'Championship run beckons for resilient Tyrone'

3 years ago 46

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Coverage: Watch Fermanagh v Derry (Saturday, 17:00 BST) and Tyrone v Monaghan (Sunday, 16:00) on BBC Two NI, BBC iPlayer, website & app; live text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website

After losing to Mayo in the National League earlier this year, Tyrone looked like they were at a low ebb. The 10-point defeat in Castlebar was their third in four games and relegation seemed on the cards.

It's safe to say most people weren't thinking of Tyrone as possible Sam Maguire contenders.

But what happened next was classic Tyrone. Just when things seemed to be going awry, they pulled a big performance out of the fire to beat Kerry and backed that up with wins over Ulster rivals Monaghan and Armagh to remain in Division One.

This is what I've admired about Tyrone over the years. Even when things haven't gone their way, the players never seem to lose self-belief. For us in Donegal, the shock of a big championship defeat at times would linger as we headed for the backdoor, but Tyrone have never let that bother them.

The players never seem to get too down on themselves and that's exactly why I expect them to revel in this new championship structure. Even a big defeat in Ulster wouldn't affect them too much in the Sam Maguire round-robin series.

From what I've seen the Tyrone squad appears to be in good shape, too. They have stalwarts performing well like Padraig Hampsey, Ronan McNamee, Niall Morgan in goal, Michael McKernan at the back and Conn Kilpatrick, who has really become a formidable force in midfield.

Mattie Donnelly had a strong league campaign and then they have the two Canavans, Darragh and Ruairi, who are both incredible talents and who - if they can find consistency - are capable of easing the scoring burden on Darren McCurry's shoulders.

On top of that, they've brought in promising young players like Cormac Quinn and Joe Oguz, but Tyrone's rising confidence will be put to the test on Sunday by Monaghan.

Monaghan do have history against Tyrone in Omagh, when they produced a super performance to topple the Red Hands in their 2018 Ulster Championship match. However, when it really mattered, Tyrone have been Monaghan's bogey team over the last number of years - winning the All-Ireland semi-final in 2018 and 2021 Ulster final at Croke Park between the sides.

But Monaghan have always been defiant. Just look at how they avoided the Division One trapdoor yet again this year.

As a player I always had respect for them. They squeezed the most out of their players. They've always had good footballers and still do, but the question has always been 'can they take that next step'?

Armagh drop to second tier after defeat by Tyrone

They're always in that middle tier nationally. They've always had a strong performance in them, but can they back that up with another four or five that is needed to get to the latter stages of the All-Ireland? That's where my doubts lie with Monaghan.

We'll find out a lot about them on Sunday, because when the ball is thrown in at Healy Park, I expect them and Tyrone to go hell for leather. I know I've questioned teams taking the provincial competitions seriously, but this will be pure Ulster Championship football, flat to the boards.

Tyrone and Monaghan and ourselves have shared around the Ulster Championship over the last 10-12 years, with Derry and Cavan getting their share in recent years, and there's simply too much pride in Tyrone and Monaghan to go anything but full throttle in what will be a big championship derby in Omagh.

If McKaigue and Glass are anywhere near fit enough, they'll play

Much of the talk around Derry in recent weeks has centred on the fitness of two of their key players: Chrissy McKaigue and Conor Glass.

McKaigue missed the Division Two final against Dublin while Glass was forced off injured in the second half. While they have been named to start against Fermanagh on Saturday, a late withdrawal by either of them would be a big blow to Derry.

A similar 15 have played for Derry on a weekly basis this year and their players have a telepathic understanding of each other's roles. Their style of play can be predictable but it's massively effective because the players are always in sync.

With that in mind, when you have one or two injuries and put in players who aren't as in sync as the others were, it can disrupt the flow of the team.

That was evident in the Dublin game. McKaigue is a huge man-marker for them, and Glass is a box-to-box midfielder who is strong on both kick-outs.

Without them, Derry really struggled, and I don't think there is much chance of Rory Gallagher giving them the weekend off against Fermanagh. From the start of the McKenna Cup, Gallagher has looked to play his best players. That won't change this weekend.

I also can't see McKaigue or Glass thinking 'you know what, we're favourites to win this game, let's rest up and there are bigger days ahead'. I know most people would think that's how it should be done, but players see every game as an opportunity for them and the team to improve.

You never want those opportunities to slip by. Also, the league final was Derry's first defeat since the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway. The likes of McKaigue and Glass will be desperate to get Derry back to winning ways, so if they are anywhere near fit enough, they will feature at Brewster Park.

As for Fermanagh, are they going to be the county to rip up the script? Most people are expecting Derry to win on Saturday, but I'd like to see Fermanagh do what Antrim didn't against Armagh and make a strong statement by dictating the terms of the game.

For a start, they need to attack Derry, and they have players who can really make a difference, like Darragh McGurn, Ultan Kelm and Sean Quigley.

Fermanagh should look at what Dublin did to Derry in Croke Park a few weeks ago: expose them by getting goals through high balls on top of Odhran Lynch and strong runners from their half-back line who force Derry's blanket defence to make decisions whether to mark zonal or man mark.

But Fermanagh will also need to be positionally flexible against Derry. When you're playing Derry, your number two needs to be a good attacker and number 15 needs to be a good defender because they play that really fluid game and you need to match that.

If Fermanagh can dictate these terms in defence and attack, they might just stand a chance.