Allianz Football League Division One: Tyrone 1-10 Dublin 1-7
DESSIE Farrell appeared to point the finger at Tyrone for the half-time tunnel incident in what turned out to be a dramatic first defeat for Dublin in just under a year.
It was the Red Hands who inflicted their last loss as well, winning their league encounter in Croke Park on St Patrick’s weekend last year, but there was an extra spice about events in Healy Park on Saturday night.
The sides became embroiled as they left the field at the interval, although whatever video footage existed from RTÉ or eir Sport was inconclusive in terms of individual culpability.
Referee Cormac Reilly showed Padraig Hampsey a black card when the sides re-emerged, which was the only punishment doled out.
“Strange,” agreed Farrell when quizzed on the referee’s answer to the incident, adding: “All I will say is that we came up here to play football and that was needless what happened at half-time.
“I could not see it. There were a hundred people in the tunnel ahead of me.”
Mickey Harte, who said he had “shared [my] sting” from last weekend’s 19-point loss to Galway with his team before the game, saw them turn in a gutsy performance that outfought Dublin on an horrendous night for football.
The Tyrone manager believes his team have “served our punishment” from the tunnel row with Padraig Hampsey’s black card.
“I didn’t see too much, there were just a lot of bodies in a confined space. Maybe that was a good thing, that nobody could get doing any damage to each other.
“I wouldn’t expect to lose anybody. We were the only ones who lost a man at half-time at all.
“Paudie Hampsey got a black card out of it. I think we’ve served our punishment.”
The game was in jeopardy all day, with several pitch inspections held. Referee Cormac Reilly appeared to be wavering towards calling the game off in the final inspection but just 40 minutes before throw-in, the call was made to go ahead.
With Mayo’s clash with Kerry having earlier been put back 24 hours, it meant RTÉ’s planned live broadcast was switched from Castlebar to Omagh, where they joined up with eir Sport.
Dessie Farrell claimed that it had only been given the green light because it was to be shown live on TV.
“We were just going to play no matter what the decision was. A GAA official said to me that only for the TV being here the game would not go ahead.
“It was the same for both sides. It is not ideal buy ultimately we got through the 75, 80 minutes and the result at the end of it wasn’t Dublin’s.”
Perhaps not all that surprisingly in the circumstances, Tyrone were that bit happier for the game to be played. The conditions made a battle inevitable and having been so uncharacteristically poor in Tuam six days earlier, it fell into their hands nicely.
“We believed it would be on, we thought there was enough of the pitch in good shape,” said Harte.
“Okay there was a few patches that needed a little bit of attention, but the grounds staff here did a good job and cleared off the surface water.
“Okay there was a few sticky patches here and there, but I think any pitch tonight would have that anyway. I think it was important that we got the game played tonight.”
