All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final, group two, phase two: Tyrone 2-15 Cork 2-12
DEEP under the Cusack Stand, Mickey Harte convened a frantic half-time war council.
It didn’t look good for his leggy, lethargic Tyrone team and their season was at stake.
Cork held a five-point lead (2-4 to 0-5) at that stage and, with a home match to come against Roscommon, they must have sensed that a place in the All-Ireland semi-finals was theirs for the taking.
Meanwhile, Harte’s Red Hands needed a dramatic comeback to avoid defeat and the prospect of having to beat Dublin in Omagh to save their season.
The confident Rebels were out in good time for the second half and they had knocked the ball about on the field for a couple of minutes before a reprogrammed Tyrone eventually emerged.
It turned out there was nothing for their fans to worry about.
In the first half the Red Hands had huffed and puffed. In the second, they blew Cork away with a superb display of attacking football that secured their place in Ireland’s last four for the third year in-a-row.
Tyrone’s final group game against Dublin will now be a sparring session - perhaps practice for the All-Ireland final? - and the manner of their win on Saturday means they can look forward to it with confidence after battling back from seven points down to win by three at the finish.
The Red Hands had been caught cold 15 seconds in when Luke Connolly slid the ball into their net and when James Loughrey hammered home a second goal midway through the first half they looked in real trouble.
But Harte’s change to a front-foot gameplan with Mattie Donnelly up front alongside Cathal McShane worked a treat and 2-2 in four second half minutes sent their opponents reeling.
McShane’s thumping goal was followed swiftly by an emphatic penalty from Peter Harte and those strikes made up for a lacklustre first half display that had started from the throw-in
Mattie Taylor’s punt to Michael Hurley sent Ian Maguire bearing down on the Tyrone goal.
The St Finbarr’s midfielder switched the ball deftly to Connolly and the net bulged as he picked his spot past Niall Morgan.
Tyrone countered and McShane broke for Frank Burns’ pass; caught, turned and shot over a reply but the majority of the action was concentrated on the other end of the field. Patient Cork dominated possession, avoiding the packed centre of the Tyrone defence and moving the ball with purpose down the flanks.
Mark Collins landed a free that Harte cancelled out to leave it 1-1 to 0-2 with less than five minutes played.
Michael McKernan allowed Taylor too much space on the left wing. He fired over another point and the Rebels moved four head when Connolly landed a free after hard-pressed sweeper Colm Cavanagh had brought down Killian O’Hanlon.
Meanwhile, misfiring Tyrone looked for inch-perfect passes to runners and repeatedly lost possession under pressure in the packed Cork defence.
Cork showed them how it could be done when Ruairi Deane swerved through two tackles and dropped the ball into space for Loughrey – in for injured Tomas Clancy – to run onto. The former Antrim star gleefully hammered a shot past Morgan and suddenly Tyrone were seven points behind after 20 minutes.
But the goal robbed Cork of their momentum. They started as underdogs but now looked likely winners and having built a lead, tried to protect it instead of kicking on and over-indulged in phases of meaningless handpassing. Tyrone hung in there and were able to stay with them until the break.
Conor Meyler and Connolly swapped scores before Brian Kennedy’s run earned a free and McShane’s cross found Harte, who dipped a shoulder to see off his marker and lashed the ball over the bar. It was 2-4 to 0-4 then and Tyrone stopped the bleeding from there until the interval but could only close the gap by one point – a Harte free.
The tactical rethink during the half-time break meant Kennedy, McCurry and Hugh Pat McGeary were all called ashore and Michael Cassidy, Padraig Hampsey and Richie Donnelly were introduced to save Tyrone’s season.
It seemed that normal service resumed when the ball was eventually thrown in. Sean White raced into the space Cork left for their runners and slashed a shot over the bar from in front of Tyrone’s posts.
But there were obvious signs that Tyrone had let the handbrake off and with Mattie Donnelly lurking with intent beside McShane up front the Red Hands went on the attack with devastating results.
McShane landed a free after and then Sludden found Donnelly who bulldozed through a tackle from Cork sweeper Cronin and slipped the ball to McKernan. He handpassed it across goal and McShane met it with a two-fisted airbourne strike that sent it screaming into the back of the Cork net.
Tyrone never looked back. Mattie Donnelly was taken down and Harte’s free left one in it. Richie Donnelly grabbed the kick-out and McGeary raced down the left, feeding Sludden as he darted past his right shoulder.
Liam O’Donovan barged him in the back and referee Deegan signalled ‘penalty’. Harte lashed the ball into the net and suddenly Tyrone led 2-7 to 2-5.
But the Rebels did not throw the towel in and the introduction of Michael Hurley (younger brother of Brian) added energy and renewed focus to their attack.
He fisted over the first of four points before Tiarnan McCann – back in action for the first time since injury and suspension from the Ulster semi-final – and Burns set up another for Mattie Donnelly.
Connolly was felled by a massive hit from the excellent Burns and although he managed to send Connolly through the Nemo forward opted for a soccer-style volley instead of getting the ball in his hands and the chance was missed.
Two more points from Hurley in between another from Mattie Donnelly followed and it was 2-9 apiece after an hour. Tyrone kicked for the line and Connor McAliskey and Brennan combined to create a chance for Harte who, as always, took it.
McCann added another and McShane’s free, awarded after Flahive’s desperate push on Mattie Donnelly, meant there were three points in it now.
Connolly’s free kept Cork in touch but another McShane free cancelled it out and Meyler’s interception paved the way for the third of Donnelly’s points in what was a virtuoso second half display.
Mark White denied him a clincher and John O’Rourke and the impressive Hurley cut the gap to two before McShane’s free settled Tyrone nerves before the final whistle.
Dublin’s win confirmed their passage to the last four and they’ll have next weekend off before they face them with one eye on even bigger challenges ahead.
Tyrone: N Morgan; HP McGeary, R McNamee, R Brennan; M McKernan, K McGeary, F Burns; C Cavanagh, B Kennedy; M Donnelly (0-3), N Sludden, P Harte (0-5, 0-3 frees); D McCurry, C McShane (1-5, 0-4 frees), C Meyler (0-1).
Subs: P Hampsey for Kennedy, (HT), R Donnelly for McCurry (HT), M Cassidy for HP McGeary (HT), T McCann (0-1) for McKernan (51), C McAliskey for Sludden (55)
Yellow card: Cavanagh (15)
Cork: M White; S Cronin, T Clancy, K Flahive; L O’Donovan, T Clancy, M Taylor (0-1); I Maguire, K O’Hanlon; K O’Driscoll, S White (0-1), R Deane; M Collins (0-2 frees), B Hurley, L Connolly (1-3, 0-2 frees).
Subs: J Loughrey (1-0) for Clancy (11), P Kerrigan for Hurley (48), M Hurley (0-4) for Collins (51), S Powter for White (58), J O’Rourke (0-01) for O’Driscoll (58), S Sherlock for Cronin (66)
Yellow cards: O’Donovan (42), Tomas Clancy (62)
Referee: M Deegan (Laois).
