WHAT crisis?
It was, as Feargal Logan put it, “a harsh week” for Tyrone. A harsh week on the outside and on the inside.
Dealing with a battering in Castlebar involved dealing with perhaps greater, more intense, even harsher scrutiny than at any point since they won the All-Ireland in 2021.
Division One can do that to a team. The spotlight is searing. But beneath their own Garvaghey darkness, Tyrone resolved this past week that they would represent themselves better, that they wouldn’t let that happen again.
When they have that anger about them, the sight of Kerry only heightens it. Tyrone have only ever lost twice at home to the Kingdom, and that stat remains after Mattie Donnelly inspired his team for the umpteenth time in his career.
“It’s hard, hard, hard to say,” mused Feargal Logan on the notion of why Tyrone always need a cause to bite into.
“The bottom line is that we ask for resilience. It’s not a pretty place to be when people are cutting off you as a footballer and when you think you are not that far away in a seven game league.
“Maybe it has less to do with Tyrone being in the mire and people tempering their comments a wee bit more appropriately and then it’s not such a crisis situation.
“We are on four points, Kerry are on four points. Maybe it’s not our reaction, but the presentation by others who comment.”
Similarities were drawn by the fourth estate to the reaction after the often-referenced hammering in Killarney two years ago, from which they recovered to beat Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final.
“Well, do you know what? County football is a harsh environment. And I tell that to every young lad who comes into it and of course there are harsh conversations every day of the week.
“It’s been a harsh week this week. Not maybe a million miles away from any other week, but we had to pull two points out. We did. No more, no less. We need to back it up in Monaghan.”
In Monaghan, where the hosts seldom lose but who were well beaten in Salthill by 14-man Galway. The whole tenor of that game has switched completely in just a few hours.
Kerry themselves are in this battle now, though they will be strongly fancied to beat Roscommon in Tralee next week and that would be enough to pretty much see them safe.
Paul Murphy’s goal had moved them back in front early in the second half but they scored just two points in the last 32 minutes, neither of them in the final 20 as they got bowled over by Tyrone’s momentum.
“Yeah, it’s not like we hadn’t chances,” said Jack O’Connor.
“We’d enough chances but for some reason we… you have to give them credit.
“They pressurised us but we didn’t get our shots off it is disappointing we were in a good position early on in the game and the goal was a bit of a turning point, gave them a bit of confidence and belief.”
Kerry have traditionally been slow league starters when they’ve been All-Ireland champions. The sense of panic won’t be enveloping them, but they’d be wanting something to click sooner rather than later.
