Fulfilling McAnallen’s burning ambition the spark that lit Tyrone flame

WHEN they had finally found the sanctuary of their dressing room, Mickey Harte led his Tyrone team into the adjacent warm-up room.

A circle was formed, Sam Maguire was planted in the middle and for a full 15 minutes they danced and clapped and hugged and cheered.

Winning a second All-Ireland in three years was sweet. Beating Kerry, the game’s true aristocrats, in the final made it even sweeter. Fulfilling Cormac McAnallen’s burning desire was what really mattered though.

McAnallen’s was the first name Brian Dooher mentioned in his acceptance speech on the steps of the Hogan Stand and their old colleague’s name pervaded the entire panel’s thoughts in the aftermath.

“Everyone knows what this team has been through the last couple of years,” said Philip Jordan.

“When Cormac was made captain he said he didn’t want to retire having won only one All-Ireland. He’s won his second here today, so he has.

“At half-time today (Cormac) was mentioned. We have 31 lines on our jerseys and 30 players on our panel. Cormac was the 31st. It was definitely important but it was more a case of players using that (as motivation) within themselves.”

Unusually for an All-Ireland final, motivation was a key sub-plot to this contest in the weeks leading up to it. Most of the pub talk centred on Kerry’s desire to rectify the defeat they suffered at Tyrone’s hands in 2003, but the Ulster men were at least equally determined to silence the few snipers who looked to belittle their achievements that same year.

“Everyone said that Kerry had a score to settle because of what happened two years ago,” Jordan explained. “Nobody made any secret of that leading up to the final but we had a score to settle as well.

“People said that we didn’t deserve our first All-Ireland. I think we proved today that we’re worthy champions. Frankly, we saved our best performance of the year for the final.”

After all the controversy over ‘puke football’ two years ago, the suggestion was made to Ryan McMenamin that Tyrone had won their second All-Ireland playing a better brand of football than their first.

“I don’t know that we did, to be honest. I don’t know if it was a whole lot different. The game is evolving all the time but I’ll leave it up to the likes of you guys to decide that. Ye’re the experts. It’s hard to tell when you’re down there playing.”

Whatever about the manner of their winning it, if anything yesterday was even sweeter than 2003 for Tyrone. That says a lot, considering that their win two years ago was their first ever and coming as it did against their old neighbours and rivals Armagh.

Any suggestion that Kerry ‘weren’t at the races’ was quickly snuffed out by Dooher.

“I wouldn’t say Kerry were lacking anything. They were worthy All-Ireland champions and we were lucky enough to get past them. There’s nothing too comfortable about Kerry coming at you. We got our lucky breaks and broke them down and the defence held out for the last 10 minutes,” he said.

Even when Tomás Ó Sé rattled Pascal McConnell’s net for the second time with a good quarter of an hour to go, Kerry failed to mount a concerted challenge that might threaten to unhinge Tyrone.

Their trilogy with Armagh was the key to that, according to Dooher. Getting caught on the line twice in succession teaches a team sport’s harsh realities. What Armagh taught them, said Dooher, was not to panic.

Sean Cavanagh added: “The first game against Dublin when we were five or six points down, and in the last 10 minutes of those games against Armagh - that gave us character.

“Even when Kerry got that second goal I still thought we could do it.”