Football

Chris Lawn: Tyrone GAA at same crossroads 11 years on

MEETING OF MINDS: Chris Lawn sees Cavan boss Terry Hyland as a visionary as he bids to plot the downfall of Mickey Harte and Tyrone in next week&rsquo;s Ulster semi-final<br />Picture by Colm O&rsquo;Reilly
MEETING OF MINDS: Chris Lawn sees Cavan boss Terry Hyland as a visionary as he bids to plot the downfall of Mickey Harte and Tyrone in next week’s Ulster semi-final
Picture by Colm O’Reilly
MEETING OF MINDS: Chris Lawn sees Cavan boss Terry Hyland as a visionary as he bids to plot the downfall of Mickey Harte and Tyrone in next week’s Ulster semi-final
Picture by Colm O’Reilly

MORE than a decade has passed since Tyrone and Cavan last met in the Ulster Football Championship.

And a defensive rock in the Red Hand side that scored a resounding win in 2005 believes the upcoming semi-final could prove to be a similarly defining episode for the current squad.

Chris Lawn reflects on that Clones encounter as a watershed which dictated the path of a team that drew massive strength from a 21-point replay victory, a path that ended gloriously in September of that year with a Sam Maguire Cup triumph.

The double All-Ireland winner feels the 2016 team needs a comparable character-building experience to enhance and accelerate its development, and that June 19 may be just the right time to shift through the gears.

“That replay was something that we really needed in ’05. We needed to find out for ourselves if that kind of performance was in us, for it was going to be needed,” said Lawn.

“It was all about getting that bit of confidence, for we knew the ability was there. We needed to get the heads right.

“It could be a very similar scenario this year. We felt we needed to put down a marker in ’05, so it’s maybe the same situation now.

“This is a new team, and they might need something like that again, and this could be the perfect time for them to make that big statement, put in a real big performance, and begin to really believe in themselves.”

Tyrone’s 3-19 to 0-7 semi-final win 11 years ago tells just part of the story, for Red Hand fans will remember that this was a replay, after the original fixture ended in a 0-10 to 1-7 draw at Clones.

But when the sides met again at the same venue a week later, a Peter Canavan-inspired team produced a devastating display of attacking football.

Canavan scored 1-7 and helped set up the other two goals in a 3-19 to 0-7 success to send his side into the provincial final.

Tyrone lost out in the final, also after a replay, to Armagh, but famously recovered to go on and win a second All-Ireland title, meeting again and beating the Orchard men along the way.

Lawn recalls the impact of a rejuvenated Canavan, then in the twilight of a marvellous career, as he picked holes in the Breffni defence and delighted the crowd with a dazzling display of finishing.

“You could put that one alongside many great performances from Peter. He had just come back into the panel before the Championship, after opting out of the League for a while, and the batteries were well re-charged at that stage.

“I do know how motivated he was that day, and he was a major part of what we did.

“The type of day suited him, and the players around him were up for it, and it all fell into place. When he’s on fire, nothing will stop him, and nothing was going to stop him that day.”

The Moortown man is an ardent admirer of Terry Hyland’s Cavan side and of the manner in which the Breffni manager has built a system capable of testing Tyrone to the limit on Sunday week.

“It’s going to be a fascinating match. It’s going to be down to who has learned the most from the Division Two league final at Croke Park.

“Cavan are no slouches, and Terry Hyland is a brilliant, brilliant manager. I have nothing but admiration for the man. He’s a visionary, in my opinion.

“It was him that brought in Peter Donnelly (current Tyrone strength and conditioning coach) at the start, and look who’s reaping the rewards of that now.”

And Lawn has little time for the opinions of those who deride defensive systems. He expects both Tyrone and Cavan to thrill and excite with the pace of their attacks from deep at St Tiernach’s Park.

“It’s all about systems now. They have all been talking about defensive football, but none of the top teams can be associated with that.

“All the games nowadays are high-scoring matches. All the teams are adapting to the way football is played now.”