Football

Mickey Harte dismisses Tyrone's 'ultra-defensive' tag ahead of All-Ireland semi-final with Dublin

Tyrone manager Mickey Harte says he's more than happy with the team's scoring statistics this summer Picture by Seamus Loughran
Tyrone manager Mickey Harte says he's more than happy with the team's scoring statistics this summer Picture by Seamus Loughran Tyrone manager Mickey Harte says he's more than happy with the team's scoring statistics this summer Picture by Seamus Loughran

MICKEY Harte has rejected the notion that Tyrone are the most defensive team remaining in this year’s All-Ireland series and believes some GAA punditry isn’t forensic enough in their analysis of the Red Hands.

Despite retaining their Ulster title this summer and dismissing Armagh in the All-Ireland quarter-finals and racking up an average of over 23 points per game, the Red Hands are still lumbered with the ‘ultra-defensive’ tag.

“I suppose it’s just about who shouts loudest are maybe heard more and it doesn’t necessarily have to be accurate, and because you say things people might think they are true,” said Harte as Tyrone prepare for their All-Ireland semi-final with Dublin in 10 days’ time.

“Simple things like the so-called “ultra-defensive” tag – and I have pointed this out for a couple of years and I’ve been to matches that Kerry have been involved in, Dublin and Mayo have been involved in and I have seen on many occasions when there were 12, 13 and 14 men behind the ball.

“They’re not synonymous with that stuff yet they do it.

“People look what we do, and of course there are times we have lots of men behind the ball but there are as many times where we have more than six people in the front half of the field.

“Let’s have perspective on this; let’s look at it in the round rather than painting a particular picture that you want to paint. If you look at it accurately and forensically at every team, then I’d be happy.”

Harte added: “I saw a bit of the Dublin match [against Monaghan] and on several occasions I saw 15 Dublin players in their own half. So everybody can do it. It doesn’t seem to strike a chord with some of the observers.”

Tyrone have had a fantastic spread of scores in their four Championship wins to date this summer – Derry (10), Donegal (12), Down (11) and Armagh (10) while they’ve conceded 12 points on average per game.

Despite these impressive stats, The Sunday Game analysts Joe Brolly and Colm O’Rourke aren’t too enamoured with Tyrone’s style of play.

Without naming any particular pundit, Harte noted: “You know what to expect from certain quarters and it generally doesn’t change much, so we don’t pay an awful lot of attention to that.

“We look at what we’re doing ourselves, we look at our own statistics; we look at our own facts and figures.

“This year in the Ulster Championship we’ve been scoring pretty heavily, so we must be doing something right.

“We’re winning matches and people will come up with all kinds of opinions of the merit or otherwise of those victories but I’m very happy when we win Ulster Championship games and win two in a row, and I’m very happy when we win an All-Ireland quarter-final, regardless of what the score looks like.

“But when you’re posting scores at the same time as doing that then I certainly think that’s progress.”

Tyrone were described as too conservative during last year’s ill-fated All-Ireland quarter-final encounter with eventual finalists Mayo.

But Harte says there isn’t a great deal different about their approach 12 months on from that last-eight defeat.

“I don’t know if there’s a lot of difference [from last year],” said the three-time All-Ireland winning manager.

“I suppose the difference is we’re getting more scores. I think we were creating plenty of scores last year as well.

“There is no perfect science but when you’re creating chances you have every chance of getting something or as somebody said: ‘You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take.’

“It’s about coaching our players that if you find yourself in a place where you think you can have a shot, go ahead and have it.

“Sometimes if there’s a finisher nearby, by all means give it to him but I think our players know now if they find themselves in a scoring position they’ve every right to go for that score...We’ve always been attack-minded, maybe it’s just you have to work at that for a while ”