Football

Monaghan have the depth for a qualifier run moreso than Tyrone, believes Gormley

Tyrone stalwart Conor Gormley at the launch of the EirGrid GAA Football U20 All-Ireland Championship. EirGrid, the state-owned company that manages and develops Ireland's electricity grid, enters its first year of sponsoring this competition after being title sponsor of the EirGrid GAA U21 Football Championship since 2015. #EirGridGAA .
Tyrone stalwart Conor Gormley at the launch of the EirGrid GAA Football U20 All-Ireland Championship. EirGrid, the state-owned company that manages and develops Ireland's electricity grid, enters its first year of sponsoring this competition after being t Tyrone stalwart Conor Gormley at the launch of the EirGrid GAA Football U20 All-Ireland Championship. EirGrid, the state-owned company that manages and develops Ireland's electricity grid, enters its first year of sponsoring this competition after being title sponsor of the EirGrid GAA U21 Football Championship since 2015. #EirGridGAA .

TYRONE legend Conor Gormley believes his county will get the better of Monaghan in next month’s Ulster SFC clash – but that the Farney are better equipped at present for the rigours of a qualifier run.

Both have serious ambitions of reaching the Super 8s and beyond this summer but for whoever loses in Healy Park on May 20, the road back to the All-Ireland series will be littered with potholes.

One of the primary concerns will be the potentially exhausting run of dates. Should the loser come back to reach the Super 8s, they will have just one weekend off between the round one qualifier on June 9 and their second round-robin game on July 22/23.

The weekend off falls on June 16, in between rounds one and two of the qualifiers, after which the intensity of the games would be expected to ratchet up.

It has no doubt been on the mind of Mickey Harte and Malachy O’Rourke throughout the league, and Gormley believes that the latter has a greater level of depth in his squad to work with.

“It’s 50/50, though I’d maybe be biased in tipping Tyrone to win it. The loser of that game has a massive, long road to get to the Super 8 again.

“Both teams will be looking to get there and it’s a long road if you’re in a qualifier and maybe Mayo or Galway are sitting in that pot as well. The winner has the upper hand going forward again.

“Mentally it [playing games week-on-week] could be draining on a team, though if you’re getting results it can be positive too. That could be very difficult to keep it going at that high level. Have you a strong panel and boys to come in and influence games? That part of the season will be very interesting.

“Maybe Monaghan might have a few more seasoned campaigners on the road than Tyrone at the minute. A few boys have come in and made impacts for Tyrone, but I think Monaghan could cope with that a bit better at the moment.

“If Colm [Cavanagh] happens to be missing, who’s going to fill that role he plays? Whereas if say Fintan Kelly or Vinny Corey got injured for Monaghan, it mightn’t be as big a blow to them, they might be able to cover.”

The likelihood that Cavanagh will miss the Monaghan game leaves Mickey Harte with a sizeable gap to fill. The Moy man’s midfield work is perhaps in the replaceable bracket, but his defensive positioning and organisational skills are barely so.

Frank Burns’ finish to the league at centre-back has made him a prime candidate to slot into Cavanagh’s role, while Mattie Donnelly’s versatility and experience makes him another, though Gormley believes the latter idea takes too much away from the team as a whole.

“Frank has stepped up, he had a good finish to the league at six and attacking out. What Colm offers is more organisation there. He’s experienced and been playing that role for the last number of years.

“That’s what you need in that role, to settle into it because it can be difficult to read. Sometimes you find yourself in no-man’s land and the ball’s going past you or players are going past you, and you can’t get reading it or get hold of it.

“I know they tried Mattie in that role over the last couple of years but I think it takes away from Mattie’s game, and from Tyrone with the driving force he gives from midfield up.

“Frank’s maybe the best example, or maybe Kieran McGeary could offer something. He likes to get forward and affect the play as he does for Pomeroy.

“I’m sure Mickey’s worked on that too, Colm’s not going to be there forever and the way the game’s going, that position’s vital.

“That person seems to be the orchestrator and pull the strings, whether it’s Colm or Frank, or Cian O’Sullivan for Dublin, he seems to sit and organise. Keith Higgins or Colm Boyle sit in there for Mayo and organise. It’s a massive role within a team.”