MICKEY Harte has defended the decision to have Tyrone revert back to last year’s gameplan in recent weeks – and says he believes it can work in Croke Park.
The Red Hands had been lauded in the early part of this season for operating off a more offensive hymn sheet. But the way Donegal locked it down in the Ulster semi-final has led to a rethink.
In their two qualifier wins over Longford and Kildare, they’ve had Cathal McShane inside on his own and the other 14 behind the ball, ready to pounce on the counter-attack.
The net result has been two comfortable away wins from tricky-looking encounters in fairly partisan venues, with 4-47 scored.
Tyrone also enjoyed success off Kildare’s kickouts by pressing 11 men into their half in a 3-4-4 formation, although Kevin Feely’s aerial excellence undermined their work in that regard.
But while they cut Kildare in pieces with their running game, there was a lack of effective kicking in their play. Questions will thus persist over whether a return to the style of 2018 is a step forward or a step back.
Evidence suggests it has struggled against Dublin. Mickey Harte was quizzed on the change after the game in Newbridge.
CO’K: Are you concerned that you went hard after their kickout and yet Kevin Feely and Fergal Conway gave you bother in the air, leaving you exposed in behind?
MH: “Well the day we go out and get everything right, I don't know, there'll be two moons in the sky. There's always going to be mistakes. The opposition is always going to get some ball off you. But I think if you look at the contest in the middle of the field, I think we dictated it and I think we won more than we lost. Yes there's an element of gambling in all that you do but you know you got to be brave sometimes as well.”
COK: Would you admit it's gone back over the last couple of weeks to the way ye had been playing?
MH: “Well was there anything wrong with the way we'd been playing last year?”
COK: You would admit that it's a change?
MH: “It's not necessarily a change. You have to adapt and you have to play to what's before you. I mean you got to adjust, you got to adapt. Some day we're playing a different team, then we have to play a different way to deal with them.
“So you got to know your opposition and you got to know how you can best achieve what you want against the opposition that's in front of you. So there's a lot of time and effort and energy put into analysing games nowadays and analysing the opposition.
“There is no single script for this game but there's a basic gameplan that people can adapt and then be flexible with it. That's the name of the game. Flexibility, adaptability is being able to change when change is needed.”
COK: You can see though the way you have played over last couple of weeks hasn't been as effective in Croke Park, it’s struggled against the better sides?
MH: “That's something you and some of the people in your business keep talking about. I don't necessarily agree with that.”
COK: Why would that be?
MH: “Because I don't believe it's true.”
COK: You look at the game against Dublin and you probably had more joy last year?
MH: “Did you look at the game we played against Dublin this year in the league?”
COK: Yeah.
MH: "And how did we do in that?"
COK: But you were probably pressed a bit higher up that day.
MH: “I'm not so sure we were playing very different than we played today. So let's look back and reflect on that, alright.”
