Football

McCurry magic sends Tyrone into yet another final

Down's john O’Hare fails to save Tyrone's second goal scored by Ronan McHugh in action during the BOI Dr McKenna Cup Playoff Semi-Final between Down and Tyrone at The Athletic Grounds Armagh 01-12-2020. Pic Philip Walsh
Down's john O’Hare fails to save Tyrone's second goal scored by Ronan McHugh in action during the BOI Dr McKenna Cup Playoff Semi-Final between Down and Tyrone at The Athletic Grounds Armagh 01-12-2020. Pic Philip Walsh Down's john O’Hare fails to save Tyrone's second goal scored by Ronan McHugh in action during the BOI Dr McKenna Cup Playoff Semi-Final between Down and Tyrone at The Athletic Grounds Armagh 01-12-2020. Pic Philip Walsh

Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup semi-final: Down 1-10 Tyrone 2-16

AFTER a week spent wondering whether it was just kinder to put the McKenna Cup out to pasture, two very different answers were provided by two very different halves of football.

There were meant to be two games of football yesterday, one in the Athletic Grounds and one in Enniskillen, but Donegal put their feet up at home as Seamus McEnaney put his up on the back of the orange chair in front of him.

With the universities already removed by virtue of the counties not wanting to be left sitting idle for the first three weeks of January, Donegal’s self-imposed exit seemed like another hammer blow.

And yet nearly 5,500 packed into the Athletic Grounds on Wednesday night to see Tyrone and Armagh, and there was a healthy 2,718 back yesterday to see a game played minus the Sigerson Cup players.

For 35 minutes, all we got was a reminder of why Tyrone win this thing most years, and why Down are in Division Three.

Mickey Harte’s side thrived on turnovers, hitting 1-2 in the first five minutes to build a five-point lead that was only bitten into once, and Down’s hands were slapped the second they thought about chancing any more.

The game’s opening score was Conall McCann’s goal. Tyrone had actually gone mad pressing Down’s kickout and left Cory Quinn all on his own 40 yards from goal. Even Benny Gallen thought about stepping over to mark him.

But when the ball came his length, there was indecision and indirectness. He stepped into the wrong spot, was ripped of the ball and within 15 seconds it was in the other net.

Niall Sludden takes the bulk of the credit, springing back to his feet when fouled and popping the ball over the top for Conall McCann. He sold a nice shimmy and fired a lovely, confident low finish past John O’Hare.

The Killyclogher man had 1-2 from play by the 13th minute, both points superb curled efforts, one when he dropped deep to the 45’ and the other off a run into the corner. But thereafter it all dried up, with Kevin McKernan matching him in the air and little coming in across the ground.

They didn’t need to kick it in during the first half, because Darren McCurry was kicking it over. He finished the half with six points, four of them from play.

Ronan O’Neill showed some nice touches and his brain was doing half the work for him as he dodged around in the spaces that Tyrone created with their movement.

But in all honesty, it was ludicrously easy at times. Darren O’Hagan tried to set a higher tempo for Down with his physicality as he bumped into any white shirt that came near him, but it was a lone furrow.

The All-Ireland semi-finalists had all the answers. With man-of-the-match Frank Burns sweeping the left wing and Ben McDonnell covering the right, they had either 14 or 15 men in their own half every time Down attacked.

And when they inevitably took the ball back, they were like spring lambs away into yonder space. Ciaran McLaughlin and Conall Grimes gave a lot of the initial burst, and when they got it up front they were incisive and accurate.

They scored 1-12 from 18 shots in the first half, while Down could muster just four points. Conor Poland did his best to keep their heads above water, while midfield duo Jonathan Flynn and Liam Middleton didn’t do as badly on the kickouts as the bare numbers suggest.

The nimble limbs up top found themselves confronted by some Division One defending, and Down’s pace counted for very little across a very demoralising first 35 minutes.

They did, to their credit, rouse themselves. Paddy Tally made three changes and even without getting on a pile of ball, Donal O’Hare’s movement right from hitting the outside of the post seconds after the restart brought something different.

Liam Kerr will have to be chained to the bench in Tipperary, for in his substitute appearances he’s shown enough to comfortably earn a start. He was willing to go straight at Tyrone and was unlucky not to grab a couple of scores.

The second half was very, very different to the first, but how much of that was down to the winners sneaking in for a bit of shut-eye for 20 minutes, it’s hard to really tell.

Certainly they were slacker and looser, although there was nothing too loose about Hugh Pat McGeary, who gave an excellent 47 minutes at corner-back.

Ronan McNamee was comfortable against Sean Dornan, though the pair of them were booked for a bit of WWE midway through the second half, it was indicative of the life that had been sparked into the game.

Sub Michael O’Neill might have had it stunted when he found himself in on goal, only to be denied by a fine save from O’Hare. VAR would never have allowed it on account of Kyle Coney’s throw ball in the build-up.

Gerard Collins weaved into a gap and fed Kerr, who squared for Cory Quinn to volley home and make it 1-13 to 1-8 with 15 minutes to play.

But by the time Ross McGarry narrowed the gap any further, Down were reduced to 14 because of a black card for Johnny Flynn that Paddy Tally felt was “soft”. If so, it was a rare error by Dan Mullan, who had a good game in the middle.

Down couldn’t really get any closer than five and when Tiernan McCann cut in and popped the pass for Ronan McHugh, the Aghyaran man blasted Tyrone into Saturday night’s decider with a brilliant near-post finish.

He and his clubmates Ronan McNamee and Benny Gallen (up to kick a 45’) contributed Tyrone’s last 1-2 between them as they ended up nine-point victors. That was just about fair.

And so it’s an eighth title in nine years they seek against Monaghan. There’s still enough appetite for it, and little enough inclination from headquarters to stop it, that this won’t be the last edition of the McKenna Cup final.

MATCH STATS


Down: J O’Hare; G Collins, K McKernan; R McAleenan; P Laverty, D O’Hagan (0-1), R Carr; L Middleton, J Flynn; C Poland (0-3), C Harney, C Quinn (1-0), B O’Hagan; P Havern (0-2, 0-1 free), S Dornan (0-1)


Subs: L Kerr (0-1 free) for Harney (HT), D O’Hare (0-1 free) for Middleton (HT), D Guinness for Carr (HT), R McGarry (0-1) for Havern (55), B Gallen for B O’Hagan (61)


Yellow cards: P Laverty (32), D O’Hagan (35), S Dornan (52)


Black card: J Flynn (61-71)

Tyrone: B Gallen (0-1 45); HP McGeary, R McNamee (0-1); A McCrory; K McGeary; N Kelly, C McLaughlin, C Grimes; B McDonnell (0-1), F Burns (0-1); N Sludden, K Coney, D McCurry (0-7, 0-3 frees); C McCann (1-2), R O’Neill (0-2, 0-1 free)


Subs: T McCann for Sludden (40), R McHugh (1-1) for K McGeary, M Cassidy for HP McGeary (47), M O’Neill for McLaughlin (51)


Yellow cards: C McLaughlin (35), R McNamee (52)

Referee: D Mullan (Derry)

Attendance: 2,718