‘Time for us to be winning the really big games again’
SEAN KELLY can’t help but chuckle at how wrong he was on a late August day two years ago.
Only 20 minutes had passed in the All-Ireland semi-final but, even then, Kerry’s dreams of another final appearance were hanging by a thread, all but suffocated by Tyrone’s hunger and utter intransigence. From his spot in the stands at the time, Kelly could see just one flicker of hope.
“Peter Canavan had come off after less than 15 minutes with an ankle injury and he was replaced by Stephen O’Neill.
“I genuinely thought that offered Kerry a chance but Stephen fitted in brilliantly, scoring a few points and Tyrone hardly missed Peter at all.
“No one is better than Peter, but Stephen was as good as him that day,” remembers the GAA president.
Fast forward to the present and O’Neill is still holding the fort in Canavan’s absence. It’s been that way all spring and will be again tomorrow when Wexford are the opponents in the NFL semi-final.
Time was when it was Canavan’s protégé at St Patrick’s High School Cookstown, Owen Mulligan, who was expected to pick up where the master left off. Tyrone will still look to the peroxide blonde for a good few seasons to come, but it’s O’Neill who is fast becoming the lifeblood of Mickey Harte’s attack.
It’s worth noting too that O’Neill’s hottest streak took root during the four games when Mulligan was struggling with hamstring trouble. Despite the evidence, the man himself shrugs off any suggestions that he is now having to shoulder an ever greater burden of expectation.
“Not at all. I’ve been playing full-forward mostly and there’s always a good supply of ball there. Because I get a few scores I just get a bit more attention than the players out the field who are probably doing more work.
“The few boys who have come in have done well for us too. Against Kerry, Martin Penrose did well and I’m glad to see Ryan Mellon back, he’s starting to play well again. Brian Meenan and Peter Donnelly did rightly in midfield and Owen Bradley has done well in defence. They’ve all worked very hard, they’re all going well.
“Peter’s non availability for the League was a big shock and he’s a big loss. He’s still very valuable to us and hopefully he’ll see sense and come back.”
Canavan won’t be togging out for the county’s fourth league semi-final appointment in four years tomorrow, while only the foot and mouth outbreak denied them the right to compete in the last four in 2001.
An impressive record it may be, but O’Neill, Harte and the rest of them won’t need reminding that it was at this stage last year when their hopes for the season began to show signs of decay with defeat to Galway.
Having surrendered the league title, their coveted All-Ireland crown followed three months later with defeat to Mayo. The disappointment ran deep but has long been replaced by a focus on making amends.
“There’s determination in every team and we’re no different,” says O’Neill. “We were disappointed last year with our performances. The hunger and determination wasn’t there that we had in 2003 and that showed in our performances. We didn’t do ourselves justice, I felt. I hope that’s back now. Time will tell. There will be questions asked of us in the championship. It’ll be up to us to come up with the answers.”
Despite their encouraging start to 2005, O’Neill points to the defeats to Mayo and Kerry as evidence of the team’s continuing fallibility. The time has come, he admits, for Tyrone to be winning the really big games again.
Wexford would be a worthy scalp to start with, but O’Neill remembers only too well the relief he felt when Tyrone left Wexford Park with a two-point win in the All-Ireland qualifiers two years ago.
“They should have beaten us that day. I can tell you, we were glad to get out of it with the win at all. I remember Art McRory saying at the time, ‘lads, ye might respect these boys now, but ye’ll really respect them after the game’. We did, so we know what we’re up against now.”
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