Football

Tyrone's Niall Sludden: physical power central to success

Tyrone star Niall Sludden. Picture by Seamus Loughran.
Tyrone star Niall Sludden. Picture by Seamus Loughran. Tyrone star Niall Sludden. Picture by Seamus Loughran.

No-one knows quite what to expect from this evening’s clash of Ulster giants at Kingspan Breffni Park.

It’s more likely to develop into a game of chess, a test of patience and resolve, than a classic festival of open, attacking football.

As a tactical battle of strategies unfolds between Declan Bonner and Mickey Harte in the Anglo-Celt Cup semi-final between Donegal and Tyrone, attention to detail could make all the difference.

But Red Hand playmaker Niall Sludden insists that one basic, primal attribute means everything – physical power.

Two assemblies of men honed and conditioned for peak performance, will collide on an uncompromising heavyweight contest in which only the strongest will survive.

“We are very lucky to have someone like Peter Donnelly when it comes to the strength and conditioning side of things but at the end of the day you have to put the work in and all the boys do that there,” said Sludden.

“With the hustle and bustle of inter-county football nowadays, you really need it and you can see it there as there is a lot of physical players in our side and I know at training there are a lot of big hits.”

Ulster football’s fiercest modern-day rivalry is ready to bare its teeth once again in a historic stadium built to stir the passions.

Donegal’s dominance of the early part of the decade has waned under the weight of a new wave of Red Hand optimism and intent.

Having been forced to bend the knee to their north-west neighbours in painful defeats in the first half of this decade, Tyrone have won the last three Championship meetings of the sides.

“It’s Donegal and there is going to be that bit of bite there because of the rivalry over the past number of years. We know what they are like, as we have met them many times over the years both in league and championship, sometimes coming out on the winning side and other times being on the losing side.

“We have got the better of them in recent years in the Championship, but that will count for nothing this time around. It’s a game that will have a life of its own and they come into it as reigning Ulster champions so they will have plenty of belief in themselves.”

With ten members of the 2015 All-Ireland U21 winning side now firmly embedded in the senior squad, Tyrone have travelled further down the path of transition than today’s opponents have.

But Donegal are edging closer to where they want to be, and the form of youngsters such as Daire O Baoill and Jamie Brennan is chiming nicely with the great Michael Murphy’s enduring influence and the welcome return of Paddy McBrearty.

“They have quality players throughout their side and with Paddy McBrearty back, it leaves them even more dangerous as they badly missed him last season,” said Sludden.

“I saw the Division Two League final and they have a number of young boys in there so they have a very good mix between youth and experience.

“It’s going to be a very difficult challenge for us but it’s one that we are all eagerly looking forward to. It’s another step up but that’s what you expect when it comes to the latter stages of the Ulster Championship.”

The accommodation of a mix of styles represents a balancing act and remains a work in progress as Tyrone search for the optimum blend.

There were signs in earlier rounds that they are some way off reaching an acceptable compromise between the contrasting approaches of long ball and running game, as gaps opened up at the back which Derry and Antrim both exploited as they struck for goals.

“It was all about getting a quick start against Antrim. I wouldn’t say that we were in top gear against them but a lot of boys got game time there and that is good going forward.

“We had fourteen different scorers which is pleasing but we wouldn’t be happy at how easy they got in for their two goals and that certainly won’t be good enough against Donegal. At the end of the day though it was all about getting the result and we know that a lot bigger test lies ahead this weekend.”