Football

Tyrone's Ronan McNamee wants marks clarity from referees ahead of Mayo clash

Tyrone's Ronan MacNamee at Healy Park, looking forward to the visit of Mayo in Division One this Sunday in the Allianz Football League.<br /> Photo by Piaras &Oacute; M&iacute;dheach/Sportsfile
Tyrone's Ronan MacNamee at Healy Park, looking forward to the visit of Mayo in Division One this Sunday in the Allianz Football League.
Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Tyrone's Ronan MacNamee at Healy Park, looking forward to the visit of Mayo in Division One this Sunday in the Allianz Football League.
Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

TYRONE full-back Ronan McNamee has called for greater clarity on the application of 'marks' after the Red Hands were 'caught out' yet again.

The visitors were second best to Kerry in Killarney, the Aghyaran man making no complaints about his county's defeat there, but wants confusion over marks to be cleared up by referees.

"It's happened three times with us now. Jamie Clarke in the McKenna Cup final, the first game against Derry and [on Sunday], 'Decky' McClure caught a mark in the middle of the field and got up and fisted it away and was blown up.

"I don't know what set time you are given or where you draw a line if you are taking too long, but Jamie Clarke stopped dead in the McKenna Cup Final and put up his hand to take a mark. He looked around, the ref was like, 'What do you want to do?' and everybody stands still - and he just ran on and kicked it over the bar.

"There's definitely grey areas. It needs drawn out and everyone needs to be singing off the same hymn-sheet.

"It will take time but if it is like anything else it will stay as it is because somebody is going to blow something different anyway. Nobody plays off the same rules, which is confusing as it is, without bringing in new rules to confuse it even more."

McNamee was able to smile, perhaps ruefully, perhaps cynically, about the defensive set-up that Kerry deployed on Sunday:

"It's normally the Ulster teams that supposedly go at it that way. It's probably 'quarter-backs', not sweepers that they have playing…

"To be fair, they did pack it out pretty well, it was very, very hard to break down. We tried to get the ball across a few times and, with a wayward kick-pass here or there, you were intercepted and on the back foot straightaway.

"They played the game well, so that they sucked us in, dispossessed us, and then caught us on the counter-attack. They did that numerous times in the first half.

"It probably was a surprise to see them playing like that, because you know how it's painted a different picture, football down there compared to up here. We just had to adapt to it and it took us a wee while longer than we wanted."

Tyrone boss Mickey Harte had to effect change, and did so with personnel switches, starting by replacing David Mulgrew with his Ardboe club-mate Kyle Coney at half-time:

"Second half we went at them a bit better, made a few changes: Kyle came on and was good, got the ball into the inside men, and we cut through them a few times, a pass more here or there and we could have been in for a goal.

"All they had to do was keep us at arm's length because they had that 5-1 advantage. A couple of scores was always going to keep them in the game, whereas we had to really go at it and try things to get the game on our terms again."

McNamee freely admitted that Tyrone had contributed to their own downfall: "It's a hard place to go to but we didn't help ourselves in the first half, allowed them a few handy scores with our own misplaced passes.

"Going down 5-1 down at half-time probably was a [fair] reflection on it, because we weren't up to standard at all. Kerry came out of the blocks good and hard, were physical, turned us over a good few times.

"We'll be looking to improve, although second half we were better, gave it a rattle. Four points to turn over in any game is not an easy scenario in any game.

"We gave a better account of ourselves in the second half – but obviously the damage was done in the first half, which was disappointing. We go down expecting to win, wanting to win, no matter who we're playing.

"To come out of the first League game with a defeat, same as last year, is not ideal, but we'll just have to go at it again now."

Tyrone's next challenge is to host Mayo on Sunday, with the westerners heading to Omagh in confident mood after opening Division One with a hard-fought win over neighbours Roscommon.