McAnallen says explosive start took away all the nerves

THE Tyrone dressing-room remains shut for a long time. Inside, they are consuming pasta salads and going over each and every detail of this game. Mickey Harte still insists his team aren’t the finished product and in their brave new world, they are meticulous. Nothing will be rushed, even if they have just made the All-Ireland final.

A hobbling Peter Canavan comes out, being advised on the phone about his injury. Canavan’s eyes betray the pain of his semi-final injury jinx striking again, but the spiritual leader of Tyrone football was impressed by what he saw on the side-line. “They performed well, they hung in there. At times, it mightn’t have looked great. It wouldn’t have been the most stylish of games, but I thought they showed good character, they fought hard for every ball, tackled hard and they deserved their victory.”

Cormac McAnallen had been out of the dressing-room earlier. Yesterday was another big step in his defensive apprenticeship. While he might yearn for a more forward role, there has been little instability in the full-back line since he was parachuted back to the square for the Ulster final replay.