and that lifts everything around him.

He’s named at 15 for tonight’s game but the Tyrone side will likely not bear much resemblance to their numerical line-out. Richie Donnelly is named at midfield, and given their struggle there against Roscommon he could well play there.

Padraig Hampsey will wear six but given his joy against Conor McManus in Croke Park last Autumn, it seems unlikely that he’ll be designated anything other than a repeat task.

Defensively they’ve had as much bother as in attack. Colm Cavanagh’s absence has been marked. The space in front of their goal has been uncharacteristically bare, and perhaps Frank Burns’ return to the side is with that in mind.

Monaghan’s two consecutive defeats haven’t attracted anywhere near the same attention as Tyrone’s recent performances, but Malachy O’Rourke will have taken concerns from their failure to back up a great win over Dublin.

They were close to full-strength against Galway, and if anything the defeat shone a light on the absences of Niall Kearns and Kieran Hughes. They’d have needed a stepladder up Tom Flynn’s back to get near him in the air, though facing a Tyrone side that has had a similar bother won’t strike the same fear into them.

Fintan Kelly is out and Kieran Duffy is a doubt. Conor McCarthy will likely return to the side now his Sigerson commitments are done, and they could use Karl O’Connell slotting back in again after missing the last two outings.

Barring that All-Ireland semi-final, Monaghan have had the upper hand on Tyrone in the last few years, and they’ve a good record in Omagh.

Their own attack has to function better than it did when faced with Galway’s well-structured system that kept them to just two points in the crucial first 25 minutes of the second half, when the Farneymen were wind-assisted.

Given the history of these games, it’s unlikely to be settled before the 68th minute. And Monaghan are maybe just that little bit more streetwise when it comes to it. They could snatch it again.